Miquel Brown

Miquel Brown
Birth name	Michael Brown
Born	(1945-02-08)8 February 1945 Montreal,Quebec,Canada
Origin	Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada
Genres	Disco Soul Hi-NRG Club/Dance R&B Pop rock
Occupations	Actress Singer Music video director Dancer (formerly)
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1973–present
Labels	Record Shack,TSR,Nightmare,Infinity

Miquel Brown(bornMichael BrownFebruary 8, 1945) is a Canadian actress,disco/soulsinger, former dancer and music video director, in the 1970s and 1980s, most popular for the songs "Close to Perfection" and theHi-NRGsongs "So Many Men – So Little Time"and" He's a Saint, He's a Sinner ". Originally named Michael, her parents changed the spelling (but retained the pronunciation) so as not to confuse her with a male producer andchildren's authorof the time (Michael Brown).

Brown is the mother of singerSinittaand stepsister ofAmii Stewart.

Early life

Brown was born inMontreal,Quebecand raised inVancouver,British Columbia,Canada.She gave birth to twinsSinittaand Greta at the age of 14,although Sinitta has publicly given her birth year as 1963, not 1959.

Brown was prompted to leave university after she auditioned for the U.S. touring company of the musicalHairand landed the part of Sheila.At the end of theHairtour, she visited Australia.

In 1973, Brown was cast as the lead inDecameron '73at the Roadhouse in London. She was then interviewed on theMichael ParkinsonShow.In 1975 she appeared in the filmRollerballwithJames Caan,as well as in the role of Miriam in the television filmReganin 1974 for theArmchair CinemaITVstrand, which was effectively the pilot forThe SweeneyTV series. She also held a two-year association with the singing and dancing group 'Second Generation'.

Through the next two years, Brown performed various parts inBubbling Brown Sugarand television appearances inSeaside Special(on Saturday, 25 June 1977),Supersonic(on Saturday, 5 March 1977 – show 40),The Ronnie Corbett Show,Jack Parnell's Show,Vince Hill's Musical Time Machineand Bruce Forsyth'sBring on the Girls.

Music career

In 1976, Brown played Sister Anna in the musicalMardi Gras(which opened on 18 March at thePrince of Wales Theatre,London). It was through this that she was discovered and signed for her firstrecordrelease, "First Time Around". This led her to musicianAlan Hawkshaw(of Emile Ford and the Checkmates, The Shadows and Love De-Luxe), who signed her for an album deal. The albumSymphony of Love(1978) included the title track, "Dancin' with the Lights Down Low", "This is Something New to Me", "The Day They Got Disco in Brazil", "Do It" and "Something Made of Love".

Also in 1978, Brown appeared in the American filmSuperman,as the non-speaking eighth reporter in a scene following the first Superman spotting.

In need of a new producer in the early 1980s, Brown crossed the paths ofIan LevineandFiachra Trenchin 1983. Together with Record Shack Records, they created the albumManpower,aHi-NRGrelease. The first single released from the album, "So Many Men – So Little Time"reached No. 88 on theUK Singles Charton 11 June 1983.and peaked at number No. 2 on the club chart.

In the two years followingManpower,Brown appeared in stage productions ofOnly in America, theLeiber and StollerMusical;The Best Little Whorehouse in TexasandOne Mo' Time,as well as in numerous international clubs, but did not release any more albums until 1985.Close to Perfection(also produced by Levine and Trench) could not compete with her first success. The album featured two US dance radio and dance chart hits, with "Black Leather" and "Close to Perfection", the latter of which gave her her highest UK Singles Chart placing (#63) for seven weeks.

In 1986, Brown filled in forThe Three Degreessinger Helen Scott while Scott was pregnant. Brown helped the Degrees as they had a single called "This Is the House" to promote around Europe.

Later songs include "On the Radio", "Footprints in the Sand" and "This Time It's Real", all with Nightmare Records.

In 1989, Brown was seen as Jill in the second episode of the fourth series, "Accidents Happen", of the British showCasualty.

The 1990s

In 1990, Brown released the songs "I Was Strong (My Moment)" and "Which Way Is Up" onHansa.In 1995, she starred as the Housekeeper inSolomon and Sheba,withHalle Berry.Also in 1995, she played Sgt. Patton inFrench Kiss,withMeg RyanandKevin Kline.She can be heard on the London cast recordings ofElegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens(1993) andFame(1995) (as Miss Sherman, the English teacher).

2000 to present

Brown played the Negro Woman in the 2001 playA Streetcar Named Desireat theRoyal National Theatre(Lyttelton), in London, directed byTrevor Nunnand starringGlenn Closeas Blanche DuBois.

She also appeared in the 2001 filmWit,where she has a brief exchange withEmma Thompson(who plays Vivian Bearing), as the second technician.

In 2004, Brown appeared as Idella in the London production ofPurlieat the Bridewell Theatre in London (a role originally played byHelen Martin,from the American sitcom227).Miquel Brown: The Lady, Her Loves and Her Lordwas presented at the Bullion Room Theatre in London in 2005.

In 2005, Brown appeared as Chloe the old maid inAn American HauntingwithSissy Spacek.The following year, 2006, she co-starred alongside Robert Ashe in the drama film9/11: The Twin Towers.

In 2006, Brown appeared in the movieLondon Successoras Lolo. In 2007, she starred in the original London production ofMenopause The Musical.In March 2008, Brown was seen when her daughter Sinitta appeared on UK'sCelebrity Wife Swap,swapping partners with ex-Coronation StreetactorBruce Jones.In 2008, she appeared in the filmHow To Lose Friends & Alienate Peopleas Harding's assistant, alongsideJeff Bridges.

She starred in the movieFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,which was released in 2016, as Executioner 2.

Discography

Albums

• Symphony of Love(1978)
• Manpower(Record Shack Records, 1983)
• Close to Perfection(Record Shack Records, 1985)
• The Best of Miquel Brown(Hot Productions, 1991)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Dance	AUS	UK
1977	"First Time Round"	—	—	—
1978	"Symphony of Love"	28	—	—
	"Dancin' with the Lights Down Low"	28	—	—
1983	"Beeline"	44	—	—
	"So Many Men, So Little Time"	2	94	88
	"He's a Saint, He's a Sinner"	29	—	68
1985	"Close to Perfection"	—	—	63
	"Black Leather"	—	—	85
	"On the Radio"	—	—	—
	"One Hundred Percent"	—	—	—
1986	"Footprints in the Sand"	—	—	—
1990	"This Time It's Real"	—	—	—
1997	"It's a Sin"	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

External links

• Miquel BrownatIMDb
• Miquel Brown DiscographyatDiscogs.