Our career was secretly sabotaged, say Sugababes as they make comeback with new tour and music
THEY had six No1 singles and reigned as one of the biggest girl groups of the Noughties – despite a revolving line-up.
But now Sugababes’ original line-up comprising of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy are back — almost a decade later than they had planned.
In an explosive interview as tickets go on sale for their first tour as Sugababes in 20 years, they claim they were sabotaged when they last tried to reunite — hinting people they worked with before did not want them to succeed.
Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan reformed in 2012 under the name MKS — from the first letters of their first names — after being blocked from using the Sugababes name they came up with when they first got together in 1998.
They believe the same people who caused problems over the name also LEAKED an album MKS made and is yet to be officially released. The band were thrilled to be back together ten years ago and released single Flatline in 2013, but things then got nasty.
Speaking about it for the first time, Keisha says: “Someone leaked our music.” Siobhan adds: “Some people would say it was sabotage.”
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But the band have since won back rights to the Sugababes name and are stronger than ever. Keisha says: “We had to go against people obstructing us. It wasn’t fun and it wasn’t fair. But we carried on. We stuck together, we pushed through and we just thought, ‘We created the name ourselves and it’s part of us’.
“So we went with the name MKS because of the obstruction. It was unfair because when that happens and you don’t get to explain it to the masses, it falls back on us and then the people who obstruct, they run off into the sunset.
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“We just got bigger balls. We were like, ‘We’re women in this industry, we’re going to stick up for our-selves and fight’. We didn’t want to let our fans down.”
The group feel far stronger now, with their original name, as they felt misunderstood as MKS. Of the fight over the Sugababes name, Keisha says: “People were calling us that anyway. It wasn’t us and a huge team going for the name, it was literally us three. We didn’t have management or anything. We continued and it’s nice to feel like the underdogs.
“We humbly say we fought for it and we hope it gives other people encouragement to not give up. We’re sitting here owning our masters. We fought for the name and got it back, and we just stuck together.
Their resolve to remain together may surprise some after years of rumours about infighting. But Mutya says: “We were young, with a lot of bad influences around us and a lot of adults who could have been more adult. But now that we’re women, we don’t have the time. My daughter is 17.”
Keisha adds: “You have to move forward. Even with all the obstruct-ion that’s happened, you have to wish people well and move on, to keep that positive space.”
The group made their live return earlier this month with a critically acclaimed headline performance at the Mighty Hoopla festival in South London’s Brockwell Park.
'All very excited'
Then on Friday they caused mayhem at Glastonbury when thousands of fans tried to get a glimpse of them as they sang on the Avalon Stage.
Next up is a 17-date UK tour, kicking off in Bristol on October 16. Tickets go on sale tomorrow from 10am, through .
Mutya says: “We’re all very excited and this time around we just want to have fun. Even talking about the tour, it hasn’t hit me yet.” Keisha says: “We are super-grateful because not many people get this opportunity. Our fans are a vibe, really supportive, and it feels like the right timing.”
Although not thinking much about what they will do after the tour, they are deter-mined to stick together. Asked if they are back for good, Keisha laughs and says: “It’s funny because when you’re a solo artist people just assume you’ll do it for the rest of your life.”
Siobhan says: “Yeah, because we’re in a girl group, people are like, ‘What’s the plan?’” Keisha adds: “Yeah, they’re like, ‘Is it going to be five years? Ten years?’ Well, actually, why don’t we create when we feel creative and tour when we want to perform? That’s a part of who we are. It’s been such a big part of our lives since we were kids.”
Siobhan says: “It’s in our DNA I think. As we’ve proven to ourselves by coming full circle, you come back to it because it’s what you want to do.” Keisha adds: “I don’t think there will ever be a stop. It will just be continuous whenever we feel creative.”
For now, the trio just want to give back to the fans who have stood by them. Siobhan says: “They are amazing. They’re totally die-hard and they’re waiting to receive whatever we’ve got. It’s quite rare after this time. It’s incredible and it’s not lost on us.”
CAITLYN BOOSTS JAMIE
SHE is the world’s leading female racing driver on track to be the first woman in 46 years to compete in Formula 1.
Now Jamie Chadwick has revealed her new boss Caitlyn Jenner has given her “words of wisdom” on how to deal with the fame that comes with competing at the very top.
About having the backing of ex-Olympic athlete Caitlyn, who founded Jenner Racing earlier this year, Jamie said: “It’s awesome, it’s really cool. I have never had a team boss like Caitlyn. She comes in with a huge amount of experience in the sporting world.
“Caitlyn also raced to a very high level herself so she completely understands the sport, which is key. She is just so well-placed to be able to give advice on the pressures that we are facing. There have been a lot of words of wisdom shared.”
Asked about the best advice the former Kardashians star has given her, Jamie said: “I guess the way to handle the media and making sure you can focus on performance first and foremost.”
But Jamie said she still has a long way to go in changing attitudes towards female drivers. She added: “I always feel like the expectation is I’m not that quick or, because I’m a woman, I’m not going to win the race or whatever. I think it is about trying to change the stereotype.”
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THE band are considering adding to their stellar back catalogue of tunes, which includes Freak Like Me, Round Round, Hole In The Head, Push The Button and About You Now.
Siobhan says: “That’s the big question. It’s been really hard this summer because we’ve been flat out with rehearsals and straight into the summer shows. Then we will start working on the tour.”
Keisha adds: “Writing and trying to be creative, it takes time – although we say that and when we get in the studio it is quick.
“But the point is, we are trying to get everything together. We’re only just coming out of Covid and stuff, so we’re hopeful.
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“Who we would really like to work with is, like, Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams and Burna Boy. Those are our four.”
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Meanwhile, Sugababes also hope their leaked album as MKS will get an official release at some point. Siobhan says: “It’s some of our best work. The tracklisting that we like for it, I think, is just banger after banger, it really is.”
No bad blood
SOME have questioned why Heidi Range – who replaced Siobhan in Sugababes in 2001 and was with the group until they disbanded in 2011 – is not part of the comeback.
While it is clear the band do not plan to welcome back , they insist they have nothing but love for the impact she had during her time with the band.
Keisha says: “I think collectively we would all agree that Heidi had her part of it and is a massive part of Sugababes. For her to have done that journey with us, she is just as important to the journey of Sugababes.
“We’ve seen Heidi and there’s no bad blood or anything like that.” Mutya adds: “There’s no time to have bad blood with people. You’ve always got to give people their flowers.”