Girl groups first emerged in the 1950s, a highly appealing vehicle for producers and record labels to get their music into the pop charts.

It is a successful strategy that has flourished in the global music scene, proof of which is the success of top flight acts dating as far back as the Motown era all the way to Spice Girls, Sugababes, Girls Aloud and so many others.

Over the years, however, there have been all-girl acts, like Destiny’s Child, where the ladies are more than just pretty faces, playing a more significant role in the group.

Katie, Kelly and Katy, the three gorgeous young women in UK all-girl trio Monroe, belong to the latter.

“We were introduced through mutual friends,” says Kelly, the only Maltese element in the group, and a familiar face by way of her participation in this year’s Eurovision Malta festival with the sleek pop of Love Me Like Your Money.

“It was a pretty natural process as we all share the dream of being in a successful group. The rehearsals went well from the start; we got on brilliantly and grew close very quickly,” she says.

Close enough in fact, that they gave each other nicknames. Kelly is called ‘Kellebomb’, Katy is ‘The Heff’ and Katie is ‘Special K’.

Indeed, the girls have many things in common, including an admiration of Marilyn Monroe that ultimately led them to adopt her name for the group.

“Marilyn remains an iconic figure in and beyond Hollywood; her name represents how strong we want to be... I guess we’re bringing the power back – from an individual to a group,” says Katie, whose professional career started when, aged 16, when she placed second in a UK Competition called Search for a Star.

Katy and Kelly agree, citing Monroe as the epitome of femininity.

Music entered the girls’ lives at an early age. Katy was six when she first attended Sylvia Young Theatre School in London. She was passionate about anything creative, especially dancing, and was always singing at school.

“I have fond memories of a talent show for which I’d made up a routine to Destiny’s Child’s Bills Bills Bills. I actually forgot the music, so I had to sing a capella,” she says.

She also took art and acting classes, later moving to Cambridge to start a three-year course in Musical Theatre after being accepted at Bodywork Performing Arts and attending a course at Vocaltech in London to concentrate on contemporary vocal training.

Kelly says her love of music started when she was three and used to sing at the top of her voice to Disney cartoons.

“There was always a lot of music in my life. I took dancing and piano lessons and I dreamt of performing,” she says. Her teenage years were influenced by MTV and wanting to be a pop star. She remembers locking herself away in her room and writing songs, then singing them all to her mother.

Katie’s affair with music has also been present since childhood. “Music is a massive factor in my life; my father is a music teacher and many relatives sing or play an instrument,” she says.

Like Katy and Kelly, she also has a background in dan-cing, and can play a few instruments. She also took singing lessons and held shows for her family.

Besides music, the girls are all active in other fields, mainly modelling, drama and dance, but how do these affect their roles within Monroe?

“Being creative on a daily basis is inspiring, and we try to bring as much of that inspiration into the group as possible,” says Kelly.

Katie believes doing their own thing is very beneficial to the group, allowing them to network and make important contacts.

Meanwhile, Katy thinks they are lucky to have successful careers besides the group, in order to keep them motivated.

Another thing which keeps them motivated is song writing, an area that is usually left to third parties with most other girl groups (and boy bands).

“We are all involved in song writing – whether collectively, individually or with other writers,” says Katy.

“We find it exciting, and it is also something that sets us apart from most of the other girl groups.”

And if there’s something else that Monroe stands for besides the music, it has to be style. Kelly admits all three of the girls love fashion and make-up.

“While we all have different styles, we are still experimenting to find that image that represents who we are,” says Katie.

Interestingly, Monroe’s collective list of influences stretches from TLC, Destiny’s Child and Michael Jackson to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Evanescence and Paramore via Delta Goodrem, Pink and Adele.

So has the group been compared to other all-girl acts?

“That’s bound to happen, but our sound is different to other girl groups,” says Kelly. “I hope that when our first album is ready people will be able to tell that we are quite unique.”

Katy and Katie agree that their goal is to find the right balance between being unique yet relevant.

Monroe will be visiting Malta this week for a fortnight that will see them give several performances.

“We’re actually mixing business with pleasure,” Kelly admits.

“I wanted the girls to experience summer in Malta, so while we’re going to be here, it was worth having some gigs arranged.”

Katy and Katie say they are really looking forward to visiting Malta, and they will be making a diary of the visit which everybody will be able to watch online.

After that they’ll be working on their first single, a promotional tour and shooting their first video, which will most likely be filmed in Malta.

For more details of where Monroe will be performing, search for Monroe on Facebook.

www.myspace.com/monroemusicpage

bugeja.michael@gmail.com