All Saints: A Retrospective

Ahhh the 90’s. Just thinking about it puts a huge smile on my face. It was the age of innocence and a time of super cheesy pop songs. But don’t get this girl group confused with the masses of 90’s cheese. These girls had attitude but they still knew how to lay on the sugar and spice…not to be confused with another girl group of that moniker. 😉

I remember the first time I ever heard “Never Ever” by All Saints. I was listening to the radio and I remember the DJ had mentioned something about them not being too fond of their British rivals, The Spice Girls. So being the obnoxious 9 year old that I was, I was ready to rip them to shreds for saying mean things about the bane of my existance. Oddly enough, I wound up loving the song and bought their album that weekend. All Saints had something authentic to them that other girl groups of that time didn’t have. That still remains true to this day, as I still have their CD, (along with my Spice Girls CDs) in my “Throwback Drawer.” 😀

All Saints (not to be confused with the clothing line) were a London based girl group. Founded in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton. They became one of the most successful British pop groups of the 1990s, with nine top ten singles (including five number-ones), two multi-platinum albums, two gold albums and record sales in excess of ten million worldwide. They originally formed as a trio in 1993 with Blatt, Lewis and Simone Rainford, who released two singles before Rainford’s departure in 1995. Natalie and Nicole Appleton joined the group for the production of their self-titled debut album in 1997, which produced three UK number-one singles, which won them a BRIT Award for their song “Never Ever.”

Their second album, Saints & Sinners (2000), was also a success and yielded two number-one hits, but sadly the group broke up in 2001. They later reformed for a third album, Studio 1 (2006), but it unfortunately didn’t do too well. All Saints were confirmed to have split up for a second time in 2009, and Melanie Blatt stated in an interview that the band would never reform again. *cue the tears*

Here are a few visuals of some of my favorites to refresh your memory:

This video fascinated me when I was a kid as I am extremely terrified of heights. Nice twist on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’s “Under The Bridge.”

Were you a fan of All Saints? Who were your favorite girl groups of the 90’s?

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