Sugababes

[Main Pop Girl]

On 11/2/2022 at 7:02 AM, Heartbreak Anthem said:

 

Mutya and Siobhan don't really seem very comfortable with their verses  But the harmonies sound great as always

[Heartbreak Anthem]

13 hours ago, Leaving said:

Mutya and Siobhan don't really seem very comfortable with their verses  But the harmonies sound great as always

I agree: this song is meant for Amelle & Heidi.

[sunshineslave]

On 10/31/2022 at 6:41 PM, Dax Diameter said:

I don’t think anyone in either camp ever anticipated the “One Touch” reissue would outsell “The Essential Sugababes” compilation (both were released on the same day).

These unexpected reverse sales patterns will not be lost on Universal Island and they DO have the rights to use the Sugababes name for catalogue product.

Usually when artists have fulfilled contract obligations and moved on goodwill discussions will still take place with management to ensure that the release of catalogue product is staggered and dates are timed apart (between different labels).

I wouldn’t rule out an “Angels” re-pack with a second disc of demos from the Lucas Secon sessions, the unheard Richard X/ Whitney Mashup and some remixes (at some point). It is afterall (by far) the biggest selling album in the groups entire catalogue (regardless of lineup) and is only around 70,000 copies away from being a Million seller! A reissue has the potential to push it over that sales marker.

That said, I don’t think an “Angels” reissue was part of Universal Islands original agenda when “Essential Sugababes” was released, but having since digested the shock of London/ Warner’s “One Touch” (which was never originally a big seller) - that in reissue form, outsold a cheaper compilation with every Island era Hit, that was supposed to be irresistible to casuals.. I wouldn’t rule an “Angels” re-pack out.

Particularly as one of the individuals from the group’s old management (who helped co-ordinate the “Essential” release through Universal), also happens to be someone well known to the fan base who was rumoured to only have got hold of and originally leaked the MKS tracks to fans. Bizarrely attaining them from Polydor allegedly through liaisons that officially only even occurred due to a shared vested interest in Becky Hill (of all people).

I forgot about the label being different between albums. They're definitely going to try and milk the album. 

----

Apparently, MKS's most honest interview about Siobhan departure in an interview with Q back in 2013. It's available here on popjustice but it's accessible only to member. Any of you have it ? I'll be curious to see.

[metalsnake25]

On 11/10/2022 at 11:17 AM, sunshineslave said:

I forgot about the label being different between albums. They're definitely going to try and milk the album. 

----

Apparently, MKS's most honest interview about Siobhan departure in an interview with Q back in 2013. It's available here on popjustice but it's accessible only to member. Any of you have it ? I'll be curious to see.

Here you go
mutya / keisha / siobhan (tumblr.com)

[metalsnake25]

Does anyone know what tracks were going to possibly make the MKS album?

[Dax Diameter]

On 11/11/2022 at 10:52 PM, metalsnake25 said:

Does anyone know what tracks were going to possibly make the MKS album?

Contrary to fan logic/ wisdom, the album was titled “No Regrets!” (and not named after the 2013 tour).

Standard Edition [November 2013]

01, Flatline
02, Boys
03, I’m Alright
04, No Regrets!
05, Love In Stereo
06, Too In Love
07, Today
08, Summer of ‘99
09, Drum
10, Back in the Day
11, Love Me Hard
12, Lay Down in Swimming Pools

Re-Pack/ Deluxe Edition [May 2014]

13, Metal Heart
14, Only You
15, Beat has Gone

It pains me a lot that “Enough” never made the cut (as it is by far my own personal favourite track out of EVERY public domain track).

In fact there are several public domain tracks I personally prefer and whilst it is absolutely tempting to switch several out (with my own personal choices), in the end it would be a fools errand to mess with history by doing so.

The track list was an amalgamation of not only what the girls wanted & what Polydor U.K. wanted, but also what Interscope U.S. wanted, (a later U.S. launch was pencilled in for spring/ summer of 2014) with a U.K. tour to follow that autumn.

Despite what Biff Stannard has (for his own bitter reasons) led you to believe, the version of “Only You” that leaked was indeed final and would have launched the re-pack in April 2014.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Dax Diameter
Grammar

[nuclear]

love in stereo their best song 

[Heartbreak Anthem]

22 hours ago, Dax Diameter said:

Contrary to fan logic/ wisdom, the album was titled “No Regrets!” (and not named after the 2013 tour).

Standard Edition [November 2013]

01, Flatline
02, Boys
03, I’m Alright
04, No Regrets!
05, Love In Stereo
06, Too In Love
07, Today
08, Summer of ‘99
09, Drum
10, Back in the Day
11, Love Me Hard
12, Lay Down in Swimming Pools

Re-Pack/ Deluxe Edition [May 2014]

13, Only You
14, Metal Heart
15, Beat has Gone

It pains me a lot that “Enough” never made the cut (as it is by far my own personal favourite track out of EVERY public domain track).

