Jennie Matthias, better known as Jennie Bellestar lead vocalist of the 1980s band The Bellestars. For anyone who wasn’t around at the time, The Bellestars were a 7-piece all-female band playing a range of pop and rock.

Their incredibly infectious 1983 hit single Sign of The Times, reached No3 in the charts competing with the likes of Wham!, Rap and Beat It. Written and recorded 4 years before Princes same titled studio album, it was a single that was perfectly attuned to the resurgence of a British pop aesthetic, MTV music videos and the style of The Face magazine.

Even before they were signed to a record label, The Bellstars were attracting attention appearing on the cover of Sounds magazine in March 1981. Subsequently, they were courted by the major record labels, the band had other ideas and chose to sign up with Stiff records, home of the likes of Madness, Elvis Costello and The Dammed.

After the chart success of Sign of The Times the band released an album of self-penned tracks and covers. They continued to release a series of pop-orientated singles which underscored just how varied their set was. Eventually, The Bellestars disbanded, it was a break from the music world and an opportunity that enabled Jennie to sort out her own life, re-merging in 1989 when out of the blue The Bellestars 1982 cover of The Dixies Cups classic Iko Iko broke into the American charts, thanks to its appearance in the academy award-winning film Rain Man.