Betty Boo returns: ‘i didn’t want to fade away at 50’

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Rapper and singer-songwriter Betty Boo, real name Alison Clarkson, has revealed she was determined not to “fade away” in her fifties, as she prepares to embark on her first major tour in over 30 years. Now 55, the Scottish-Malaysian artist is best known for her 1990 hit single Doin’ The Do and the debut album Boomania, which helped shape the sound of early ’90s British pop.

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Speaking to The Times, Clarkson shared that she never expected to reach 50, having lost both parents when she was young. She is now preparing to mark the 35th anniversary of her breakout single with a UK tour. “When I got there I felt the way so many women do at that age – I didn’t want to just fade away, to settle and not be seen,” she said. “The question was, what would Betty Boo say aged 50? Would she still be feisty? As soon as I started writing again, I could channel my teenage self.”

Clarkson described her return to touring as both unexpected and empowering. “It’s crazy that I’m about to do my first tour at 55, but why not? I love a challenge and I love that I still don’t fit in anywhere,” she said. “You get ’90s tours now and it’s all Britpop. The ’80s tours are all electro acts like the Human League. I came from that exciting time in between that helped change the future of pop. No-one’s ever been able to put me in a box – and I like it that way.”

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Her career faced a steep decline after her second album GRRR! in 1992 failed to replicate the success of Boomania. At the time, she was also dealing with profound personal loss, having lost her father in the 1980s and caring for her terminally ill mother during the peak of her fame. “I never thought I’d make it to 50 because neither of my parents did,” she reflected. “That’s one of the reasons I didn’t have children – I didn’t want anyone to go through what I had. Without sounding too deep, part of me died. I didn’t feel like a pop star.” Clarkson has since released two more albums – Boomerang in 2022 and Rip Up The Rulebook in 2023. Her Betty Boo Boomania 35 tour begins on 5 June, with stops including Edinburgh, Cambridge and Southampton.