All Saints Biography

All Saints are an English-Canadian girl group formed in London in 1993. Originally founded as All Saints 1.9.7.5 by members Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis and Simone Rainford, the group struggled to find commercial success upon being signed to ZTT Records and were dropped by the label shortly after Rainford left the group. In 1995 the group were joined by sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton and signed to London Records under their shortened name. All Saints became one of the most popular groups of the 1990s; marketed as an alternative to the Spice Girls with their edgy take on pop music, and signature crop top and cargo pants style which prompted a late 1990s British fashion trend.

The group's debut album, All Saints (1997), peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and went on to become the third best-selling girl group album of all time in the UK. The Appleton sisters' private lives soon became a staple feature among tabloid newspapers to the extent that it detracted from the group's music. All Saints' second album, Saints & Sinners (2000), became their first number-one album and achieved multi-platinum success. Amid in-fighting among the group members, All Saints controversially split the following year. The group later reformed after signing to Parlophone Records to release their third album, Studio 1 (2006). However, the album bowed at number 40 in the UK and All Saints were dropped by Parlophone shortly afterward. Following a second split in 2009, the group reunited in 2014 for a series of well received live performances, prompting the group to sign to London for a second time for the release of their fourth album, Red Flag (2016).

In their career, All Saints achieved a string of nine consecutive top-ten hits in the UK, including five number-ones: "Never Ever", "Under the Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade", "Bootie Call", "Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee". "Never Ever" is the second best-selling girl group single of all-time in the UK, behind the Spice Girls' "Wannabe". The group have also won two Brit Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards and one Ivor Novello Award. As of January 2016, All Saints have sold 12 million records.

On 25 May 2013, original All Saints member Simone Rainford died from kidney cancer a month after her 38th birthday in her home in Greenwich.

In November 2013, it was announced that the group would be officially reforming for a second time to support the Backstreet Boys for five dates across the UK and Ireland in 2014. The same year, they performed at G-A-Y and V Festival. Blatt said in an interview that the group had no plans to record new material and were "just taking each day as it comes and doing it for pure enjoyment".

On 27 January 2016 it was confirmed that All Saints will release their fourth studio album entitled Red Flag on 8 April 2016. The lead single from the album, "One Strike", will precede the album on 26 February 2016. The pre-order of the album was put on iTunes on 23 February 2016 with "One Strike" available as a instant grat.