THEIR names are firmly cemented into British pop history.
The original Sugababes line-up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy have a career spanning three decades, with 18 Top Ten hits including six No1s.
The original Sugababes line-up of Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan have a career spanning three decades[/caption]
Our Howell with, from left to right, Mutya, Siobhan and Keisha[/caption]
The Sugababes starting out as teenagers in the early Noughties[/caption]
Now the ladies are putting that music know-how to good use, by shunning record labels to steer their own career — and are confident they know best.
The trio are back today with a belting garage-infused single called Jungle, the first taste of their eagerly anticipated new album, which has been almost a decade in the making.
In an exclusive interview with my Bizarre colleague Howell Davies to launch the single, they said Raye, whose career soared after ditching her label and becoming an independent act, has been an inspiration.
Mutya said: “We have so many ideas and so much experience. We know what we want.”
Few and far between
Siobhan explained: “The people at the labels, they don’t necessarily have as much experience as we might have. You know what you want to achieve.
“I think someone like Raye has been really important at getting that message across. She knew who she was and she knew what kind of record she wanted to make.”
Keisha added: “Back when we first got signed, there were people who actually understood who we were. I do think you get the most success when you get with a producer and people who actually understand who you are as an artist.
“But unfortunately, those are few and far between in the industry now.
“I hope that’s encouragement for other artists that actually, if you work really hard and if you really believe in yourself, you can do it when you put the right people around you and you think positively.”
They formed the band in 1998 as schoolgirls, reunited for a headline performance at South London’s Mighty Hoopla in 2022 and were not sure what else would follow.
But since then they have toured around the world and performed at Glastonbury twice – both times causing chaos as so many fans flocked to see them. You can see why they would want to do things differently this time, as they have been badly burned in the past.
The trio originally reunited in 2012 under the name MKS — using their initials as they battled to win back the rights to the band’s name — and recorded an album.
But they were devastated when someone close to them leaked it and they went their separate ways, eventually putting the project online in 2022 as The Lost Tapes.
Reflecting on it now, Siobhan said: “That really was such a huge setback for us. It’s so much work for an artist.
“That was like a year and a half of our work in the studio. MKS, that whole project for us was such an uphill battle.
“And so for it to leak and to not have had the support within the industry from people that were supposed to have our backs, was really demotivating.
“We had to come back and find the energy to start from zero again. That took a minute. But thankfully, that’s just not where we’re at now.”
This time around, they are determined to do things their way and not let anyone push them around.
Keisha explained: “We’re really grateful. When you’re young and you’re busy, you feel quite overwhelmed. You don’t have control of your schedule.
The band say singer Raye has been a huge inspiration to them[/caption]
The trio have now released their new song Jungle[/caption]
“Back in the day, they would just put things in your schedule and then that was it.
“But now it’s like, ‘Hi girls, do you want to do this?’ And we work it around our personal lives and everything else.
“It’s been a long road, you know, the MKS years and stuff like that. Everything we are doing now is everything and more that we hoped it would be when we first got back together.”
Siobhan added: “We’re still really hungry for it, but also, as Keisha said, so thrilled as to how it’s gone.”
And the proof is in the pudding. Next month they will kick off their biggest-ever European arena tour.
The new song will fit right in with their incredible back catalogue, featuring hits such as Round Round, Freak Like Me and Push The Button.
They have long had jokes made about them because of what became a revolving line-up in Sugababes.
The original members were replaced before an entirely different trio split in 2011.
They scoff and roll their eyes at those gags now and feel like their longevity speaks for itself.
No matter how successful you become, there’s always someone that’s going to doubt or say things.
Keisha Buchanan
Asked if their success feels like a middle finger to their critics, Keisha said: “I do think our journey from the beginning has not always been an easy one.
“Being a band that was mixed race, you know, Jamaican, Filipino, Irish, we’ve always had to work a little bit more.
“No matter how successful you become, there’s always someone that’s going to doubt or say things. What’s really nice is that you don’t even have to put the middle finger up. They can see it themselves.”
It’s clear they have rebuilt a friendship even stronger than the first time ar- ound. During our chat, they get distracted talking about plans to see Mariah Carey at Brighton Pride in August before their headline set the next day, and joke about antics at Glasto last summer.
Keisha said with a laugh: “We were going to see D-Block Europe — Sugababes, Damon Albarn and Kano, walking through the highways and byways with heels on. Mutya had heels and the purse.”
Mutya said: “Why didn’t I have flats? I could have at least left the purse!”
Now they are feeling more confident than ever and have teamed up with John Shave, one of the top producers behind Charli XCX’s multi-Grammy and Brit Award-winning album Brat, as well as songwriter Anya Jones, who has worked with Kylie Minogue.
Their new tune Jungle is an instant earworm and I’ve already heard a few more tracks from their upcoming album, including the third single which is Sugababes at their very best pop potential.
Keisha said: “The Sugababes’ first singles are always very different. We wanted to go for something that wasn’t obvious. We wanted it to be fresh, something people weren’t expecting.”
It has been a rollercoaster ride so far, but things are looking sweeter than ever for the Sugababes.
