Free Tulisa - The Biography by Chas Newkey-Burden Page A

dismissed and compared them to punk legends the Sex Pistols. He said his readers should ‘Buy this album and enjoy it for what it is: the sound of young Britain. Resistance is futile.’ Tulisa will have found it hard not to smile at the compliment paid to her chest. Another review brought to her attention was that on the Orange website. It concluded: ‘Parents won’t be too impressed, mind you, but Uncle B will likely be lauded for its furious party jams made with the Skins generation of reckless teens in mind. All that, and it’s actually quite a good listen.’ The RapReviews.com website said: ‘All in all, N-Dubz have coughed up an impressive debut that has been a long time coming.’ The reviewer, Jesal ‘Jay Soul’ Padania, identified Tulisa’s place in the band thus: ‘You have two rappers, one of whom sings a lot, and a single white female taking care of choruses and a few verses.’
    Unfortunately, one of the more mainstream outlets to review the album was less impressed. The Observer ’s Sam Wolfson gave the album three out of five stars, but the actual main body of his review was more damning than that score implied. Indeed, the only thing he could find to praise it for was what he saw as its unintentional humour. ‘N-Dubz are like So Solid Juniors – three youngsters with lyrics so tame they’ve been allowed to play UK secondary schools,’ he wrote. In conclusion, he referred to a character from the BBC sketch-show comedy Little Britain : ‘ N-Dubz ’s inadvertent satire of adolescent attitudes is far more astute than Vicky Pollard’s. Shame they take themselves so seriously.’ In the Guardian , Alex Macpherson praised the work ethic and ‘raw talent’ of N-Dubz and its manifestation in their debut album. He wrote that Tulisa ‘attempts to intervene with keening vocals’ on N-Dubz Vs NAA, and noted that she and Dappy trade ‘rat-a-tat back-and -forth barbs’ on ‘Don’t Get Nine’. He enjoyed both, saying they ‘seem more like stage productions than tracks, and are much more compelling than some of the more standard cuts.’
    The album sold well enough to reach platinum status within three months of its release, and ultimately sold over 500,000 copies. The band was guardedly pleased with their progress. They had gone with their instincts in signing up with the new label and manager. A key part of the appeal for both was the degree of creative control the band was being offered. Dappy and Fazer considered themselves the ‘A&Rs’ – the acronym given to the ‘artists and repertoire’ staff who act as a liaison between the label and artist. ‘We chose the records that are gonna come out and decide on how we are gonna sound, no one else – it’s our ting dis,’ claimed Dappy, seemingly writing Tulisa out of the decision-making process. However, Fazer made clear that if Tulisa did not approve of an idea they came up with then that idea would not go ahead. The lady herself was delighted with the success of Uncle B and reflected afresh that labels who had turned them away would be regretting that decision.
    They embarked on a major tour to promote the album. In homage to the man as much as the album title they called it the Uncle B Tour. Originally it was to be a 16-date tour but such was the demand for tickets that the band added five extra shows. They played small-to-medium sized venues. For instance, in London they appeared at the Shepherds Bush Empire and Indigo2. Each venue has a capacity of over 2,000 people. For Tulisa these were busy times. As the band had rehearsed for the tour she had been filming her part for the third series of Dubplate Drama . She had to condense the filming into one manic fortnight while simultaneously preparing for the upcoming gigs. The next single the band released was ‘Strong Again’. A promotional video was filmed and everything seemed set for the song to be released. However, the physical release of the song on CD was cancelled But the download