About Sugababes
The Sugababes are a
female pop trio formed
in 1998. The original
line up consisted of
Keisha Buchanan, Mutya
Buena and Siobhan
Donaghy, when their
first single Overload
was released in
September 2000. The
single went on to reach
#6 in the UK and a top
ten hit throughout
Europe.
Following the success of
their first single, the
trio released their
first album, One Touch,
in December 2000, and
three further UK top 30
singles, New Year, Run
for Cover and Soul
Sound. During the
supporting tour of the
album, Siobhan Donaghy
left the band. This
occurred amid rumours of
in-fighting within the
band and bullying by
Keisha Buchanan. Siobhan
was consequently
replaced by Heidi Range,
who remains in the band
to date.
With the new line-up
came the group’s first
#1 UK hit single in May
2002, with the track
Freak Like Me, sampled
from the Gary Numan
track, Are Friends
Electric. Their next
single, Round Round,
became the groups second
UK #1 in August 2002.
Their success continued
with the release of the
group’s second album,
Angels With Dirty Faces,
which reached #2 in the
UK album charts and was
eventually certified
three times platinum.
The group scored two
further top twenty UK
hits from the album with
Stronger and Shape, the
latter sampling from the
Sting song, Shape of My
Heart.
Three was the
appropriate title of the
trio’s third hit album.
Released in November
2003, the album
coincidentally reached
#3 in the UK album
chart. The first single
released from the album,
Hole In The Head, became
the group’s third #1 in
the UK. This was
followed by a further
three top ten single
releases from the album;
Too Lost in You, In The
Middle and Caught In The
Moment.
The first single from
the group’s fourth
album, Push The Button,
was released in October
2005. The single went on
to become the group’s
biggest selling
international hit single
to date, becoming a big
hit throughout Europe,
Australia and even the
US. Upon release, the
single entered the UK
singles chart at #1,
giving the group their
fourth UK #1. The
following week, the
album Taller in More
Ways, gave the group
their first UK #1 album,
at the same time gaining
the group the
distinction of
simultaneously having
the UK’s #1 hit single
and album.
Amidst all this renewed
success, another line-up
change was imminent.
Following the release of
the next single Ugly,
Mutya Buena left, to be
swiftly replaced by
Amelle Berrabah, in
December 2005. The
apparent friction within
the band had little
effect on the success of
the single or the
subsequent release, Red
Dress, which gave the
group their 9th and 10th
top ten UK hit singles
respectively.
In 2006 the group
released their greatest
hit collection,
Overload: The Singles
Collection, which went
on to reach #3 in the UK
album charts. As well as
including most of the
group’s hit singles, the
album also included
several new tracks;
including their next UK
top ten hit, Easy. The
group then went on to
collaborate with fellow
girl group Girls Aloud
on the 2007 Comic Relief
single Walk This Way,
giving them their fifth
#1 UK single.
The Sugababes’ next
album release, Change,
gave them their second
UK #1 when it was
released in December
2007. The first single,
About You Now proved to
be another massive hit,
staying at UK #1 for
four weeks. It was also
the first single by a
girl band to top the UK
charts on downloads
alone. The group
released a further two
top ten UK singles;
Change and Denial; from
the album, which went on
to be certified platinum
in the UK.
The group’s seventh
album release, with its
controversial and
appropriate title,
Spotlights and Catfights
proved to be relatively
less of a success than
their previous releases.
The album did reach #8
in the UK album charts,
but became the group’s
lowest selling album in
the UK. The first single
release, Girls, did
reach #3 in the UK
charts in November 2008,
however, the follow-up,
No Can Do, could only
reach #23.
The groups next album,
Sweet 7, is due to be
released in November
2009. The first single,
Get Sexy, reached UK #2
when released in
September 2009. Shortly
after the release of the
single, there were
rumours of yet more
friction within the
band, leading to the
announcement that Amelle
Berrabah had left. This
was reportedly due to
jealousy from her band
mates, particularly
Keisha Buchannan,
following her success
with the collaboration
with Tinchy Stryder on
the UK #1 hit single
Never Leave You.
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