All Saints (group)

All Saints
All Saints performing in 2007. Clockwise from top left: Shaznay Lewis, Melanie Blatt, Natalie Appleton and Nicole Appleton.
All Saints performing in 2007. Clockwise from top left: Shaznay Lewis, Melanie Blatt, Natalie Appleton and Nicole Appleton.
Background information
Also known asAll Saints 1.9.7.5
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active
  • 1993–2001
  • 2006–2008
  • 2013–2020
  • 2022
Labels
Past members
Websiteallsaintsofficial.co.uk

All Saints are a British girl group formed in London in 1993.[1] They were founded as All Saints 1.9.7.5 by music manager Ron Tom.[2] with members Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis, and Simone Rainford. The group struggled to find commercial success upon being signed to ZTT Records and were dropped by the label shortly after Rainford left the group. In 1996, the group were joined by sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton and signed to London Records under their shortened name.[3]

Part of the 1990s wave of British girl groups, they peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart with debut album All Saints (1997), which became the UK's third-best-selling girl group album of all time to date. The album contained three UK number-one singles: "Never Ever", "Under the Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade" and "Bootie Call". "Never Ever" is the third-best-selling girl-group single in the UK, behind the Spice Girls' "Wannabe"[4] and "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix.[5] It also won two Brit Awards: Best British Single and Best British Video, and the group were nominated for Best British Breakthrough Act. Their second album, Saints & Sinners (2000), became their first UK number-one album and achieved multi-platinum success. It included the UK number-one singles "Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee". Amid in-fighting among the group members, All Saints split the following year.

The group later reformed after signing to Parlophone Records to release their third album, Studio 1 (2006). However, the album bowed at number 40 in the United Kingdom and All Saints were dropped by their label shortly afterwards. Following a second split in 2009, the group reunited in 2014 for a series of live performances, prompting the group to release of Red Flag (2016), and Testament (2018). As of January 2016, All Saints have sold 12 million records.[6] Musicians including Jessy Lanza[7] and Charli XCX[8] have cited All Saints as an influence on their work. The group's influence on British fashion in the late 1990s has been noted, particularly their signature style of cargo pants in promotional imagery and live appearances.[9][10]

  1. ^ Bush, John. "All Saints Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  2. ^ Raphael, Amy (21 June 2003). "Amy Raphael talks to Siobhan Donaghy". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  3. ^ Lewis, Tim (13 March 2016). "All Saints: 'We're more confident now'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  4. ^ Sedghi, Ami (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. ^ Copsey, Rob (13 June 2019). "The Official Top 100 girl band singles and albums of the last 25 years". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  6. ^ Vincent, Alice (27 January 2016). "All Saints announce comeback single about Nicole Appleton and Liam Gallagher's relationship breakdown". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  7. ^ Jonathan Roome (15 October 2014). "Interview: Jessy Lanza – The Line Of Best Fit". The Line of Best Fit.
  8. ^ "Charli XCX on How She Wrote The Biggest Pop Song of the Year". Junkee. 3 May 2013.
  9. ^ Stuart Heritage (21 November 2013). "Will the All Saints comeback be pants?". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "All Saints comeback: six style shockers they inflicted on the fashion world". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015.