Girls Aloud promise a ‘magic’ reunion tour – but say shows will ‘never be the same’ without Sarah
Girls Aloud have said their shows will “never be the same” without bandmate Sarah Harding – but they will make their reunion shows “magic” in her memory.
In an emotional interview with Sky News, speaking about their newly announced plans for a 15-date arena tour in 2024, Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine and Nicola said there will undoutedly be emotional struggles on stage as they perform without Harding, who died from breast cancer in September 2021, for the first time.
“It will never be the same again, we accept that,” says Cheryl, “but we’re going to make a new type of sparkle with her in it.”
Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding died in 2021. Pic: AP/MJ Kim
The stars have said their performances, which mark 21 years since they first formed, will be dedicated to Harding.
“You’re reminded so constantly that she isn’t here,” says Nadine. “She is very much a part of who we are still, a huge part.”
Girls Aloud are back: (L-R) Cheryl, Kimberley Walsh, Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle
One of the strangest things, according to Cheryl, has been announcing the news of the tour to press, pausing during interviews at times when Harding would have made jokes.
“Some of the questions we get asked… there are moments like that all day, she’s never far from us.”
‘The fans have lost Sarah as well’
Pictured at the Brits in 2009
Rearranging songs to perform for the much-anticipated tour, they know won’t be easy. Harding was an integral part of their harmonies.
“Fans have lost Sarah as well,” says Nicola. “It’s going to be strange for them to see us as a four, it’s going to be strange for us to be a four, but, well, we’ve got to take it one day at a time. We’re going to make it magic for her.”
While the planning of who will sing which lines won’t officially get under way until the New Year, Cheryl says there will be tears once they get back in a rehearsal room.
Read more:
Sarah Harding obituary
Girls Aloud star’s life in pictures
“When we initially start looking at what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it, how we’re going to sing the song and what that looks like, we’ll have to get all our emotion out then, so we can be strong for the fans.”
“There will be times, I’m sure, that we struggle,” adds Kimberley. “But that’s another great thing about having each other. Hopefully we don’t all struggle at the same time.”
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At a time when music was dominated by male indie bands, Girls Aloud shook up the noughties with a raucous energy, producing some of the best pop singles of the 21st Century, including Love Machine, No Good Advice, Biology, Call The Shots and The Promise – and of course their debut, Sound Of The Underground.
After the band originally formed on ITV reality show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, they quickly became tabloid fixtures. Dealing with fame and the paparazzi was a traumatic experience for the then teenagers.
“We were children,” says Nadine. “And these are grown men, lying down on the floor as you step out of a car.”
“We were 16, 17 years old,” adds Kimberley. “So wrong.”
Something Kinda Ooooh: Celebrating the legacy
They say they had little choice but to learn to ignore the frenzied level of interest in their personal lives.
This time around, after an 11-year break, the tour will be a chance for their own children to now understand what their mums are famous for.
“It’s going to blow their brains!” says Cheryl.
As for Glastonbury rumours, the band insist they haven’t been asked. They also deny tabloid claims that a new album is planned.
“That’s not what this is about,” Kimberley says. “It’s definitely about celebrating the legacy.”
“Ooh, I like that word,” Cheryl chips in. “Legacy!”
Before Kimberley can question whether what she’s said sounds too grand, Cheryl proudly confirms: “We’ve earned it, two decades in!”
Twenty-one years after the start of it all, I put it to the band that their back catalogue of insanely catchy pop has aged incredibly well.
“A bit like ourselves!” quips Nadine, causing her bandmates to errupt into laughter.
They’ve been through a lot.
While tears on tour seem inevitable, as a band they are determined not to lose that sense of joy and silliness – making sure they give it everything “to celebrate Sarah”.
Entertainment
Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims there was ‘mutual violence’ between him and ex-girlfriend
A lawyer representing Sean “Diddy” Combs has told a court there was “mutual” domestic violence between him and his ex-girlfriend Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura.
Marc Agnifilo made the claim as he outlined some of the music star’s defence case ahead of the full opening of his trial next week.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of
transportation for prostitution. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Ms Ventura is expected to testify as a star witness for the prosecution during the trial in New York. The final stage of jury selection is due to be held on Monday morning.
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Why is Sean Combs on trial?
Mr Agnifilo told the court on Friday that the defence would “take the position that there was mutual violence” during the pair’s relationship and called on the judge to allow evidence related to this.
The lawyer said Combs‘s legal team intended to argue that “there was hitting on both sides, behaviour on both sides” that constituted violence.
He added: “It is relevant in terms of the coercive aspects, we are admitting domestic violence.”
A court sketch showing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs (right) as he listens to his lawyer Marc Agnifilo addressing the court. Pic: Reuters
Ms Ventura’s lawyers declined to comment on the allegations.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule on whether to allow the evidence on Monday.
Combs, 55, was present in the court on Friday.
He has been held in custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.
Prosecutors allege that Combs used his business empire for two decades to lure women with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs”.
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Combs’s lawyers say prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalise his “swinger lifestyle”. They have suggested they will attack the credibility of alleged victims in the case by claiming their allegations are financially motivated.
The trial is expected to last around eight weeks.
Entertainment
Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul ‘took her soul’ during alleged sexual assault
An ex-model has tearfully told a court that being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein when she was 16 was the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.
Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault
Kaja Sokola told the film producer’s retrial that he ordered her to remove her blouse, put his hand in her underwear, and made her touch his genitals.
She said he’d stared at her in the mirror with “black and scary” eyes and told her to stay quiet about the alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel in 2002.
Ms Sokola told the New York court that Weinstein had dropped names such as Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and said he could help fulfil her Hollywood dream.
“I’d never been in a situation like this,” said Polish-born Ms Sokola. “I felt stupid and ashamed and like it’s my fault for putting myself in this position.”
Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is back in court for a retrial after his conviction was overturned last year.
Read more: Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?
Weinstein denies the allegations. Pic: Reuters
The 73-year-old is not charged over the alleged sexual assault because it happened too long ago to bring criminal charges.
However, he is facing charges over an incident four years later when he’s said to have forced Ms Sokola to perform oral sex on him.
Prosecutors claim it happened after Weinstein arranged for her to be an extra in a film.
“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court of the alleged 2006 assault, describing how she tried to push Weinstein away but that he held her down.
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Ms Sokola – who’s waived her right to anonymity – is the second of three women to testify and the only one who wasn’t part of the first trial in 2020.
Miriam Haley testified previously in the retrial. Pic: AP
Miriam Haley last week told the court that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, Jessica Mann, is yet to appear.
Claims against the film mogul were a major driver for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse in 2017.
Weinstein’s lawyers allege the women consented to sexual activity in the hope of getting film and TV work and that they stayed in contact with him for a while afterwards.
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