Warrington and its surrounds is home to a surprising amount of celebrities and talented individuals- many of which have gone on to become successful musicians.
Not only have they made an impression on their community, but some of them have gone on to have international fame and recognition and have truly made their mark on the music industry.
From iconic pop stars to a talented band with a tragic story, here are five famous musicians and bands that come from our area.
Nicola Roberts
(Instagram/@lilcola)
Girls Aloud was a pop group formed in 2002 on the talent show Popstars:The Rivals.
They had a lot of success in the UK, with 21 UK Top 10s and five studio albums.
Nicola Roberts was one fourth of the band- and she grew up on Langdale Road in Runcorn, even attending St Chad's High School.
When Girls Aloud disbanded, Nicola still went on to have her own success; her solo song ‘Beat of My Drum’ has over 5.5 million views on her official YouTube channel.
Earlier this year, she even went on to win The Masked Singer UK under the guise of ‘Queen Bee’.
Simon ‘Spike’ Dawburn from 911
God!! We look so young!!! @911official pic.twitter.com/ixrQslRYCT
— Simon'Spike'Dawbarn (@MrSpikeDawbarn) May 5, 2016
Simon (middle) was part of boyband 911 (Twitter/@MrSpikeDawburn)
Spike made up one third of the boy band 911- they were a popular band in the 90s, known for tracks such as ‘The Day We Find Love’ and ‘Bodyshaking’.
They disbanded in 2000, but announced they temporarily came back together in 2012 for the ITV2 documentary ‘The Big Reunion’.
The pop star was actually born and bred in Warrington and even attended William Beamont school.
Kerry Katona
Kerry Katona (Hollie Adams/PA)
We can’t discuss famous musicians from the region without mentioning Warrington-born Kerry Katona.
She grew up in the town, even attending Padgate Academy school while growing up.
She was part of the girl band Atomic Kitten from 1998-2001 after she fell pregnant.
Fans of Atomic Kitten will recognise hit songs such as ‘Whole Again’ and ‘The Tide Is High’.
She joined the group again between 2012-2017 when she replaced Jenny Frost.
Ian Brown
(Instagram/@ianbrown)
Ian Brown, from Lymm, was the lead singer for the alternative rock band, the Stone Roses.
This iconic band went on to produce songs such as ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ and ‘All For One’.
The band split in 1996, but Ian has still been releasing music- his album Ripples was released in 2019 which is the first album he’s released in nine years.
Viola Beach
(Facebook/@Viola Beach)
Viola Beach were an up and coming indie rock band formed in Warrington; they were destined for great things and were performing on big stages, including the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds Festival.
However, tragedy struck while they were on tour when all four members, and their manager, died in a car crash back in 2016.
Their song, Boys That Sing, was one of their most popular tracks - it was even covered by Coldplay at Glastonbury 2016 after the accident.
A plaque in memory of the band will be erected outside Parr Hall.
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