All Saints singer Melanie Blatt opens up about her struggles with stardom, why she enjoys being close to her family and how everyone needs to practise a bit of self-love
WORDS: MITYA UNDERWOOD
FINDING HARMONY
Thirty years on from the girl-band golden age of the 90s, All Saints’ Melanie Blatt has had plenty of time to reflect on her time in one of the most successful all-female groups ever.
Sitting down today to chat with OK! at her home in London, Mel, now 48, is incredibly candid about her memories of that time.
“It seems like a lifetime ago,” she tells us. “It just doesn’t seem like it was my life, it’s like looking at someone else’s life. It’s really weird.
“I saw it as a trauma for many, many years. But when we got back together in around 2014, it brought back the funnier moments we’d shared, and the highlights.
“It also brought back an appreciation and respect about what we actually accomplished and achieved, so I definitely look back on it with a lot more fondness.”
At the height of their success, Mel and All Saints bandmates Shaznay Lewis and sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton gained not just commercial acclaim, but a reputation for being somewhat “moody”, especially compared to the likes of B*Witched and the Spice Girls. As times have changed, does Mel think the band would be viewed differently today?
“I think so,” she says. “Although, there was strength in our energy when the four of us walked into a room, and I think perhaps we got treated with a bit more respect than some other bands.
“We had Shaz writing all our songs and we took our music seriously – I think that helped with the way we were treated.
“Maybe today, our attitude and energy wouldn’t be seen as sort of moody or difficult, people would understand a bit more about us, and see us taking it seriously.
“Saying that, we were definitely moody and difficult on occasions!”
In 1996, Mel, who studied at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, was already working with pal Shaznay, and the pair decided to join forces with Natalie and Nicole to form All Saints.
Their first album, All Saints, was released the following year and became the third biggest-selling girl-group album ever. It also gave the band three No1 singles: Never Ever, Under The Bridge/Lady Marmalade and Bootie Call.
Despite their chart domination, the tabloid newspapers didn’t respond well to the girls’ “energy”, and stories
