SEATTLE -- More than a decade after she first came onto the American

music scene as the sensual, mohawked female singer of Bow Wow Wow,

Annabella Lwin is still a knockout.

Dressed in a revealing black halter and a short, short blue satin mini held

together by one strategically placed button, Lwin's bouncing stage presence

even today recalls her classic '80s video in which she is seen writhing on a

beach while pleading to the camera "IIIIIIIII want candy." The singer of the

international smash single "I Want Candy" and her recently revised new-wave

pop band Bow Wow Wow performed the final U.S. show of their comeback tour

on March 27 at the sold-out Ballard Firehouse, the same Seattle area club

where the tour started two-and-a-half months ago.

It had been more than 10 years since Bow Wow Wow last toured the U.S.

Reacting to the critical acclaim and the larger-than-expected audience

response that they received during their recent travels, Lwin said the band is

planning to give it another go and put out an album of new music in the coming

months. She confirmed that Bow Wow Wow will "definitely" be going into the

studio this summer or sooner to record the tracks.

"People constantly come up and tell me they never understood the band, until

they saw us live," said Lwin, interviewed at the final Seattle performance. "I

mean, how can you understand from just watching a band's video?"

Despite her one-hit wonder reputation, the sultry Lwin has proven beyond a

doubt now that she can put on quite a show.

She's good at doing a lot of things "that people are into now," said bassist Leigh

Gorman, who is the only other original member of Bow Wow Wow still in the

band. "Whether it be dance music or fall-on-your-face punk."

Lwin and Gorman said they hope that they can get their inimitable sound down

on the next album to attract fresh faces. Their near-tribal pop musical style

hasn't changed that much since the band's last album, 1983's When the

Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going. They continue to rely on sharp,

tight snare-drum beats, thundering tom-toms and slippery guitar licks combined

with Lwin's girlie-girl voice and bad-chick brashness.

And they continue to attract an audience, selling out many of the shows on their

recent tour of the States.

"I was 16 when I first got MTV," said Ballard resident and investment

banker Terry Coe, 29, after the band's performance. " 'I Want Candy' was the

first video I ever saw. I've been hooked ever since the first time I saw [Lwin]."

Bow Wow Wow's strong showing on that night did nothing to quiet speculation

about the band's future. Several record companies have expressed an interest

in recording the ensemble, which spent much of the night pounding out its

infectious rhythms to songs such as "Sexy Eiffel Tower." Meanwhile, A&R reps

from at least three labels were in attendance to catch the show.

During the show, the British band unloaded a barrage of its most familiar songs

from the early '80s, including the U.K. hit "Do You Wanna Hold Me" and the

smash tune "I Want Candy." Grown men climbed over each other in the front

row to get closer to Lwin. Singing in a girlishly seductive voice, she slyly teased

the crowd, coaxing them to move with the music.

The 32-year-old beauty, who was discovered at age 14 in a London nightclub,

clearly knows something about captivating an audience.

For her part, Lwin knows that the time is right for a Bow Wow Wow comeback.

"All we need is a good producer," she said on the night of the second Firehouse

show, "[one] who understands the sound of Bow Wow Wow. I believe there is

definitely a gap in the music industry for us right now."

And though a lot has happened since she first hit the MTV airwaves in 1982 for

their brief run at fame, Bow Wow Wow have aged well. The single "I Want

Candy" and the accompanying video (the one Lwin refers to as that "one-off

video we did in Death Valley") became the rage at a time when pop, punk and

television were intersecting to give bands such as Oingo Boingo, Psychedelic

Furs and Bow Wow Wow a forum in the music industry.

"We have more to offer than just 'I Want Candy,' " Lwin said. But that doesn't

mean that she and the other bandmembers don't realize that it is the success of

that song which has made this recent tour possible.

"Of course we're grateful for the song. It was a hit," Gorman said. "We'd have

liked to have had more [hits in America]. You don't want to end up being

remembered for just one song, y'know?"