In fact there are several public domain tracks I personally prefer and whilst it is absolutely tempting to switch several out (with my own personal choices), in the end it would be a fools errand to mess with history by doing so.

The track list was an amalgamation of not only what the girls wanted & what Polydor U.K. wanted, but also what Interscope U.S. wanted, (a later U.S. launch was pencilled in for spring/ summer of 2014) with a U.K. tour to follow that autumn.

Despite what Biff Stannard has (for his own bitter reasons) led you to believe, the version of “Only You” that leaked was indeed final and would have launched the re-pack in April 2014.

Oh, wow.

[metalsnake25]

On 11/12/2022 at 12:25 PM, Dax Diameter said:

Contrary to fan logic/ wisdom, the album was titled “No Regrets!” (and not named after the 2013 tour).

Standard Edition [November 2013]

01, Flatline
02, Boys
03, I’m Alright
04, No Regrets!
05, Love In Stereo
06, Too In Love
07, Today
08, Summer of ‘99
09, Drum
10, Back in the Day
11, Love Me Hard
12, Lay Down in Swimming Pools

Re-Pack/ Deluxe Edition [May 2014]

13, Only You
14, Metal Heart
15, Beat has Gone

It pains me a lot that “Enough” never made the cut (as it is by far my own personal favourite track out of EVERY public domain track).

In fact there are several public domain tracks I personally prefer and whilst it is absolutely tempting to switch several out (with my own personal choices), in the end it would be a fools errand to mess with history by doing so.

The track list was an amalgamation of not only what the girls wanted & what Polydor U.K. wanted, but also what Interscope U.S. wanted, (a later U.S. launch was pencilled in for spring/ summer of 2014) with a U.K. tour to follow that autumn.

Despite what Biff Stannard has (for his own bitter reasons) led you to believe, the version of “Only You” that leaked was indeed final and would have launched the re-pack in April 2014.

Wow! I had no idea there was even a finalized tracklist, Beat Has Gone should've made the standard tracklisting it was too good for it only being apart of a deluxe edition. Do you know what was planned to be the 2nd single after Flatline? I heard it might've been Summer of '99.

[Dax Diameter]

1 hour ago, metalsnake25 said:

Wow! I had no idea there was even a finalized tracklist, Beat Has Gone should've made the standard tracklisting it was too good for it only being apart of a deluxe edition. Do you know what was planned to be the 2nd single after Flatline? I heard it might've been Summer of '99.

The intention was to showcase the versatility of the album by following “Flatline” with a direct uptempo ‘Pop’ track. It was perceived they had three options for that slot, “Boys”, “Summer of ‘99” and “Love in Stereo”.

The plan was to make a final choice based upon whichever one of those three performed strongest metrically on streaming platforms.

The third single was always going to be “Too In Love”, with a push to get it play listed by Radio 2, in the run up to the Valentines Day 2014 release cycle.

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Dax Diameter

[metalsnake25]

1 hour ago, Dax Diameter said:

The intention was to showcase the versatility of the album by following “Flatline” with a direct uptempo ‘Pop’ track. It was perceived they had three options for that slot, “Boys”, “Summer of ‘99” and “Love in Stereo”.

The plan was to make a final choice based upon whichever one of those three performed strongest metrically on streaming platforms.

The third single was always going to be “Too In Love”, with a push to get it play listed by Radio 2, in the run up to the Valentines Day 2014 release cycle.

 

Oh wow!! Are you an insider by any chance? I never knew about any of this

[metalsnake25]

On 11/12/2022 at 12:25 PM, Dax Diameter said:

Contrary to fan logic/ wisdom, the album was titled “No Regrets!” (and not named after the 2013 tour).

Standard Edition [November 2013]

01, Flatline
02, Boys
03, I’m Alright
04, No Regrets!
05, Love In Stereo
06, Too In Love
07, Today
08, Summer of ‘99
09, Drum
10, Back in the Day
11, Love Me Hard
12, Lay Down in Swimming Pools

Re-Pack/ Deluxe Edition [May 2014]

13, Only You
14, Metal Heart
15, Beat has Gone

It pains me a lot that “Enough” never made the cut (as it is by far my own personal favourite track out of EVERY public domain track).

In fact there are several public domain tracks I personally prefer and whilst it is absolutely tempting to switch several out (with my own personal choices), in the end it would be a fools errand to mess with history by doing so.

The track list was an amalgamation of not only what the girls wanted & what Polydor U.K. wanted, but also what Interscope U.S. wanted, (a later U.S. launch was pencilled in for spring/ summer of 2014) with a U.K. tour to follow that autumn.

Despite what Biff Stannard has (for his own bitter reasons) led you to believe, the version of “Only You” that leaked was indeed final and would have launched the re-pack in April 2014.

