With her years of experience in music, Natasha Hamilton could have approached her upcoming Christmas gig at Dubai Opera as merely another day’s work.
But, as the singer and member of former UK girl group Atomic Kitten explains, the Thursday, December 10, concert will be full of gratitude.
Considering the challenges of this year, she expects the sentiment associated with the season to be truly felt among the crowd.
"All of my gigs this year have been cancelled," she tells The National, before flying out to Dubai from the UK. "So to come to Dubai and finally get on stage, which is something I love doing, makes me immensely grateful for what I have and a reminder not to take it for granted."
Joined by fellow English singer Gareth Gates, the Christmas Cracker show will feature the duo trading Yuletide classics and carols. But who knows, maybe Hamilton will dust off some of the noughties hits by Atomic Kitten along the way.
While not promising anything, Hamilton, 38, says time away from the stage has allowed her to look back on her time with the group with as much fondness as concern.
‘The everyday girls’
Landing on the scene 20 years ago, the group found immediate success with debut album Right Now, home to no fewer than seven singles, including the UK chart-topper Whole Again.
The album’s title set the tone for a frenetic three-year period comprising two further back-to-back albums with accompanying world tours. By the end of 2003, the group were a spent force.
After a nine-year hiatus, they returned for a series of reunion tours before fizzling out after the acrimonious departure (for the second time) of member Kerry Katona.
At the peak of their fame, Hamilton says the group were virtually untouchable in the UK.
Where the group's predecessors, the Spice Girls, captured imaginations with their outsize personalities, Hamilton describes Atomic Kitten as more street savvy, with a "what you see is what you get" attitude.
“We were a bit rough around the edges. We were these everyday girls and we didn’t have the big personalities of the Spice Girls. We were girls who just left high school and then happened to be successful," Hamilton says. “We were not media trained at all. We were raw and real and I think that when people saw us they thought, well, if they can be successful so can I.”
But that bullet train to success came with a price.
That constant stress of recording, touring and promoting affected Hamilton's mental health and caused bouts of depression.
“No one even knew what that word meant at the time, particularly in the industry,” she says. “I don’t remember a time where I was interviewed where I was asked if I was OK. Instead, the focus was more on the salacious side of things because that was the bigger story.”
What makes Hamilton tick?
While happy that a new legion of music talent is getting the care her generation lacked, Hamilton explains that her own healing process continues.
In addition to following an exercise and healthy food regimen, she launched the podcast Live Better with Natasha earlier this year, featuring various discussions on self-help.
“As well as hoping it helps the listener, I am really trying to help myself because I am also on that journey of self-exploration,” she says.
“On the show we discuss why we feel the way we feel. I have always been very honest and open and I never hid my mental health issues over the years. I spent the past five years trying to figure out what makes me tick and what I need to do to feel better – whether that’s improving my physical, emotional, spiritual or mental health.”
As we all struggle to adjust to the new normal presented by the pandemic, Hamilton says her work both on and off the stage has taken on extra resonance.
“It has been a tough year and I am just trying to be as grateful as I can be,” she says. “So the opportunity to step on stage in Dubai and, in my own way, spread some joy and put smiles on people’s faces is really important and exciting to me.”
Christmas Cracker featuring Natasha Hamilton and Gareth Gates takes place on Thursday, December 10, at Dubai Opera. Tickets cost from Dh275 and the show starts at 8pm. More details are available at dubaiopera.com
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
