Irish celebrities who suddenly vanished out of the spotlight

Ash.J.Williams

L1011 wrote: »

Lives in the UK, was a local radio presenter until relatively recently. He's in his 70s so I assume he's retired now

the heat is on....the time is right, it's time for you to play our game when you're going for going for GOLD!

Samantha Mumba. Looked like she was the set for world domination at one point.

curioser

Deleted User wrote: »

Samantha Mumba. Looked like she was the set for world domination at one point.

Until she (allegedly) referred to an ageing diva as "a geriatric Barbie", and was told "you'll never work in this town again".

branie2

She's probably busy raising her daughter

RabbleRouser2k

Deleted User wrote: »

Samantha Mumba. Looked like she was the set for world domination at one point.

This show kind of covers the 'why' she didn't make a comeback.

Total diva, but without the talent to back it up.

https://vimeo.com/34335256

curioser

curioser wrote: »

Until she (allegedly) referred to an ageing diva as "a geriatric Barbie", and was told "you'll never work in this town again".

I admired her balls for that!!!!!

septictank

Deleted User wrote: »

I admired her balls for that!!!!!

Would that be the "Zip up your micky" lady?

septictank

septictank wrote: »

Would that be the "Zip up your micky" lady?

Tis !

RabbleRouser2k

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I admired her balls for that!!!!!

It would have had more weight behind it if she hadn't blown her chances of being a popstar.

I'm no fan of Twink, but shes had a far longer career than Mumba has.
I remember the dig was because Twink had a stage school, and Sam was trying to start her own school for kids.
They had a fight over that.

But Mumba lost all goodwill when she spouted horrible crap about Dave Fanning. She came across very spoilt brattish.

She mainly kept "stringing" along the media (ie they had nothing else to put in the papers, or Tv) promising a new album for years. Never mind she had no record label, fell out with Louis, and failed out of America.

Movie career didn't happen either.

BandMember

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

But Mumba lost all goodwill when she spouted horrible crap about Dave Fanning. She came across very spoilt brattish.

What did she say about Dave Fanning?

khalessi

Smiley Bolger what happened to him

sligojoek

I heard an ad for a "Grease" stage production the other day and Samantha Mumba was mentioned as being in the cast.

odyssey06

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

She mainly kept "stringing" along the media (ie they had nothing else to put in the papers, or Tv) promising a new album for years. Never mind she had no record label, fell out with Louis, and failed out of America.

Her success in the US was short lived, but she got to Top 10 on the US Billboard singles charts and her debut album sold 5 million copies... A lot of 'successful' Irish and British music acts never even got close to those levels of sales and chart high.

skooterblue2

BandMember wrote: »

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

But Mumba lost all goodwill when she spouted horrible crap about Dave Fanning. She came across very spoilt brattish.

What did she say about Dave Fanning?

Just because Dave Fanning doesnt play your tunes doesnt afford you the opportunity to spew crap about him to the media. Ireland is tiny place.

What didn't she say? she use Kn*b and afew other choice words.

That Vimeo video showed her as nothing but a time waster surrounded by BS artists. I am not saying I would like to work in her industry but you have to be producing material to work in any business.

RabbleRouser2k

odyssey06 wrote: »

Her success in the US was short lived, but she got to Top 10 on the US Billboard singles charts and her debut album sold 5 million copies... A lot of 'successful' Irish and British music acts never even got close to those levels of sales and chart high.

Well, yes, a lot of successful acts didn't get close to that high, but they also kept producing stuff long after. Members of the band The Script were in a boyband that failed-they then cracked America as The Script. Since Mumba didn't write her own songs or material, she probably saw next to nothing in terms of royalties. IF you write songs, you can be set for life after one or two if you have a major hit.

Mumba did one big budget but terrible movie (The 2002 Time Machine. It flopped), and suddenly was expecting major hollywood roles, started talking about starring alongside Wesley Snipes and so on. Before his tax troubles, when he still had major acting cred.

She wasn't focusing on improving either as a singer, or as an actress. She was a Billy Barry kid, but had an ego like she went to Julliard or something. (And even they don't have egos like that).

skooterblue2 wrote: »

BandMember wrote: »

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

But Mumba lost all goodwill when she spouted horrible crap about Dave Fanning. She came across very spoilt brattish.

Just because Dave Fanning doesnt play your tunes doesnt afford you the opportunity to spew crap about him to the media. Ireland is tiny place.

What didn't she say? she use Kn*b and afew other choice words.

That Vimeo video showed her as nothing but a time waster surrounded by BS artists. I am not saying I would like to work in her industry but you have to be producing material to work in any business.

