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Those unfamiliar with pop music would be forgiven for confusing All Saints
with another hotly tipped music property, the Spice Girls. The four members of
All Saints could have stood for Spice Girls body doubles in a lineup: two
brunettes, one blonde, and one of West Indian descent. While the Spice Girls
were always pure pop and barely musically functional, the members of All Saints,
however, were songwriters and music aficionados with a softer, more intelligent
image less tied to their looks than their music.
The group came together in 1993 when Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis began
recording and writing at a studio on All Saints Road, in London's Ladbroke
Grove. The duo hooked up with R&B vocalist Simone Rainford and released a single
for ZTT Records in 1995, then parted ways with Rainford and were dumped by the
label. Undeterred, Blatt and Lewis recruited native Canadian Nicole Appleton
and, later, her big sister Natalie, to make All Saints a quartet.
With the help of friend Karl Gordon (formerly part of the British rap ensemble
Outlaw Posse), All Saints recorded a demo of the song "I Know Where It's At."
New manager John Benson signed the girls to London Records and connected them
with top-flight producers Nellee Hooper (Massive Attack, Björk) and Cameron
McVey (Neneh Cherry). Fully recorded, "I Know Where It's At" hit number four on
the British charts and crossed over throughout Europe and Asia.
By 1997, All Saints had reached the top spot with their second single, "Never
Ever." The quartet released their self-titled debut album in November 1997, and
began to grow in America as well, hitting the Top 40 with "I Know Where It's
At." By 1998, All Saints was certified platinum in the U.S. and five-times
platinum in the U.K., but rumors of split between the group started to brew.
Melanie Blatt was expecting her first child with Jamiroquai's Stuart Zender and
gossip claimed she was leaving All Saints. Nicole Appleton was also rumored to
have walked out of the band after the group failed to show up for the Smash Hits
Poll Winners' celebration that year.
In early 2000, their William Orbit-produced single "Pure Shores" was included on
the soundtrack to the Leonardo DiCaprio film, The Beach. Countless festival
shows across the U.K. also redefined All Saints' staying power despite their
shaky unit. The long-awaited sophomore effort, Saints & Sinners, was finally
issued in October 2000, boosting second single "Black Coffee" into the charts,
but still, trouble loomed ahead. By the start of 2001, tours of Japan and
Australia were canceled. Jealousy was the culprit, for Lewis and Blatt were
ill-disposed of the Appleton sisters' celebrity status, especially Natalie's
relationship with the Prodigy's Liam Howlett and Nicole's with Oasis mad man
Liam Gallagher. In February 2001, the split was finalized. Blatt released her
first single, "Twentyfourseven," in the summer and Shaznay Lewis was writing
with All Saints producer K Gee. The Appletons were cutting material as well as
making plans for a tell-all book. All Hits, a greatest-hits collection of
singles and a limited-edition DVD, was issued in fall 2001, marking the bitter
end for the All Saints. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
Source: vh1.com
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