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Eternal
Background information
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Years active	1993-1999
Members	Easther Bennett (1993-9) Vernie Bennett (1993-9) Kelle Bryan (1993-8) Louise Nurding (1993-5)

Eternal was a London-based 1990s R&B girl group that found fame in 1993 and went on to become one of the UK's most successful girl groups of all time, achieving both domestic and global success.

The group was made up of church-going sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett and school friends Kéllé Bryan (also Kelle Bryan) and Louise Nurding (also Louise and Louise Redknapp), who both went to the famous Italia Conti Academy stage school.

Biography

Launched in 1993 with the Top 5 smash Stay, Eternal became the first girl group to have a million-selling album in the UK, with their debut set, Always & Forever. It was 1994's fourth biggest selling LP and spawned six Top 15 singles. Eternal's success was quickly recognised - they were named Best Group at the 1993 Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party and in 1995 they earned four BRIT Award nominations, including Best Album for Always & Forever.

In 1995, Louise left the band amid marked controversy over the fact that Louise was the only white member; some quarters suggested Louise was dumped to improve Eternal's chances of breaking America. Eternal's management, however, denied this was the case.

As Louise embarked on her (what was to be considerably fruitful) solo career, Eternal continued to enjoy success as a trio with their second album Power of a Woman, which gave them four Top 10 hits. In 1996, they were asked to sing the theme song for Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Someday. However, whilst this seemed like the ideal opportunity for the group to break America, for some reason Eternal's version was used everywhere except the USA (where American soul group All-4-One took the vocal honours).

In May 1997, the group joined forces with US singer BeBe Winans to score their first - and only - UK chart-topper, I Wanna be the Only One. Taken from their third LP, Before the Rain, it became Eternal's biggest hit to date: it was the third most played song on British radio in 1997 and earned them a MOBO Award and Capital FM Award for Best Single. It was also nominated for Best Single at the BRIT Awards; although the gong went to All Saints, unofficial reports suggest that winner Never Ever was closely challenged by two acts: Eternal and Chumbawamba.

After a further Top 5 single, Angel Of Mine (which went on to become a US no.1 for R&B singer Monica in 1999), Eternal released their Greatest Hits package in October 1997. The compilation contained fourteen consecutive Top 15 hit songs - an unprecedented record for a British girl group - and rocketed to no.2 on the British album charts. It sold in excess of a million copies (the biggest-selling LP of 1997 not to reach no.1), making it 1997's ninth best-selling album and the biggest hits package from any act that year.

In 1998 Kéllé departed in yet another debacle when it became apparent that Kéllé had been asked to leave the group by Easther and Vernie via a letter from their solicitor, following a reported breakdown of professional relations between the sisters and Kéllé.

Easther and Vernie recruited for a replacement and appointed a singer named TJ, who subsequently left the group after only a brief stint, leaving just the two founding Bennett sisters once again. The now duo released one final single, What'cha Gonna Do (which reached a disappointing no.16) in 1999, and a critically acclaimed self-titled album that performed dismally - it failed to even make the Top 75 - before being dropped by EMI in 2000.

Kéllé Bryan experienced limited post-Eternal success in the form of one no.14 single called Higher Than Heaven in October 1999. She also presented The N List on Nickelodeon with Dave Berry for a while. There were rumours that Kéllé had recorded a track with Slash from Guns N' Roses called Wait A Minute for her solo album Breakfast In Bed, which was, unfortunately, never to be released. The same plight struck her second single, I Wanna Know, which was cancelled due to lack of media interest and personal health issues, following her diagnosis as a sufferer of Lupus, a cause she now campaigns for awareness of.

In less than seven years, Eternal became the most successful British R&B female group ever, achieving notable popularity in Japan, where their song Who are You? was used in a Toyota advert, south-east Asia, Australia and parts of Europe. They even managed to score a Top 20 hit in the US with Stay - a big achievement for a British female act in the pre-Spice era of the mid-90s. Globally, Eternal's total sales stands at over 9million.

Members

• Easther Bennett - born 11 December, 1972, in Croydon, Surrey
• Vernie Bennett - born Vernett Bennett, on 17 May, 1971, in Croydon, Surrey
• Kéllé Bryan (also Kelle Bryan) - born 12 March, 1975, in Lewisham, London
• Louise Nurding - born Louise Elizabeth Nurding (also Louise and Louise Redknapp), on 4 November, 1974, in Lewisham, London

Discography

Singles

Albums

External links

• Eternal Network Forums
• Easther Bennett official website
• Kelle Bryan official website
• Louise Redknapp official fansite

• Pages for deletion
• English musical groups
• Girl groups
• Music from London
• 1990s music groups
• R&B musical groups