Line up: Cleopatra Higgins (lead vocals), Zainam Higgins (vocals), Yonah Higgins (vocals)

Moss Side's Cleopatra are probably the female equivalent of Hanson; they are 3 young sisters, Zainam (18), Cleopatra (17) and Yonah (15) delivering their special brand of teen hip hop and soul.

Moss Side, once the birthplace and home of Rolls Royce motors, is today known as 'Manchester's Bronx' (the locals call it 'The Hood'); hardly a week goes by without a shooting taking place and hard drugs are as commonplace as alcohol. Nobody chooses to live there and those that do, want to leave.

Thankfully for Cleopatra, their soulful brand of R&B has quickly become a worldwide sensation, taking the girls far away from their Moss Side roots in a fashion not even they could have dreamed of. Taking Cleo's name for the group (she also writes the songs), Cleopatra won a talent contest in 1998 and were promptly offered a deal with Maverick, the record company owned by Madonna (who incidentally once sang at The Hacienda!).

The reviews continue to match their success in the charts and predictions for their future are obviously exciting. The catchy "Cleopatra's Theme" introduced the band impressively to the World in 1998, debuting at Number 3 in the UK charts (No. 26 in US Billboard charts).

The band were definately not one-hit wonders though; "Life Ain't Easy" and "I Want You Back" both reached Number 4 in the UK singles chart and introduced their eagerly anticipated album, "Comin' Atcha", which scored an impressive No.20 chart position in the UK. The album has since spawned the single, "A Touch Of Love" in November 1999. and their children's television series, "Cleopatra" has also been an instant success.

Look out World! Sit-up and take notice because this talented Mancunian threesome are comin' atcha!