London
(ANI):
British
jazz-pop
singer
Victoria
Hart
has
opened
up
about
how
she
signed
a
1.5million
pound
record
deal
and
then
ended
up
becoming
a
stripper.
Hart,
who
had
been
working
as
a
singing
waitress
in
London
restaurant
The
Naked
Turtle,
had
become
an
overnight
sensation
after
performing
for
actors
George
Clooney
and
Brad
Pitt
at
the
Cannes
Film
Festival.
She
signed
a
record
deal,
sang
alongside
some
of
the
world's
top
artists
and
was
told
she'd
be
as
big
as
The
Beatles.
But
it
was
not
so,
as
after
signing
the
deal,
she
was
dumped
by
her
record
label,
left
broke,
homeless,
thousands
of
pounds
in
debt
and
heartbroken
after
her
long-term
love
left
her.
"I
had
nothing
left.
I
was
terrified
and
things
seemed
to
be
getting
worse
and
worse," the
Mirror
quoted
her
as
recalling.
"I
was
living
with
my
boyfriend,
doing
fewer
gigs
in
smaller
venues
and
I
felt
trapped.
From
getting
paid
20,000
pounds
for
a
half-hour
slot
playing
piano,
I
was
suddenly
doing
gigs
for
a
few
hundred
quid.
Going
from
all
the
hype
back
to
where
I'd
started
spoiled
it.
Then
me
and
my
boyfriend
split
and
I
was
devastated.
I
was
left
to
pay
all
our
bills
and
soon
I
was
thousands
of
pounds
in
debt,"
she
said.
In
order
to
pay
off
her
debt,
she
moved
in
with
her
parents.
"It
was
awful
because
I'd
lived
on
my
own
since
I
was
16,
working
and
making
my
own
money," she
said.
"It
felt
like
I
was
accepting
I'd
failed.
As
they'd
just
moved
back,
they
were
living
in
a
two-bed
flat,
and
I
had
to
share
a
bed
with
my
little
sister.
As
mortified
as
I
was,
my
dad
paid
off
my
debts.
I
was
so
grateful
but
vowed
to
pay
him
back,"
she
revealed.
And
then
as
she
began
to
sink
into
depression,
Hart
turned
to
stripping
in
a
desperate
move
to
repay
her
debts
and
get
her
life
back
on
track.
"Going
to
the
club
that
first
night
was
so
scary,"
she
recalls.
"I
got
the
train
out
of
London
and
my
hands
were
sweating
-
I
felt
so
sick.
When
I
got
there
they
told
me
to
dance
for
a
bouncer
to
see
if
I
was
good
enough.
I
took
all
my
clothes
off
-
it
was
scary
but
I
managed
to
get
through
it.
I'm
a
performer
so
I
just
thought
of
this
the
same
way
and
blocked
off
my
nerves,
the
way
I've
always
done
when
I'm
singing,"
she
revealed.
Hart
met
an
old
friend
who
worked
as
a
stripper
in
a
club
called
The
Cave
in
Chelmsford,
Essex.
"I
asked
her
what
it
was
like
and
she
agreed
to
take
me
along.
I
was
so
scared
and
felt
sick
on
my
way
there,
I
couldn't
believe
what
I
was
doing,"
she
said.
"But
once
the
first
dance
was
over,
I
thought
I
might
as
well
carry
on.
Before
long
I
was
working
there
three
nights
a
week,
300
pounds
a
time.
The
girls
were
great,
you
would
never
dream
they
worked
in
a
place
like
that.
And
the
men
weren't
as
awful
as
you'd
think.
Maybe
it
was
because
the
club
was
out
of
London,
but
it
felt
quite
safe.
I
felt
like
I
was
acting
and
the
men
didn't
give
me
any
hassle,"
she
said.
As
Hart
settled
into
work
as
a
stripper,
she
lied
to
friends
and
family
because
she
knew
how
horrified
they'd
be
if
they
knew
the
truth.
"I
told
everyone
I
was
working
in
a
bar
in
London,
the
hours
were
really
long
and
I
made
great
tips.
As
the
cash
built
up
and
I
gave
more
and
more
back
to
my
dad,
I
started
to
feel
happy
again,"
she
explained.
Soon
her
plans
seemed
to
be
coming
together,
and
after
paying
her
father
back,
she
moved
into
a
flat
with
friends
and
was
setting
up
gigs
and
preparing
to
relaunch
her
music
career.
She
was
planning
to
quit
stripping
within
weeks,
when
she
was
caught.
"Then
it
happened.
I'd
been
caught
and
the
fact
I
was
a
stripper
was
in
the
papers.
I
was
warned
the
day
before
and
collapsed
to
the
ground,"
she
said.
"I
had
to
tell
my
parents
before
they
read
it
and
I
was
terrified.
The
worst
thing
was
my
21st
birthday
was
the
next
day.
My
dad
was
so
angry
he
wouldn't
come
to
my
party,
but
Mum
came
for
moral
support.
I
was
so
mortified
and
ashamed
of
myself.
Dad
had
to
listen
to
sleazy
comments
from
work
colleagues
-
I've
never
felt
so
guilty
in
my
life.
I
thought
they'd
never
forgive
me.
But
thankfully,
after
a
few
awful
months,
things
are
getting
back
to
normal
with
them.
And
I'm
really
excited
about
my
future
again,
although
this
time
I
don't
want
overnight
success,
I'll
work
steadily
for
it,"
she
said.
Now
Hart
is
hoping
to
put
together
an
all-girl
jazz
band.
"I
have
so
many
ideas.
I
want
to
do
my
own
thing,
but
build
it
up
slowly
so
I
can
enjoy
making
music,"
she
said.
"I've
swallowed
my
pride
and
I'm
happy
to
start
again
from
the
beginning.
I'm
only
21
so
there's
plenty
of
time
to
do
it
properly
now,
my
way,"
she
added.