Girls Aloud, Little Mix, Spice Girls: UK girl groups through the years
- Published
Pop group Girls Aloud have announced a reunion tour that will start in 2024, bringing their 11-year break to an end. Known for hits like Sound of the Underground and Love Machine, they shot to fame in the early 2000s after forming on reality TV show Popstars: The Rivals.
Cheryl, Strictly star Kimberley Walsh, Masked Singer winner Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle will be taking part in the tour. The UK has a rich history of girl groups, so we've taken a look at some of the most iconic of them throughout the years!
You must know these fab five. The Spice Girls formed in 1994 - from left to right in the photo, we have Mel C, Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton and Mel B. Or Sporty Spice, Ginger Spice, Posh Spice, Baby Spice and Scary Spice. Their first song, Wannabe, reached number 1 in 37 different countries when it was released in 1996. Their debut album Spice sold 23 million copies across the world, making the Spice Girls the best-selling girl group in history. They disbanded in 2000 to focus on their solo careers, but have since come together twice for reunion concerts.
Little Mix formed on the X Factor in 2011, and became the first and only girl group to ever win the series, going on to release hit after hit. Black Magic was ranked by Billboard as one of the greatest girl group songs of all time. They've also won countless awards, including three Guinness World Records! Jesy Nelson (second from left) left the group in 2020, and then in 2022 the remaining band members announced a break so they could focus on their solo careers.
Next to a group who not only had hit singing careers but several of them became telly and radio stars too. The Saturdays, made up of Frankie Bridge, Rochelle Humes, Una Healy, Vanessa White, and Mollie King, were formed in the summer of 2007. Their first single came out in 2008, but took them 14 tries and five years to get one of their songs to number one (What About Us).
Mis-Teeq was an R&B and garage group with three members - one of them you should recognise.... BGT judge Alesha Dixon! Here she is on the left with Su-Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington. They did have one other member Zena McNally, but she only appeared on their first song. They had two top-ten albums and seven consecutive top-ten singles. The trio parted ways in 2005 when Alesha Dixon left the group, and she went on to have lots of success as a solo artist.
Another of the UK's biggest UK girls groups was All Saints. Made up of sisters Natalie and Nicole Appleton, Shaznay Lewis and Melanie Blatt their 1997 first album contained three UK number-one singles and the song Never Ever is the third-best-selling girl-group single in the UK (behind Little Mix and the Spice Girls). All Saints sold more than 12 million records and were also famous for their fashion, especially for their signature cargo pants look.
Originally formed in 1998, Sugababes were a big girl band from the 2000s, but the vocals wouldn't always sound the same, as the line-up went on to change three times. Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy were the band's original trio and still perform together now.