Sugababes have opened up about how their career was “sabotaged” by intentional leaks and “illegal trademarking” of their group name.
In a new interview with Time Out, the pop trio – consisting of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy – discussed the obstacles they faced including several people trying to purposely “sabotage” their work.
One of these individuals is said to have leaked their album in 2013 while someone else “illegally trademarked” the name Sugababes, “obstructing” the group from using it.
“A few people from our past didn’t want [a reunion] to happen unless we were under their wing. And we would rather burn our bras and run down the street naked on fire [than do that],” Buchanan said.
“There was so much manipulation,” the singer recalled. “It would’ve been so easy for us to have thrown our hands up. But we invested our own money for the last 11 years and really, really fought for it. I’m so proud of us, that we stuck together. It was incredibly difficult — and we were getting to know each other again at the same time — but it was the making of us as a band.”
The trio regained the right to use the group’s name in 2019 and embarked on a successful comeback last year which included a sold-out UK tour, a triumphant Glastonbury appearance and a headline slot at London’s Mighty Hoopla.
Sugababes released the leaked album on December 24, 2022 and titled it ‘The Lost Tapes’ as a way of thanking the fans who have supported them throughout the years.
“This has been a year of incredibly positive moments for us as a band,” the group said in a statement. “We wanted to do something to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey,” they wrote in a statement during the release of the LP.
It continued: “We wrote this album almost eight years ago and remember the magic we felt at the time. For various reasons beyond our control, it didn’t get an official release, so it’s with great pride that ‘The Lost Tapes’ gets a fully independent release from us today. Available now on all streaming platforms. A very Merry Christmas, love Sugababes x.”
Speaking to NME earlier this year on the BRIT Awards red carpet, the trio shared that they were working on new material.
“We definitely have plans for new material, for sure,” said Buchanan. “We’re trying to focus all of our energy at the moment, we’re trying to balance the shows that we’re going to do this summer.
In a five-star review of their London show at the Eventim Apollo last year, NME described their return as “triumphant”, adding: “after a summer of heroic festival appearances, the group’s defining trio keep the party rolling on their joyous UK tour.”
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