The Dolly Rockers were an English girl group from

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and

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. The group's final line-up consisted of Lucie Kay, Sophie King and Brooke Challinor. They first became known when they competed in the third series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' in 2006. In 2009, their song "Je Suis une Dolly" received an unexpected amount of airplay, receiving coverage in British tabloids and feuding with other pop groups. They were signed with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

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, and worked with hit songwriters

Ray Hedges Ray "Madman" Hedges is an English songwriter and record producer from Surrey, England who has had over 60 top 20 singles and albums including seven UK number-ones as producer and or writer with many on his own record labels. Career Hedges has b ...

and Nigel Butler. Their sound has been called "

wonky pop Wonky pop was a loose grouping of musical acts that played what the BBC called "quirky, catchy and credible pop", rooted in the eccentric side of 1980s pop music, which was briefly popular in the late 2000s. Artists associated with the genre inc ...

" and "drunk disco", and they have described themselves as "the pop equivalent of

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." The Dolly Rockers re-auditioned for ''The X Factor'' in 2013, but failed to get to bootcamp. On 10 October 2013, the group confirmed that after their failed ''X Factor'' audition, they had decided to go their separate ways after seven years together.

Career

The band members met after successfully auditioning for a girl group, Innocence, advertised in ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

''. They formed the Dolly Rockers after this group failed. The name comes from a vintage clothing company. In 2006, they auditioned for the third series of ''

''. They managed to get as far as judges' houses, but were rejected for the live shows by

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later be ...

. After ''The X Factor'', they worked with hit songwriters

and Nigel Butler for a year and a half, recording material in Jersey while still working in their day jobs. They said: "A lot of people who have been on ''X Factor'' try to capitalise on the connection. We're trying to put it behind us." The group were signed to EMI in 2009 and hit the mainstream in with the single "Je Suis Une Dolly", based on Bill Wyman's 1981 hit "(Si Si) Je Suis Un Rockstar". The song was heavily promoted by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

DJ Scott Mills. The song became instantly popular, in part due to a video shot on the

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, that EMI decided to rush the single as a download. A new single, "Gold Digger", had been released by September 2009 and was promoted in various TV shows, with the Dolly Rockers complaining they had not yet gotten playlisted on Radio 1. A video was shot on the streets of East London. Lucie Kay left the group in December 2009, and was replaced by Daniele Owen. In August 2010, Challinor left and Kay rejoined in her place. The group signed a US record deal with RedWalk Productions (A RedOne venture with Charlie Walk) and started working on their debut album. In 2013, they reauditioned for the tenth series of ''The X Factor'', but this time failed to get to bootcamp. On 10 October 2013, the band confirmed that after their failed ''X Factor'' audition, they had decided to go their separate ways after seven years together.

Discography

References

External links

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The Jitty: Dolly Rockers interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolly Rockers English dance music groups English girl groups English pop music groups Musical groups established in 2006 The X Factor (British TV series) contestants Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Wonky pop musical groups British pop girl groups 2006 establishments in England 2013 disestablishments in England