Miquel Brown
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Miquel Brown (born circa 1945) is a disco/soul singer from the '70s and '80s most popular for the songs 'Close to Perfection' and the Hi-NRG 'So Many Men, So Little Time' (now considered a gay anthem). Also known for her boyish cornrows hairstyle, which she altered into a more womanly cut after much confusion regarding her gender (public, not personal). Originally named Michael, her parents changed the spelling (but retained the pronunciation) so as not to confuse her with a male producer and children's author of the time (Michael Brown). She was born in Montreal and reared in Vancouver, Canada, although some sources list her birthplace as Detroit, Michigan. As a teenager, Miquel frequented nightclubs, influencing her dream of becoming a performer.
As a young woman, Miquel read Medicine at Washington University in Washington D.C., during which time she married and had daughter Sinitta Renet Malone (popularly known as Sinitta, of 'So Macho' and 'Toy Boy' fame) in Seattle, Washington.
She was prompted to leave the university after she auditioned for the U.S. touring company of the musical Hair and landed the part of Sheila.
Miquel arrived in the UK in May of 1973, having divorced her husband. She was cast as the lead in Decameron '73 at the famous Roadhouse in London and through this earned critical acclaim - 'a star is born.' She was then given an interview on the Michael Parkinson Show, and later appeared in the pilot of The Sweeney with John Thaw.
In 1974 she was granted a part in the film Rollerball with James Caan, as well as the role of Miriam in the tele-play Regan. She also held a two year association with the singing and dancing group 'Second Generation', during which time she appeared in the BBC production of Armchair Theatre.
Through the next two years she performed various parts in Bubbling Brown Sugar and television appearances in Seaside Special, Supersonic, The Ronnie Corbett Show, Jack Parnell's Show, Vince Hill's Musical Time Machine and Bruce Forsyth's Bring on the Girls.
In 1976 she played Sister Anna in the musical Mardi Gras (which opened Thursday, March 18 at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London). It was through this that she was discovered and signed for her first record release, 'The First Time Around'. This led her to musician Alan Hawkshaw (of Emile Ford and the Checkmates, and The Shadows), who signed her for an album deal. The album 'Symphony of Love' (1978) was her first real international hit, which 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'. This album shot up the American charts to No. 26 (her music was very popular within the gay community), only to come down again in the early 1980s as disco 'died' (at least in America).
Also in 1978 she appeared in the American film Superman, as the non-speaking 8th reporter in a scene following the first Superman spotting.
In need of a producer in the early '80s, Miquel crossed the paths of Ian Levine and Fiachra Trench in 1983. Together with Record Shack Records, they created the album 'Manpower', a Hi-NRG classic.
In the two years following this album's release, she appeared in stage productions of Only in America, the Lieber and Stoller Musical; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and One 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) was indeed a great album, but could not compete with her first success.
Later songs include 'On the Radio' (not the Donna Summer song), 'Footprints in the Sand' and 'This Time It's Real', all with Nightmare Records (Ian Levine's own attempt at a record label).
In 1989 she was seen as Jill in the second episode of the fourth series ('Accidents Happen') of the British show Casualty, then in 1995 as the Housekeeper in Solomon and Sheba, with Halle Berry. Also in 1995 she played Sgt. Patton in French Kiss, with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline (a mini-part in the United States Embassy scene) In the brilliant 2001 film Wit, she has a brief exchange with Emma Thompson (who plays Vivian Bearing), as the 2nd Technician.
She can be heard on the London cast recordings of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (1993) and Fame (1995) (as Miss Sherman, the English teacher).
Brown could also be found on stage in 2001, playing the Negro Woman in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Royal National Theatre (Lyttelton), in London, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Glenn Close as Blanche DuBois.
In 2004 Brown appeared as Idella in the London production of Purlie at the Bridewell Theatre in London (a role originally played by Helen Martin, from the American sitcom 227). Her performance was critiqued as 'forcefully played'.
On 27th June, 2005, at 20:00, Miquel Brown: The Lady, Her Loves and Her Lord was presented at the Bullion Room Theatre in London. This one-person revue was said to be 'a musical journey through her life from birth to the present'.
Come 2006, she will be playing Chloe the old maid in An American Haunting with Sissy Spacek. As it like the novel of the same name, it is based on the account of the Bell Family, allegedly tormented by The Bell Witch of Red River, Tennessee.
