Olive formed in 1994 as a trio looking for success. Ex member of 'Nightmare On Wax' Robin Taylor-Firth teamed up with Tim Kellett who was in 'Simply Red' for a decade, ready to create a new band; Olive. They auditioned their vocalist Ruth-Ann Boyle (from Sunderland, England) and it all took off from there.
After two failed attempts to hit the top 40, the band's single 'You're Not Alone' finally hit into the UK charts at #1 in 1997, proving to be a huge hit all around the globe, selling 500,000 world wide. Olive followed with a milder song, one that they had not yet tried to release in the past. However, 'Outlaw' was a top 20 hit in Britain.
Their 'Extra Virgin' debut album was a hit, as expected, hitting in at #15 in the UK. It contained their third single, which like 'You're Not Alone' had failed to be a big hit earlier in their career. 'Miracle' skimmed the top 40, sliding in at #41 in the UK, as it had done originally. However, it was on the soundtrack for the popular movie, 'Sliding Doors'. The album has a mix of songs which member Tim Kellett wrote. 'Killing' is all about what people are doing to the environment; "Giving the way we're living, wouldn't you say we're killing ourselves' Ruth-Ann sings in this track. 'Safer Hands' is all about Ruth-Ann having to come to terms with the death of her father, at an early age in her life. 'Muted' is the only song on the album, which has no vocals. It has quite a haunting melody. Give it a few listens, and 'Extra Virgin' will be well and truly stuck in your head.
After the unexpected departure of Robin in 1998, and the split from their record label, 'RCA', Olive took a break to work on their second album, 'Trickle', which holds some equally addictive tracks as their previous album did. The first single from this was a cover of the 10cc track, "I'm Not In Love", and Olive's version was featured on the soundtrack to Madonna's movie The Next Best Thing. A second single, "Smile" followed in 2001.
