To avoid worrying her teenage fans, Killing Heidi's Ella Hooper has kept mum about a medical condition that has forced the pop rockers out of this weeks Rumba Festival. "Ella had a cyst in her throat and it had to be removed," says manager Chris Robinson. But he stresses that Hooper, 18, is "100% OK" and although her voice is still a little raspy, "in about five weeks" it will return to normal "Ella doesn't want people thinking she will never sing again," says Robinson. "That's why she kept quiet about it." Not only has the operation upset the line-up of the already shaken Rumba [Mandy Moore and Geri Halliwell have both pulled out], it has also delayed the recording of the bands' still-untitled second album. All that remained to be done on the CD, which was slotted for a pre-Christmas release, was for Hooper to record her vocals. That now won't happen until next year, although the first single, "Heaven Sent," is finished and will be released, as planned, on Dec 12.

Powerlist 2001:
#33 Killing Heidi - Pop rockers
They showed who was boss, jumping from Roadshow Music to Sony, forming their own record label in the process. Their debut album, Reflector, has gone triple platinum, and a new album will hit the shops after Christmas.
Last year #29.