All Saints are reuniting — again — but this time, the girls say “it feels right.” The four friends are releasing an album in April, 2016, and the first single “One Strike” is due this February.
Openly discussing their inspiration, All Saints talk about their new song as a “direct response” to what happened between Nicole Appleton and ex-husband, Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher.
All Saints girl Nicole Appleton and Oasis singer Liam Gallagher were married five years until 2013 when she learned he was expecting a child with another woman. American journalist Liza Ghorbani had had an affair with the Oasis rocker and got pregnant as a result, which instantly broke off Appleton’s marriage to the Brit bad boy.
Their divorce was pronounced in late 2014 when Gallagher admitted to adultery, gathering much media attention, but the two are still locked in a legal battle over money , as reported by the Guardian.
Following all the media frenzy, Liam’s personal assistant, Debbie Gwyther, was fired for getting too close to the singer. She later became his girlfriend, and the couple has been going strong for over a year-and-a-half, as reported by the Daily Mail.
All Saints, which was originally formed in 1993 as All Saints 1.9.7.5 before being reformed in 1995 with the four current members, Brits Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and Canadian sisters Natalie and Nicole Appleton.
Their debut album, All Saints, produced in 1997, was an instant success with three U.K. number one singles, propelling the girls to fame.
Their second album, Saints & Sinners was also a success but All Saints broke up shortly after, in 2001. They had already reformed once, in 2006, but Studio 1 sold poorly and they split up again in 2009.
Since 2014, All Saints have been performing together, sparkling rumors of a proper reunion — which was confirmed earlier this year, to the joy of their fans from back in the 90s.
Talking to i-d about their upcoming album and the new single, the girls confessed where their inspiration came from: phone calls between Nicole and Shaznay about Liam’s affair.
“It’s not about the divorce,” Nicole said. “It’s about the moment I found out what he did to me. It’s pretty much that.”
Shaznay, who wrote the lyrics for “One Strike,” says she remembers perfectly what her friend was going through at the time. She explains the phrase “one strike” is about how everything in your life can change in an instant.
But it’s not all sad and depressing for All Saints, who have all matured a lot since they were first together, and are all seemingly excited about this new reunion.
Mel Blatt even admitted she didn’t think the 2006 reunion was done for a good reason.
“I did it for the money,” she told i-d.
She added she felt uncomfortable being signed by a label who only cared about the idea of reuniting them, rather than their music — which they hadn’t produced any of when Parlophone signed them in 2007.
After All Saints split again in 2009, Melanie was adamant there would not be another reunion. She told London Lite All Saints would “never [get] back together again.”
But against all odds, and probably for the best for the millions awaiting eagerly their new songs, things changed and their reunion was announced on January 1, 2016, with a teaser photo on Twitter.
#AllSaints2016 pic.twitter.com/v463f97SJD
— All Saints (@AllSaintsOffic) January 1, 2016
Since then, the girls have all been active on social media and posted pictures of their studio recordings.
#AllSaints2016 pic.twitter.com/HNYsFHD6SB
— Shaznay Lewis (@ShazAllSaints) January 22, 2016
#AllSaints2016 pic.twitter.com/vqE9rJWBXJ
— melanie blatt (@melblatt) January 22, 2016
Red Flag , All Saints’ latest and fourth album, is due out April, 2016. In the meantime, you can look through old photos of the girls, just like this one Mel posted on Instagram:
[Photo by Ian Gavab/Getty Images]