Where It's At: A Short History of Girlbands

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Where It's At: A Short History of Girlbands - Mollie King dives into girlband history.

Girl Power: A token or a defining musical moment? Mollie King dives into the great British girlband history.

Where It's At: A Short History of Girlbands: 5. Stronger

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How the Sugababes reclaimed their name and patched up the past.

Our celebration of girlbands continues. In this episode, we learn how the Sugababes reclaimed their name and patched up the past.

The biggest redemption story in UK pop history is surely that of the Sugababes. We meet the fans waiting to go into their first headline arena show at London’s O2 Arena, as the band return with their original lineup and original name. Their story has a rare happy ending – one where sisterhood, steely determination and superb songs conquer all. 

Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan started out as three teenage school friends from London, whose voices intertwined like no other. Their innovative music bridged the gap between the indie and pop worlds, with its echoes of trip-hop and neo-soul. 

But as Sugababes went on, their revolving cast of members tended to overshadow everything else as the band became a major label brand. 

Mollie King takes a closer look at the band’s highs and lows, celebrates their enormous catalogue of decade-defining music and finds how the 'Origibabes', as they've been called, have reclaimed their narrative on their own terms.

In this episode we hear from: Sugababes’ Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy, journalist Michael Cragg, producer Cameron McVey and Glyn Fussell from The Mighty Hoopla Festival.

Archive in this episode:
Sugababes sing ‘Too Lost In You’ ft BBC Concert Orchestra (Radio 2 Piano Room, 2023)

Presenter: Mollie King
Producer: Kate Hutchinson
Written by Kate Hutchinson
Assistant Producer: Nadine Peters
Additional production: Holly Fisher
Script consultants: Owen Myers, Sharon O’Connell
Editor: Gareth Isles
Executive Producer: Joe Haddow
Commissioning producers: Jonathan O’Sullivan, Sarah Gosling
Commissioner for BBC Music: Will Wilkin

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