The 411

This UK R&B quartet features vocalists Carolyn Owlett (b. England), Suzie Furlonger (b. Dumfries, Scotland), Tisha Martin (b. Jamaica), and Tanya Boniface (b. Surrey, England). Martin and Boniface first crossed paths providing backing vocals for UK soul vocalist Lemar, after which a Sony Records representative urged them to launch their own act. Owlett and Furlonger joined them, and the lineup solidified in early 2003. Drawing the name from rap slang while honoring Mary J. Blige’s urban classic What’s The 411?, the group crafted most of the songs for their debut album on their own, although US star Ashanti supplied the track ‘No Excuses’. Rapper Ghostface Killah appeared on the UK Top 5 single ‘On My Knees’, which brought a domestic-violence narrative into the upper reaches of the charts during summer 2004. The next release, ‘Dumb’, likewise reached the UK Top 5 before Between The Sheets arrived that November.