Yep, exactly. Sing, be involved in putting together demos, even if you can't get a solo song, offer to do collaborations of some kind. Work your way into some corner of the music industry.

https://www.independent.ie/woman/celeb-news/not-a-fann-mumba-takes-a-pop-at-dj-dave-on-livin-with-lucy-26348839.html

She was absolutely horrible to Fanning... and he did the best reaction ever to her comments.
He said nothing... she wasn't worth his time.

ohnonotgmail

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

Well, yes, a lot of successful acts didn't get close to that high, but they also kept producing stuff long after. Members of the band The Script were in a boyband that failed-they then cracked America as The Script. Since Mumba didn't write her own songs or material, she probably saw next to nothing in terms of royalties. IF you write songs, you can be set for life after one or two if you have a major hit.

Mumba did one big budget but terrible movie (The 2002 Time Machine. It flopped), and suddenly was expecting major hollywood roles, started talking about starring alongside Wesley Snipes and so on. Before his tax troubles, when he still had major acting cred.

She wasn't focusing on improving either as a singer, or as an actress. She was a Billy Barry kid, but had an ego like she went to Julliard or something. (And even they don't have egos like that).

skooterblue2 wrote: »

BandMember wrote: »

Yep, exactly. Sing, be involved in putting together demos, even if you can't get a solo song, offer to do collaborations of some kind. Work your way into some corner of the music industry.

https://www.independent.ie/woman/celeb-news/not-a-fann-mumba-takes-a-pop-at-dj-dave-on-livin-with-lucy-26348839.html

She was absolutely horrible to Fanning... and he did the best reaction ever to her comments.
He said nothing... she wasn't worth his time.

she is listed as a writer on some of her tracks.

skooterblue2

In all fairness, Samantha Mumba was a "one time flash in the pan" for Louis Walsh. "Hey I can produce an Irish R'n'B act that can crank out a few tunes". Its show business, by some miracle you get a record deal and manage to hold a band together for a few years to get an album out, its a goddamn miracle.

I honestly think Samantha Mumba had a fantastic opportunity to be the next Twink/Linda Martin/Johnny Logan, the big fish in the small pond with the small but constant finance coming in. You see it the whole time with soap actresses, too big to be the leading lady in the regional soap but die on their feet in New York/Hollywood (although the Australians do well in Hollywood per capita).

I think Samantha Mumba could have had a great career (financially), doing the Gaiety Panto at Christmas, 3 interviews a year (Late Late, Graham Norton and Alan Carr) and a talent school on the side and brought on every so often by RTE as a Talent consultant and be almost as big a national treasure as Uncle Gaybo. Kind of hard to come back to RTE when you got salty with Twink, Dave Fanning, Gerry Ryan and a few others. I think you can have the opinion privately that someone isnt nice but when you announce it in the press, you cant take it back and it takes on a life of its own. The child was probably looking for attention.

skooterblue2

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

she is listed as a writer on some of her tracks.

Which ones? Not songs are equal. Like you take Moby Play, all of that music has been used in some major brands to advertise things from cars to coffee. If I had the royalties from one of this tunes I would be set for life. There are few royalties from "B-sides" from B-side albums. All she was was a flash in the pan for Louis Walsh and to support Westlife when and where needed. "Listed as a writer" can mean a lot of different things. It could mean she was sitting at the piano trying to make a hook work, it could also mean she came up with the title or she was in the room at the same time it was composed. I would take it as she hasnt produced any work on her own that she was closer to the latter than the former.

This music industry lark looks very high risk to me with big money up front and little or no chance of return and working with highly volatile "artistes" with massive egos and depending on radio stations to play songs after your client as just publicly insulted their long time employees. I am not saying there not hard working, honest, straight as a die people working in the industry but its the right spanners that make it to the top it seems.

ohnonotgmail

skooterblue2 wrote: »

Which ones? Not songs are equal. Like you take Moby Play, all of that music has been used in some major brands to advertise things from cars to coffee. If I had the royalties from one of this tunes I would be set for life. There are few royalties from "B-sides" from B-side albums. All she was was a flash in the pan for Louis Walsh and to support Westlife when and where needed.

This music industry lark looks very high risk to me with big money up front and little or no chance of return and working with highly volatile "artistes" with massive egos and depending on radio stations to play songs after your client as just publicly insulted their long time employees. I am not saying there not hard working, honest, straight as a die people working in the industry but its the right spanners that make it to the top it seems.

"gotta tell you" she is listed as a co-writer along with the two producers. probably her biggest track.

skooterblue2

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

"gotta tell you" she is listed as a co-writer along with the two producers. probably her biggest track.

