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Gola is an Iranian musician and singer who wanted to be a professional pop singer. She became a member of Iran’s only girl band Orchid/Orkideh but because of the Iranian regime’s strict rules on performing and singing, the band were only allowed to perform to women in a closed-off area. Eventually Gola decided the only way she could pursue a pop career was to leave Iran. She now lives in the UK and has just released her first single in English – she’s been speaking to the ´óÏó´«Ã½â€™s Nikki Bedi.

(Photo shows: Gola. Photo credit: Henry Hewitt)