Sign up to Roisin O\u2019Connor\u2019s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things musicGet our Now Hear This email for free<\/p>\n
The Sugababes\u2019 set at Glastonbury, an unexpected must-see for, anecdotally at least, absolutely every person with a ticket, quickly became its own kind of hell. Signs near the West Holts stage urged latecomers to stay away due to overcrowding. Unverified reports say there were people fainting in the crowd. <\/p>\n
This was pointless, easily avoidable chaos. In terms of current chart success or creativity at this particular moment in time, Sugababes may not be Pyramid stage material, but for many punters here they tick numerous boxes: nostalgia, bangers, brand recognition. Shoving them over on West Holts is misguided at best, irresponsible at worst.<\/p>\n
On stage at least, the band appear to be having a blast. There\u2019s something incredibly affecting about seeing this trio smile. <\/p>\n
At the peak of their commercial zenith in the early Noughties, they were recognised and beloved for being pop\u2019s grumpiest girl band \u2013 three moody teenagers so preternaturally jaded that it was sometimes less fun to watch them live as it was to speculate which one could beat you up the quickest. (Mutya, obviously. It was always Mutya.)<\/p>\n
Nearly 25 years since their grungy, surf guitar-led debut \u201cOverload\u201d and in the wake of at least 30 different member line-ups (OK, like four), they hit the West Holts stage with the relieved, endearing joy of grown women who\u2019ve seen all the destructive chaos of more than two decades in the music industry and come out glowing.<\/p>\n
As a show, this contains a lot of synchronised strutting and member-specific spotlighting \u2014 each Sugababe (Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy) gets a turn at the centre of the stage, the others retreating to the back.<\/p>\n
(BBC)\u201cFreak Like Me\u201d, that seminal mash-up of Adina Howard\u2019s 1995 namesake and Gary Numan\u2019s \u201cAre Friends Electric?\u201d, lights the fuse with sexy-scary aplomb. Late-era bop \u201cRed Dress\u201d is a surprise highlight, the trio\u2019s vocals cooing over electric guitar. Both \u201cOverload\u201d and the effervescent come-on \u201cPush the Button\u201d have long become generational classics. They send the crowd into rapture. Drums and a thunderous bass guitar transforms the slinky \u201cRound Round\u201d into a head-banger rock number.<\/p>\n
The crowds at Sugababes\u2019 performance on West Holts (BBC)It\u2019s tempting to read into the fact that the far majority of the tracks here to elicit cheers didn\u2019t originally feature Donaghy, while even Buena was gone by the time the group scored one of their biggest hits with the sunny \u201cAbout You Now\u201d, which wraps up the show. <\/p>\n
But it doesn\u2019t mean that the Sugababes brand is bigger than its individual members. Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen \u2014 each currently living it up in the Potentially Acrimonious Resting Home for Ex-Sugababes \u2014 all had their place, but there\u2019s something undeniably powerful about witnessing Buchanan and Buena, two of the coolest pop stars this country has ever produced, harmonising together again, whatever their respective involvement with the music. <\/p>\n
Likewise to see Donaghy living up to the potential scuppered way back during album one when, amid band in-fighting and erratic teen hormones, she fled to less high-profile pastures. By the looks on their faces, they know this was a special show. Such a shame the crowd has to suffer for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up to Roisin O\u2019Connor\u2019s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things musicGet our Now Hear This email for free The Sugababes\u2019 set at Glastonbury, an unexpected must-see for, anecdotally at least, absolutely every person with a ticket, quickly became its own kind of hell. Signs near the West […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n