We were family before Joni died
Sister Sledge on healing bitter 30-year rift
SISTER Sledge managed to end their bitter 30-year feud just weeks before sibling Joni died.
A friend of the disco supergroup has revealed how they managed to bury the hatchet and say “we are family” little more than a month before the 60-year-old passed away.
Sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim and Kathy had a major falling-out when lead singer Kathy decided to release a solo album in 1989. The others told her: “If you do it, you gotta leave.”
But in January they had an emotional reunion despite not knowing Joni’s fate at the time.
And the women could not stop hugging and were “like sisters should be”, according to Full Force band member Bowlegged Lou, a close friend of Kathy’s. He said: “I called her to give my condolences... and I said ‘Kathy, did you guys ever make peace?’
“I was so happy to hear her tell me, ‘Yes Lou, we did make peace. We made peace in January all of us as sisters and I was loving and hugging, with Joni. And the others.’”
Joni died of natural causes at her home in Arizona on March 10. The sisters found global fame with hits We Are Family, Lost In Music and He’s The Greatest Dancer.
The rift was one of the ugliest in pop. Kathy said: “They went out as a group on their own, and they had a photo shoot and didn’t invite me. And that hurt.”
The three others continued to perform as a trio, with Kathy rarely joining them. In 2013 her sisters even took her to court to ban her from using the Sister Sledge name.
The feud peaked two years ago when Sister Sledge appeared at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, to perform in front of Pope Francis – without Kathy.
But now pal Lou thinks the sisters could get back together to perform: “It is my wishful thinking and feeling there will be a reunion.”
chris.bucktin@trinitymirror.com