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There was no manual for navigating the mid-90s \u2013 especially in the music industry. When sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton joined All Saints_,_ the \u2018cool\u2019 R&B alternative to the Spice Girls, they were in their early twenties, and the expectation was that young artists learnt as they went along. From relentless touring and recording schedules to the press\u2019 increasingly insatiable interest in their personal lives, being a young musician in the 90s and noughties was not for the faint hearted.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s an era that has retrospectively received a bad rap, with the recent BBC documentary Girlbands Forever<\/a><\/em> laying bare the maltreatment that so many artists were forced to endure. It\u2019s no secret that All Saints, comprised of Nicole, Natalie, Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, were caught up in that storm. \u2018It felt like our feet never touched the ground,\u2019 Nicole tells Grazia<\/em>. \u2018We didn\u2019t even have a chance to think about the industry. It was just like we were on this fun rollercoaster of chaos and amazing moments.\u2019 Natalie agrees: \u2018I guess we were kind of na\u00efve. We just enjoyed it at the time.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The good news is that they are back, releasing new music, on their own terms. Their first single in 22 years, \u2018Falling Into You\u2019 is released today (15 January) and it\u2019s as much a return to their roots as it is a comeback, much to the joy of their army of fans old and new (who discovered \u2018Pure Shores\u2019 after it went viral on TikTok).<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018It was all because when we released Everything Eventual<\/em> on vinyl [in 2003] we had such great feedback from it that our children, our sons in particular, were like, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you guys go back in the studio?\u201d\u2019 as Natalie puts it. \u2018Gene [Nicole\u2019s son with Liam Gallagher] was like, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you ask Aunty Nat?\u201d And I was like, \u201cshould we?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n After reaching out to the producer who they worked with the first-time round, Gareth Young, the sisters headed back into the studio with low expectations. \u2018We didn\u2019t even know we were doing a single,\u2019 says Nicole. \u2018But it was really easy and really fun. I don\u2019t know how else to describe it.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u2018When we walked into [the studio] it was like walking into a time warp,\u2019 echoes Natalie. \u2018It was like we just walked out 20 years ago, and we were walking back in. It\u2019s easy.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Naturally, new music means the Appletons have plans to get back on stage too. They are set to perform at the iconic Mighty Hoopla in south London on 30 May (which Lily Allen will also play). \u2018We were like if we can do anything this year, we\u2019d love to do Mighty Hoopla because we did their first ever London show back in the day [in 2016] and it was such a buzz,\u2019 beams Natalie. \u2018I just can\u2019t wait to get up on stage and have the time of my life and have some fun with it.\u2019 Before then, they’ll take on the BBC Live Lounge with a 25-piece orchestra. \u2018That\u2019s a very different show,\u2019 jokes Nicole. \u2018I like to pinch myself thinking, \u201coh my god\u201d, that\u2019s such a privilege.\u2019 As for further plans, the sisters remain tight-lipped. \u2018We will definitely announce things when we\u2019re doing them. There\u2019s a lot of stuff planned.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n With one studio album under their hats as a duo (so far), Natalie and Nicole are arguably best known for their time in All Saints. Their set, then, will be a crowd-pleasing fusion of the two. \u2018It will be a bit of everything,\u2019 explains Natalie. \u2018I think from the reaction we\u2019re getting it\u2019s, \u201cplease do Appleton stuff\u201d, so I\u2019m excited about that because we haven\u2019t done that in ages. We\u2019ll do lots of bits and mix it up and make it fun for everyone. It\u2019s nice to give the fans what they want.\u2019 Could this mean a full All Saints reunion<\/a> (last seen on stage together in 2018) is on the cards? \u2018I think because it\u2019s an Appleton journey, were going to keep it like that,\u2019 answers Nicole.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The sisters are well aware that the industry they’re re-entering is a different beast. \u2018I think the industry as a whole is much more difficult,\u2019 admits Nicole. \u2018Financially, you know, I think people are having a really hard time just touring and making ends meet because it\u2019s so expensive.\u2019 Then there\u2019s the shift in the way people find and consume music, the fixation on streaming figures and the threat of AI artists to contend with. \u2018This is a whole new world,\u2019 she laughs. \u2018It\u2019s the blind leading the blind.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Nicole, for her part, would like to see a revival of \u201890s music culture, at least in the way it brought people together. \u2018[Young people] being on their phones too much, I don\u2019t like in any way. Even my son who\u2019s 24 I don\u2019t like him being on his phone. See the world and enjoy it; everything in moderation.’<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n She credits the \u201890s club scene for bringing fans, and bands, together. \u2018The 90s was just amazing, it was a great time for all music genres. It made it sort of a community, whereas now you don\u2019t see that. You don\u2019t see bands hanging out. You see people performing together on stage, but this was like a proper hang out and having fun.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Even so, the sisters remain optimistic. The biggest change they have both noticed is that artists these days have their own voice. \u2018Everyone\u2019s voice can get around the world just by putting something out on your phone,’ notes Natalie. ‘It just makes the world a smaller place.\u2019 In fact, it’s how they realised there was still so much support for their music. \u2018That\u2019s the thing with social media, we didn\u2019t realise,\u2019 she continues, \u2018but it\u2019s been so humbling and it\u2019s what ignited us to do what we\u2019re doing now.\u2019<\/p>\n