When did you last hear that on the radio? Yes a flash in the pan. The Beatles stuff wasnt very commercial or used in sound tracks but it still gets airplay and sells loads of albums. Aint nobody got time for Samantha Mumbas Greatest Hits. I would say if Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell were doing final farewell of their greatest acts, they would dig a lot deeper for easier people to work with than Samantha Mumba. Value for Money? Susan Boyle at her worst (and I say that with the deepest respect) is more productive than Samantha Mumba surrounded with the best professionals that money could buy.

ohnonotgmail

skooterblue2 wrote: »

When did you last hear that on the radio? Yes a flash in the pan. The Beatles stuff wasnt very commercial or used in sound tracks but it still gets airplay and sells loads of albums. Aint nobody got time for Samantha Mumbas Greatest Hits. I would say if Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell were doing final farewell of their greatest acts, they would dig a lot deeper for easier people to work with than Samantha Mumba. Value for Money? Susan Boyle at her worst (and I say that with the deepest respect) is more productive than Samantha Mumba surrounded with the best professionals that money could buy.

I'm not sure that is on the playlist for lyric fm.

Either way she was successful in america so i'm sure she isn't hurting too much.

and still ricky villa

The only thing I remembered from her career was the follow up to Gotta Tell You.
It was called Body II Body and used samples from Bowie's Ashes To Ashes which she admitted she had never heard of. Both the song and Bowie.
I paid no attention to her after that comment

Be right back

Sinead Desmond, former tv3 presenter.

skooterblue2

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Either way she was successful in america so i'm sure she isn't hurting too much.

She could have done a lot lot better for herself over her over a longer period of time. Those royalties will run out in time. She could still have done both if she didnt insult everyone on the way up. The entitlement and bitterness that comes off her is unreal. She will never get her foot back into Ireland (Montrose, Gaiety, Louis Walsh etc etc) again. There are a few people who have "flash in the pan" careers and make the most of them by using them to get a foot hold somewhere else in the entertainment industry.

I would seriously hate to be working in an industry as fickle and backbiting as that.

Jaysus, where'd ye all get yer PhD in The Life and Times of Samantha Mumba? haha

Didn't know any of that. Thanks for all the deets and juicy goss.

skooterblue2

Be right back wrote: »

Sinead Desmond, former tv3 presenter.

Who? Whats TV3?

ohnonotgmail

skooterblue2 wrote: »

She could have done a lot lot better for herself over her over a longer period of time. Those royalties will run out in time. She could still have done both if she didnt insult everyone on the way up. The entitlement and bitterness that comes off her is unreal. She will never get her foot back into Ireland (Montrose, Gaiety, Louis Walsh etc etc) again. There are a few people who have "flash in the pan" careers and make the most of them by using them to get a foot hold somewhere else in the entertainment industry.

I would seriously hate to be working in an industry as fickle and backbiting as that.

absolutely agree she was a total ghoul with how she behaved.

Sac O Spuds

Be right back wrote: »

Sinead Desmond, former tv3 presenter.

Nice woman in fairness. Went through her own share of life trouble while she was on TV3.

ohnonotgmail

Deleted User wrote: »

Jaysus, where'd ye all get yer PhD in The Life and Times of Samantha Mumba? haha

Didn't know any of that. Thanks for all the deets and juicy goss.

We went to the Louis Walsh school of advanced bollixology.

RabbleRouser2k

and still ricky villa wrote: »

The only thing I remembered from her career was the follow up to Gotta Tell You.
It was called Body II Body and used samples from Bowie's Ashes To Ashes which she admitted she had never heard of. Both the song and Bowie.
I paid no attention to her after that comment

I just remember that song being used in a car crash advert... kind of a fitting metaphor for Mumba's career.

Deleted User wrote: »

Jaysus, where'd ye all get yer PhD in The Life and Times of Samantha Mumba? haha

Didn't know any of that. Thanks for all the deets and juicy goss.

Oh man-there was a time (As in only a couple of years ago) where you couldn't open a browser tab, or the newspaper, or turn on the TV, or even the radio without some tripe story about her. IF RTE were stuck for a guest, they'd get her. If they were stuck for 2 guests, they'd get her brother as well.

Like, to harken it back to one of the earlier 'what ever happened to' people-that groper dude from OTT. He had a youtube channel, used to upload songs to his channel, actually was productive. (Stopped doing anything around 3 years ago, probably during the time he was fired for the groping). In comparison to Mumba, most of these people were still doing something. Many of them are even wedding band singers.
She just was not productive, in comparison.