Aleesha, Su-Elise and Sabrina, members of the first British garage girl group, have come a long way in the 18 months since their first single Why? -entered the top ten.

They've had another three top 10 hits, their album has gone platinum and they were invited to perform at the Queen's Golden Jubilee pop concert at Buckingham Palace.

Unlike other garage acts, Mis-Teeq have managed to cross several music boundaries, appealing to pop, r'n'b, dance and garage fans.

"It's all through re-mixing," explains Su-Elise, in a precious few minutes taken out of the band's hectic promotional schedule.

"It's something we've always done. If someone doesn't like one re-mix then we always give them another one."

Traditionally garage has always been a male-dominated industry, but Su-Elise insists they've never had anything but support.

For many people the prospect of Aleesha being a competent MC was hard to swallow, though.

"When we used to play in clubs people would look at her and say she can't MC. Once she had the mic she totally blew the place up.

"Overall we've had nothing but encouragement. We've been very lucky.

"From the start we had a lot of support from underground DJs and pirate stations."

The group's popularity is no longer confined to the underground. Perhaps the ultimate indication of this was the invitation to perform in front of royalty at the jubilee Party at the Palace concert.

"It was an honour," says Su-Elise. "We were there representing urban music in the UK."

Fans who watched the show may not have recognised them at first. The three came on stage dressed as the Supremes during the show's Motown medley.

"Getting to dress up as the Supremes was great. They were the ultimate girl group," she explains. "It felt a bit like Stars in Their Eyes though."

Their latest single release is a double A-side of album track Roll On and

This is How We Do it, recorded for the Ali G movie soundtrack.

This is How We Do it, a hit for Montel Jordan in 1995, is their first cover.

"We were all big fans of the original, it was one of those songs that got everybody up dancing," says Su-Elise.

"We all agreed that if we did a cover it would have to be one that we all loved."

After the single dies down, the girls will head back into the studio to record their next album.

"We're going to be a lot more experimental with this one, and bring in some more flavours," says Su-Elise.

"Our first album was mainly r'n'b and garage. For the next one we'll be adding a bit of a reggae and hip hop influence."

July 16, 2002 19:00