All That Glitters
Soured by the lack of commercial success, Eliza once again retreated from the limelight, but not before a seven month whirlwind marriage to and divorce from West Ham footballer Ronnie "Scar" Scarborough.
It was during the tough times with Scar that Eliza turned to her old friend Martin Brackney (who had made a name for himself in America scoring videogame soundtracks).
Eliza and Martin began writing songs together in 1999. Their collaboration--recorded in Martin's flat completely using computer samplers--was a modern fusion of ambient, glam, synthpop, and old school disco. The six track demo became an underground hit in clubs all across Europe.
The duo recorded four new tracks and remixed the original six into an album simply entitled "Glitterbum" which was released in 2000 by Red Flag Media. The first single "Cloudstar" dominated the European dance music charts for 13 weeks, ascending to #5 in Belgium.
For once, reviewers were generally kind, hailing the album as "unexpectedly tasteful" and a "surprising treat... electronica with depth and soul."
Eliza and Martin, aided by a bevy of guns for hire, took Glitterbum on the road in March of 2000, touring India, Japan, Northern Europe and North America.
"Worple Way," Glitterbum's second album, was released in January 2002. A concept album loosely based around a series of recurring dreams about Eliza's childhood, the CD featured two standout tracks: "Shiny Beautiful" and "Electrosexual" (which debuted at #16 on the UK dance charts).
Later that year, Eliza and Martin launched the ambitious "Way of the World" Tour which scheduled them to play 11 countries in just eight weeks. The tour started with a bang in Reykjavik, Iceland, but before they could reach southern Europe, Eliza and Martin received word that their record company, Red Flag Media, had declared bankruptcy, angering retailers worldwide--who pulled the CD from shelves.
Without retail and radio support, the producers of the tour cancelled all remaining dates and Eliza and Martin returned to London.
Meanwhile...