Girls Aloud: Reality royalty

7 months ago 24th Nov 08:15

The band, famous for ridiculously catchy hits including 'Love Machine', 'Sound of the Underground' and 'No Good Advice', have defied their critics by sticking around for the last five years, and not only that - by becoming a respectable five-piece. So what is the secret to their longevity?

"I think it's a mixture of things. It's partly the quality of the songs, and the fantastic relationship we have with our producer Brian Higgins and his main songwriter, Miranda Cooper," said Kimberly. "We connect with our material and we always try to bring something fresh to our performances. People have to be wowed by your new look and your new sound, otherwise they're not willing to buy the records."

"We've always had a bit of an edge, too," adds Cheryl. "We're not little kittens who just sit there and purr. We have strong opinions."

In fact All Saints, who had a dismal comeback last year with their single, 'Rock Steady' and album, 'Studio 1', have their own "strong opinion" on Girls Aloud.

"In all honesty they are stupid little girls and we don't really give a f**k," singer Shaznay Lewis succinctly put it. "That's the end of that. I don't want to talk about them any more because I've just got no respect for them."

But the positive comments about the band far outweigh the negative.

Writer Julie Burchill was so impressed with the lyrics and melodies of their songs that she named a whole new genre of music in their honour - pantyliner punk.

"They are simply the most perfect pop group since The Monkees," she raved. "Proof that chav culture can wipe the floor with middle-class pseudo-intellectualism any day!"

Musical rivals the Arctic Monkeys also raved about the band's immense talents.

"Their songs do really musical, clever things," said drummer Matt Helders. "They're unbeatable."

London Mayor Ken Livingstone was so impressed with the girls that he arranged for them to accompany him on a diplomatic tour of Shanghai to promote England's capital.

"Girls Aloud highlight the very lively, colourful aspect of pop culture people associate with the UK," he said. "They were brilliantly received and great ambassadors for London."

And Mr. Livingstone isn't the only politician who has exhibited an interest in the group - Conservative leader David Cameron loves listening to their music and, when pushed, admitted that Cheryl was his favourite member.

Brian Higgins - who has produced tracks for the girls from the off - has his own theory on why they are so successful.

"The politics of relationships, infidelity, hedonism, female overconfidence and weak men," he laughed. "In five years their lives have changed completely, yet they've been going through the same issues as their peer group. They are not, as they sung in 'Love Machine', 'gift-wrapped kitty kats' any more. It wouldn't work if they sung songs pretending they were."

Cheryl - who is most famous for her outspoken views on fellow singers Lily Allen and Charlotte Church - says the girls' new album, 'Tangled Up', is deliberately "heading in a more mature direction" than their previous records - 'Sound of the Underground', 'What Will the Neighbours Say?', 'Chemistry' and 'The Sound of Girls Aloud'.

"It's definitely heading in a more mature direction. We're not necessarily singing about things that we would have when we were 16," she said. "Now we're singing about things that you talk about in your early 20s. There aren't very many ballads. At the moment there's only one.

"The rest of the tracks are mid-tempo and then there's obviously the typical Girls Aloud bangers! There's even a garage sounding track on there, which is very different for us."

But fans can be reassured that the band's "more mature" sound will be single-handedly saving the music industry from the "s****er".

"I think the whole music industry is going down the s****er," Cheryl frowned. Kimberly agreed, "We're the only ones left. We're keeping pop alive."

"We're bringing something new and fresh," Sarah added. "Whereas lots of other people are just bringing the same old thing."

Despite frequent rumours of rifts in the band and an impending split, the girls have no intention of splitting any time in the near future.

"We've all grown into young women in the public eye. We genuinely are best friends. If it ended, I think I'd shrivel up into a ball," Cheryl said. "Looking back, I don't know how I ever lived without the girls."

Girls Aloud' s 'Tangled Up' tour starts on May 7 next year at Glasgow's SECC Exhibition centre, and finishes at Manchester's MEN Arena on May 31.

'Tangled Up' is out now.

By Sarah Bull.

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