Rozalla went through a “scary time” after being dropped from her record label.
The 60-year-old singer had enjoyed success with her hit ‘Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)’ in the 1990s when acts like the Spice Girls started to dominate the charts so she ended up retraining as a beautician because it looked as if she might have to get an ordinary job.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: “In the mid-90s when the boy bands and the girl bands started having their moment – which was great for them – I was dropped from my label at Sony.
“So I was doing anywhere between five to seven club dates per week – keeping in mind that’s how I earn my living – to doing one club date in a period of two months.
“And that started happening and it was a frightening prospect that I went through and I thought ‘So this is how my career ends…’ And it was scary.
And then of course, fast forward, thing started shaping up. And then you started having the Love the 90s, Back to the 90s, etc. All of that started creating work for artists like myself.
“Honestly, I will never think ‘I never want to sing ‘Everybody’s Free’ because I went through a period where I was lucky if even one club date in a period of two months or three months came.
“It was scary. So here I am, if you want me to sing it every day, I’m going to sing it.
“It was scary. And during that time, I thought ‘Okay, I’ve had my moment in the sunshine, and that was great’.
“But I needed to do something to earn a living. So I took up a beauty therapy course. So I’m a qualified beauty therapist, and then before I could go in and start working and putting that to use the music thing started coming around again, fortunately, yeah, here we are 33 years later.”
As well as the onslaught of music festivals centred around nostalgia, Rozalla – who released her latest album ‘Turn on the Light’ earlier this year – is also grateful for the other famous faces who have covered her song and advertising campaigns that have chosen to use it because it has all kept her working in the industry.
Asked what she thinks of the cover versions of her song, she said: “That is also part and parcel of why ‘Everybody’s Free’ is still out there because people like Kylie Minogue and ‘The X Factor’ contestants have done it. You’ve got adverts. The adverts for Cravendale Farms, it’s that it’s things like that, that have helped. I feel so honoured. I really do.”
You can catch Rozalla live this Summer at Superboxx Festival Rochester Castle, Kent on July 6 with Eternal, B*Witched, Phats and Small and many more, More information and tickets via: https://superboxx.co.uk/