Mica Paris opens up about her friendships with Prince and Whitney Houston
They helped her music career
Last updated 23rd Nov 2022
Jackie Brambles was joined by singer, presenter, and actress Mica Paris on Greatest Hits Radio ahead of her performance at Greatest Hits Radio Live on Friday 25th November. During their chat on The Evening Show with Jackie Brambles, Mica spoke about some of her celebrity friendships, including Prince and Whitney Houston.
The 80s soul singer, known for songs like 'My One Temptation' and 'Where Is the Love' opened up about getting her start in music, and the role Prince played in it. She told Jackie: "I hadn’t released a record but Prince had heard from someone about me - one of the guys from Aswad I found out years later – and called to invite me to an after-show gig he was doing in Camden. I literally couldn’t feel my feet touch the ground as I had grown up listening to him, even though I used to have to hide his records under my bed because my grandparents were Pentecostal Ministers and we weren’t allowed to have that kind of music in the house.
"At the gig I took the mic and sang 'Just My Imagination' and the next day we were in all the papers and then 'My One Temptation' came out and I really think that Prince played a massive part in that song being such a big hit. Strangely the last time I saw him was at another gig at Camden Palace about four months before he died - and he looked so different. I was shocked that he was so thin and I knew something wasn’t right but I didn’t think that we were going to lose him."
She also spoke about Whitney Houston and Mica explained the parallels between their careers, saying: "There’s no way I would have got signed if Whitney Houston had not been blowing up the charts at that time. The UK was looking for their own Whitney and that’s why I got signed, because really I’m a church singer - you can hear that gospel. Whitney and I first met in Germany when we did a TV show together, both just kids, and she had so many bodyguards whilst I was sat there with just one A&R guy and I remember going ‘why don’t I have that?!’"
The singer also revealed what Whitney was like in person and told a story about the pair spending time together: "She was lovely and asked me out for dinner but we were chatting away and she was playing footsie under the table. I’ve never said it, but I think she had a little crush on me and to be honest I was a bit intimidated by it. I wasn’t used to that – I'd just come out of the church. But she was a really good person and sometimes I sit down and I think I’m so grateful I’m still here."
Fans can catch Mica Pais performing live on 25th November at Greatest Hits Radio Live.
How can I see Mica Paris at Greatest Hits Radio Live?
Mica will be joining us at Greatest Hits Radio Live on Friday 25th November along with the likes of Howard Jones, Mazz Murray and Heather Small. Some tickets are still available to buy.
Buy tickets for Greatest Hits Radio Live from LW Theatres
Listen back to Mica Paris chatting to Jackie Brambles:
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Check out some of the brilliant shows and presenters on Greatest Hits Radio.
Ken Bruce
Greatest Hits Radio is the home of the legend that is Ken Bruce, weekdays 10am-1pm - including PopMaster, the UK's biggest music quiz for 25 years and counting.
Find out more about Ken and PopMaster.
Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo hosts Drivetime every weekday at 4pm and The Album Show on Sundays from 1pm.
Simon said of his Drivetime show: "I think the thing about Drivetime is that it is like the flip side of breakfast. You kind of know what an awful lot of people are doing, it's the end of most people's day, they're doing some final bits of work, they're shutting the laptop, they're doing a bit of food preparation, they're driving home. I think it is that sense of camaraderie, it's the end of the day, people want to be cheered up and they want to spend some time with some decent folk on the radio!"
Find out more about Simon Mayo here.
Paul Gambaccini
Paul brings us his famous America's Greatest Hits programme every Saturday between 5pm-7pm, featuring two hours of the Greatest Hits that made it big in America.
Sharing some of the things he loves about his show, Paul said: "Radio is the perfect form of one-to-one communication. TV can be direct, too, but the camera operator is always in your line of vision! I enjoy sharing my favourite music, and my admittedly freakish knowledge of it, with people who care about that music. I love the opportunity for challenging talk overs, too!"
Find out more about Paul Gambaccini here.
Alex Lester
The Dark Lord keeps you company in the small hours. Join him for the Music Marathon from 1am and the Best Time Of The Day Show 4-6am weekdays.
Alex brings: "Your favourite songs. Bizarre insights and unusual thoughts," to his show and told us that he loves that during his show: "It's just the two of us. You and me. (Against the world)."
Find out more about Alex Lester here.
Jenny Powell
Jenny plays the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s on Greatest Hits Radio to kickstart your weekend, every Saturday and Sunday from 6am.
On Jenny's show, listeners can look forward to The Breakfast Club, which she says is: "A warm-up for the weekend, full of positive vibes and feel-good factor when you wake up on Saturdays and Sundays. I insist you have a dance with me on the Kitchen Disco, I share some fun news stories from the previous week on The Headliners and get you smiling no matter what, sharing some of my favourite tracks from the 70s, 80, and 90s."
Find out more about Jenny Powell here.
Andy Crane
Join Andy's late-night community of music and company, Sunday-Thursday at 10pm.
Andy has three hours of the biggest songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s as well as The Top 10 at 10 and Midnight Music Marathon. His show is full of: "Great music and plenty of laughing."
Find out more about Andy Crane here.
Martin Kemp
Join our resident pop star Martin Kemp as he kicks off your Friday night with his Mixtape – three hours of handpicked essential weekend songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s to get you in the mood and dancing round the kitchen.
Then on Saturdays, it's side-two as he brings you nothing but the greatest decade of all time on The 80s Mixtape.
Get your teenage kicks in the company of THE 80s poster boy on Greatest Hits Radio!
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Jackie Brambles
Jackie Brambles hosts The Evening Show every Monday to Thursday from 7pm - 10pm.
Jackie promises to deliver: "Great music and great conversations! Every night we're joined by one of your favourite artists of the 70s, 80s and 90s for an in-depth chat about the highs and lows of their careers and their musical influences over the years."
Find out more about Jackie Brambles here.
Kate Thornton
Join Kate every weekday from 1pm, just after Ken!
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Richard Allinson
Weekend Good Times never sounded so good!
He's a broadcasting legend with a voice like silk that, alongside the Biggest Songs of the 70s, 80s & 90s, make the perfect weekend soundtrack – Saturday and Sundays at 9am.
Saturdays kick off with your chance to guess the year on The Top 10 Til 10, while Sundays are reserved for an hour of your special songs and dedications.
Speaking about his show, Richard said: "The idea is to recreate all those great memories I have of weekends growing up, a bunch of us meeting up to buy clothes, records, maybe sort a date…everything happened on a weekend and we remember the records we played at that time."
Find out more about Richard Allinson here.
Des Paul
Join Des for Rhythm Of The Night every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm, where he plays all the greatest soul, funk, disco and Motown hits to start your weekend.
Des explained what he loves the most about his show: "The favourite bit of presenting Rhythm of the Night is when listeners contact me to say how much they've loved hearing a particular track and then tell us all about when and where they used to hear it."
Find out more about Des Paul here.
Now read:
Everything you need to know about Jackie Brambles on Greatest Hits Radio
There's still time to get tickets to Greatest Hits Radio Live on Friday 25th November
Chris Tarrant joins Jackie Brambles to chat about his time on Tiswas