I'm definitely gonna test out that tracklisting, I wish Champagne & Roses, Open Book, Up In Flames and Why Did The Lights made the final cut cause those are my favorites.

[Dax Diameter]

Often artists inherit a ‘melting pot’ of options, when it comes time to re-enter the studio for a follow up album and will weigh their preference for ‘new’ material (from those studio sessions) against what they already have in the can and will often publicly front a coherent blend of the two.

(Though this is not always the case, as sometimes a publishing ‘hold’ by an outside writer, on an unused/ withheld track will be stipulated to expire at the end of a specific, contracted cycle for a specific album if a track has gone unused within the context of that specific project).

The public don’t atypically know what is technically ‘New’ within the context of a body of work (a specific studio album), as music is obviously very rarely created with the intention of it ever leaking as precisely no-one on the artist’s team benefits financially from such an occurrence.

So don’t think in terms of all other tracks from the great ‘melting pot’ (tracks that you were never meant to hear when you did) being ‘cast offs’, as that is simply NOT the case as there is inevitability a percentage of music that never made the cut of that album cycle - which in the end would have shown up - weaved between other, actual ‘New’ tracks within the context of the body of the follow up studio album (that if things had gone according to plan you WOULD not only, to an extent have by now - but would also consider to be from a totally separate, ‘old’ MKS studio album, unrelated to that one by now).

Very rarely is something technically ‘bad’ (and therefore truly rejected), it’s more a case of what is needed, in terms of mood and tempo in context of the underlying psychology that underpins the building blocks of a commercial song sequence.

In context of the wider industry, sometimes genuinely bad mistakes do get made - whereby labels are truly and unequivocally deaf, dumb and blind to the Gold they are sitting on, only to later quietly accept as such (by those paid to know better) when finally forced to play catch up - after the market speaks back to them, the below being a case in point:

 

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Dax Diameter
Syntax

[sunshineslave]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:40 PM, metalsnake25 said:

Here you go
mutya / keisha / siobhan (tumblr.com)

Thanks a lot. This interview is very telling and it gives a clearer and honest view on what happened between Siobhan and Keisha. They do admit not liking each-other at the time of One Touch and having gotten to know each-other now for a more peaceful relationship. Even if they account the team responsible for making it worse, they admit they did things to each-other which is pretty normal for two teenagers who are not friends who spend so much time together under pressure. 

 

On 11/12/2022 at 9:26 PM, tropicalian said:

love in stereo their best song 

I love this one. I think they will never release it tough cause it would be a Bananarama cover even through they wrote de song and recorded it first. Such a waste. It is fun with a bit of an edge to it. Their vocals kill it. It sounds flatter in Banannarama's hand.

 

9 hours ago, metalsnake25 said:

I'm definitely gonna test out that tracklisting, I wish Champagne & Roses, Open Book, Up In Flames and Why Did The Lights made the final cut cause those are my favorites.

I think Why Did The Lights would make a great track for closing the album. I love it. Those harmonies send me to heaven.

 

On 11/12/2022 at 9:25 PM, Dax Diameter said:

Contrary to fan logic/ wisdom, the album was titled “No Regrets!” (and not named after the 2013 tour).

Standard Edition [November 2013]

Re-Pack/ Deluxe Edition [May 2014]

13, Only You
14, Metal Heart
15, Beat has Gone

The tracklist of the deluxe differ from the one you gave me earlier (13. Victory, 14. Metal Heart, 15. Only You) and the release dates differ as well. Were there multiple options or have some informations been retconned ?

Also were some of the tracks that leaked recorded after this tracklist was decided, after the album was pushed back again ?

 

[Dax Diameter]

3 hours ago, sunshineslave said:

Also were some of the tracks that leaked recorded after this tracklist was decided, after the album was pushed back again ?

 

I was lazily going by memory as I was in the supermarket getting groceries (without having back referenced), I since have which is why that was never actually posted.

The track “Paradise” dates from a later session with Oh Wonder in summer 2014.  They were looking for an illusive ‘Magic’ song that both the girls (and A&R) could unanimously agree was a sure fire smash, one that each party involved could (this time) unanimously agree on.

As “Flatline” had failed to fulfill its intended commercial purpose, no-one had a predisposition towards aligning their confidence behind the girls instincts  a second time. This was (some might say) understandably perceived by them as having an echo of how they were ‘handled’ back when they first entered the industry.

Certain executives have some rather questionable people handling skills at best, so for a particularly senior one to adopt an “I told you so” attitude when “Flatline” failed - proved to be a rather toxic approach that did precisely nothing to ingratiate the girls and bring everyone back into creative alignment, hence when those late efforts to find ‘Magic’ failed, the project was iced.

I can’t recall or profess I ever knew the minutiae of 60+ songs, after almost 10 years, no.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Dax Diameter