60 SECONDS: Mica Paris

By ANDREW WILLIAMS - Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Mica Paris, born Michelle Wallen, came to fame in the late 1980s thanks to her hit single My One Temptation and the album So Good. Mica and pal Lisa Butcher replaced Trinny and Susannah as presenters of BBC's What Not To Wear this year. Her new autobiography and self-help manual, Beautiful Within, is out now, published by Simon & Schuster.

Your book’s a hybrid of self-help and autobiography. Why did you write it like that?
When I started doing What Not To Wear, I realised there are loads of women out there having serious dramas and at the root of it is confidence. They’ve given a lot of themselves to their families and are in a rut. I remember when I went through it. I’ve been a single parent for a while, so, instead of just telling my story, I decided to do it this way. I find self-help books can be quite preachy and I didn’t want to be dictatorial – I just wanted to tell my story while pointing out what got me through my sticky points. Hopefully, people can get something out of it themselves.

Are you worried people will say: ‘Who’s Mica Paris to give advice?’
No, because I’m not sitting on a perch saying: ‘I’ve got all the answers.’ I’m still working on myself and sharing my experience of the things I’ve gone through. I have to make sure I train every week and eat properly but I’m in a better place emotionally than ten years ago, I look better and I’m healthier. Before, I was pretending to be cool but felt like crap inside.

Did being called ‘the British Whitney Houston’ add to your problems?
It was a pressure. I knew I had an exceptional voice from the age of ten. I was a prodigy. People would say: ‘Where did that talent come from, she’s such a skinny little thing?’ I just wanted to be me rather than be modelled after someone else. I was angry the record companies would try to make me be like Whitney or Anita Baker or whoever when I just wanted to be Mica Paris. It wasn’t that I was worried I couldn’t match them vocally, I just didn’t want to emulate them.

How did you come up with your stage name?
When I was 16, I was earning £1,000 a week as a backing vocalist for bands like Shakatak. I was earning so much, I gave up my A-levels and did it full-time. I used to buy my clothes in Carnaby Street and brooches were hip back then. I saw one with ‘Paris’ spelled out in diamanté. I thought: ‘I want that for my name.’ When I got my deal at 17, it cemented it.

Did you work with any musical heroes?
I got to work with Prince, which was amazing. He said: ‘There’s a girl called Mica Paris here,’ in the middle of one of his London gigs and gave me a microphone, and I had to sing Just My Imagination in front of everyone. It was the most nerve-racking moment of my life. I ended up going to Minneapolis to work with him and he wrote a song for my second album.

Did you see his recent London shows?
I didn’t have the chance. No one phoned me and asked me if I wanted a ticket. He’s adorable, though, and he’s always been very good to me.

Are you still pursuing your singing?
Yes, I’m recording a new album right now. It’s been four years since my last one, which is a long time, and I’m hungry for music again. There was a while when I wasn’t and I’m starving for it now. I’m really excited.

How much of What Not To Wear is a counselling show?
I’m not a counsellor but I’ve always been good at making people see they can do great things. It’s about showing people how they can improve the way they look and feel about themselves. I tell people when they look rubbish but I’m prepared to admit to my mistakes too. I’ve made some serious faux pas. I’m sensitive to when people aren’t feeling great and like to give encouragement.

What’s the biggest fashion mistake you’ve made?
I’ve made loads. The most recent was a Gucci coat – a Mongolian lamb thing. I can’t wear it. It makes me look like an Afghan hound. It’s wrong.

How did you become friends with Lisa Butcher?
We met at a party given by Tamara Beckwith around ten years ago. Somehow, Lisa thought it was a fancy-dress party and turned up in a catsuit. She was about to hightail it out of there and I told her she looked great and not to go. We had a right laugh and became really good friends.

Have you learned any style tips from the programme?
Yes. When you get older, you’ve got to make your style evolve with you. A lot of people stick to a time they looked good, which is normally when they’re in their twenties. It doesn’t work, though. You have to change the way you look. Your body changes and you need to dress age-appropriate or you look like a bloody idiot.

What’s your favourite item of clothing?
I’ve got a really good pencil-skirt suit by Amanda Wakeley. It wasn’t cheap. It’s beautiful, though. Things that come in at the waist, that old-school glamour, works well for my body because I’m voluptuous. You can get really good stuff on the high street, though. Marks & Spencer, Zara, Mango, they’re all really good.
http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=72667&in_page_id=11