Billie's back - because she wants to

Memories of Billie Piper parading around in a school uniform singing catchy teen anthems have long faded into the dim and distant past in the fickle world of pop music, after she took a break from the chart-topping treadmill for some time out of the spotlight.

The teen idol made the decision to take a step back after the stresses and strains of fame took their toll and focused on her marriage to DJ Chris Evans.

She is not alone in taking a break. Britney Spears is the latest to announce she is taking at least six months out after giving in to exhaustion and Mariah Carey underwent psychiatric treatment in August last year after suffering nervous exhaustion.

But Piper has recently announced she intends to resurrect her pop career and has been back in the studio working on new material with her former label Innocent records.

Marina Crook, editor of music magazine CD:UK, says: “Innocent is responsible for Blue and Atomic Kitten who have both had huge successes.

“They select the top producers and song writers so I expect they will get the right people to work with her and be really confident about the songs she comes out with.”

Crook predicts Piper’s new material will be a continuation of her pop roots, following in the footsteps of Kylie Minogue by reinventing herself as a sex symbol. Alternatively she may follow the lines her last album Walk Of Life seemed to suggest and adopt an R&B groove. Either way, Crook believes her style will be markedly more mature than in her early days.

In 1998, Piper became the youngest singer to enter the charts at No 1 with her single Because We Want To which was followed by Girlfriend. The singles both appeared on her debut album Honey To The B which made it to No 1.

Jane Gill, fashion and style director of teen magazine Sugar magazine, explains her early appeal: “She was a very young teeny bopper with a girl-next-door image. Her look was really accessible and the young fans wanted to be like her. Her songs were catchy and she has a great voice which appealed to older fans.”

But hot on the heels of her first success was the follow-up album Walk Of Life which failed to have the same impact. Crook says: “She adopted a sexier image because she was growing up and her music was expanding but it wasn’t as popular as her first album.”

Soon after her second album Piper became linked with Evans and career plans seemed to fly out of the window.

The millionaire DJ famously courted her with a £100,000 Ferrari gift which the then 17-year-old could not even drive.

When Piper married Evans over a year ago many believed it spelled the end of the young singer’s promising career and Evans came under attack because of the age difference between the two.

Crook says: “It was a great media story because he was so much older than her. But they have proved all their critics wrong because they seem genuinely happy with each other.”

The pair became renowned for their fondness of drinking and down-to-earth style with Piper marrying Evans in a sarong.

Gill says: “When they moved to LA she didn’t have to be on display all the time for magazines or television and she just wore what she like, what she felt comfortable in. She is a really down-to-earth girl. She may have put a few pounds on while she wasn’t working but I don’t think she really cares what other people think.

“Good luck to her because they both appear to be very happy. Sometimes it’s nice to slob around and be casual.”

Both Piper and Evans have since emerged from three weeks in a Surrey health farm looking slimmer, leaner and ready to get back to work. Piper seems to have swapped alcopops for mineral water and has traded in her baggy clothes for tight-fitting jeans and make-up that show of her new slinky look.

The kind of press coverage Piper has enjoyed as the wife of Evans will also help her comeback into the world of pop.

Gill explains: “Although she has been off the scene for a while and hasn’t been working for a while she has still very much been in the limelight with her picture in the papers. Fans will not have forgotten her.”

Crook adds: “Bands can sometimes keep hold of fans because as they grow up and their music changes their fan base is also getting older. People will be really interested in what Billie comes out with. Before some people were interested in her just because of Chris but now it’s because she is a great singer in her own right.”

With more packed into her life so far than many people manage in the whole of theirs, it seems unlikely that Piper is past it yet. After all she’s racked up a string of hits, a year-long marriage, and a refreshing break to avoid burning out – and all by the tender age of 19.

Gill certainly thinks there’s more to come from the teenager: “She’s only been gone for a year and she’s still only young, so she has a long future ahead of her.”