Kerry Katona has given fans a subtle reminder of her Atomic Kitten heyday as her former pop band enjoy an unlikely revival as a result of Euro 2020.
As football fever grips the nation, England fans have taken to singing a revamped version of the band’s 2001 hit Whole Again.
The lyrics have been tweaked to pay homage to manager Gareth Southgate as he (fingers crossed) leads the squad to glory on Sunday night.
With the noughties pop ballad being sung in terraces and beer gardens around the country, Atomic Kitten have enjoyed a sudden return to the limelight.
Band members Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon and Jenny Frost – who replaced Kerry when she left – have been in increasing demand with appearances at Croydon Boxpark, ITV news and on Loose Women over the last few weeks.
When the trio appeared on the day time chat show on Friday, viewers joked that former member Kerry would be ‘spitting feathers’ if she saw them.
As Sunday’s final looms, Kerry cheekily took to social media today to remind fans of her time in the band, before she quit after the release of Whole Again.
Kerry shared a clip of the original line-up performing on Top of the Pops back in the day.
The mum quit the band in 2001 after falling pregnant with her first child with then husband Brian McFadden.
She walked out just days after the band released what became their biggest selling single – Whole Again – with a new video being filmed featuring her replacement Jenny Frost.
Over the years the girls have made no secret of their dislike for each other.
Jenny once declared she would ‘rather eat her own kidney with a spoon’ than work with Kerry.
When the band talked about getting back together for ITV’s Big Reunion in 2013, Jenny made it clear there was no place for her rival.
“I don’t want to be derogatory about Kerry, but there shouldn’t be four of us in Atomic Kitten,” she said.
Kerry slammed Jenny or the move in column for OK! magazine.
“The thing is, I was the founding member of the band,” she argued.
“I’m not going to get into a slanging match over the Kittens but Jenny got the opportunity of a lifetime when she took over from me.
“They were number one when she joined the band but it was my voice on the record.”
In the end, it was Kerry who was chosen to complete the line-up, sparking a permanent fall out between Jenny and the rest of the band.
Kerry, Natasha and Liz continued to perform sporadically, but there was trouble again when Kerry allegedly organised a gig in India without her bandmates and branded Natasha a ‘toxic c***’ during a nightclub performance in 2018.
The band’s second line-up – Natasha, Liz and Jenny – have managed to put old grievances to one side to reunite for the revival of their hit Whole Again.