Chris Hardman

Date of Birth: 26th August 1990
Details of Death: 23rd March 2015
Country of Birth: UK

Biography

Born in Lowestoft, in Suffolk, England, Chris Hardman shot to fame in 2006 at the age of 15 after appearing in season 2 of Channel 4's TV series "Rock School", where he was selected to front a rock band being assembled by Gene Simmons. His nickname "Lil' Chris" was derived from the fact that his height at the time was 4'11", making him the shortest boy in his year at Kirkley High School. Simmons chose him over an alternative, female vocalist for the live rock performance which constituted the finale of the series, because he felt that Hardman was gifted with a great deal of personal charm and charisma. This indeed proved to be the case, and Lil' Chris went on to sign a recording contract with RCA Records, releasing his debut single "Checkin' It Out" in September 2006 - which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single "Gettin' Enough??", which peaked at No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart, was accompanied by an amusing music video spoofing educational films on puberty and sex. However, Lil' Chris' next single, "Figure it Out", failed to dent the UK Top 40, and it seemed that Hardman's brief pop career had come to an end. His only other single would be an actually-quite-good cover of Jermaine Stewart's "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", released to promote Hardman's second album; but this too failed to make the Top 40. Hardman continued to promote his music, but gradually slipped into making 'celebrity appearances' on television shows (not all of which are listed on this page), as well as at various music venues, where he would be a celebrity DJ. However, he never seemed to find his niche, and as a young adult suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. In March 2015, he took his own life, aged just 24.