‘We never really got to do this back in the day....’
With their first show in Nottingham for nearly 20 years taking place this December, 90s girl group All Saints tell JESSICA SANSOME about touring, their new album and taking the “low road”
ILIKE the name Rock City, that’s cool,” says Natalie when asked about their upcoming show at the legendary city venue.
The quartet last appeared in Nottingham 18 years ago when they co-headlined City In The Park, a preSplendour festival at Wollaton Park, in front of a 20,000-strong crowd.
“I mean God, 2000? I can’t even remember that show...”, admits Shaznay.
“We can’t even remember what happened yesterday,” jokes Nicole.
“Oh gosh,” continues Shaznay. “I came to Nottingham a few years ago to watch a show in the theatre so have been in and out [of the city] either side of doing shows... we are definitely looking forward to coming back and doing a show.”
The gig is part of an 11-date tour and follows a string of summer dates as well as a support slot with Take That on their arena tour last year.
“Touring with the four of us is so much fun,” says mum-of-two Natalie.
“It’s basically like skiving off home from responsibilities. We pack our suitcases and it’s like we are heading out on a girls’ trip so we have a great time.
“We are lucky to be doing this still now. Actually, we are getting to do it finally because we never really got to do it back in the day. We are actually making up for lost time.”
The tour announcement came after the band released their fifth studio album, Testament, in July which saw them reunite with producer William Orbit, the man behind their hit singles Pure Shores and Black Coffee. It was co-written with long-time collaborator Karl “KGee” Gordon.
“We did our album launch gig in Brixton so we were able to perform the album then and it was great,” says Natalie.
“We absolutely loved performing the new songs and it went down really well. So we are looking forward to performing the new stuff on the tour.”
But don’t worry if you are a fan of All Saints hits, including Pure Shores, Never Ever and I Know Where It’s At, as they’ll be performing them as well when they come to Rock City in December.
“Those songs have gone on quite a journey with everybody,” says Shaznay of the aforementioned hits.
“Everyone in the crowd sings them louder than we do, which is great.”
The new album follows the success of their 2016 album, Red Flag, their comeback following a 10-year hiatus, which reached No. 3 in the UK chart.
“Things are definitely different this time because we didn’t know what to expect with Red Flag at all,” says Melanie.
“We didn’t even know if we had any fans that would buy it. There was a bit of momentum with Red Flag with us being back together for the first time after 10 years but this time we went in with the mindset that this is purely for the fans and for us.”
This, adds Mel, meant the band didn’t have too much expectation releasing Testament.
“We are quite a self-deprecating and humble band and we always think the worst anyway.
“So with this album we thought ‘you know what, we are just going to do what we want and give ourselves the freedom to explore our creativity, then see what happens’. Luckily people have responded really well to it.”
But with five No. 1 singles, four hit albums, two Brit awards and over 12 million record sales, is there a reason for the girls’ expectations being so low?
“I think we are quite realistic about our place in the world,” says Mel.
“We are all constantly ribbing each other. And we always take the low road,” she adds, prompting a roar of laughter from the other three.
This year All Saints are also celebrating their 21st anniversary and one there is one thing Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis and sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton all agree hasn’t changed in all those years. “Our humour,” says Mel. “It’s exactly the same as it was and it’s what keeps us going,” adds Shaznay.
And is there anything they would do differently?
“I think how we did it the first time, well, it was supposed to be that way,” says Natalie. “I wouldn’t change anything. I think it’s all been about developing and learning new things as you go. It would be boring if we were exactly the same now as we were then.
“And we all would have killed each other by now as well,” Mel adds much to her band mates’ amusement.
All Saints play Rock City on Tuesday, December 4. Tickets are £32.95 (including booking fee) from ticketmaster.co.uk. A VIP ticket, including a photo with All Saints, early entry, a signed tour poster and souvenir laminate/lanyard is £105.