Girls Aloud split back in 2013, going on to suffer a major tragedy a few years later, and now the girl band have announced a new tour.
10 years ago, Girls Aloud fans were left in shock when the band announced their split just hours before the final show of their 2013 tour.
Just before they were set to take the stage at Liverpool’s Echo Arena, the group posted a heartbreaking message to Twitter.
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“Dear Alouders, we just want to say from the bottom of our hearts Thank you!!,” they wrote.
“This tour has been an amazing experience and the perfect chance to say thank you for being on this journey with us through a decade.
“It has far exceeded any of our dreams and we hope we are forever your inspiration and reminder that dreams really do glitter!!
“Your love and support will stay with us forever but we have now come to the end of our incredible time together.
“Love you lots.”
The English-Irish pop group was formed and rose to fame on the British reality show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002.
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When the group first split, it was assumed by fans that it was a mutual decision by all bandmates.
However, one member soon after came out to claim that she was ‘blindsided’ by the decision.
Nadine Coyle accused the others of plotting behind her back, taking to Twitter the following morning to share her thoughts.
“You should know by now I had no part in any of this split business. I couldn’t stop them. I had the best time & want to keep going,” she said.
In a 2014 interview with The Mirror, Coyle claimed she was only told of the split minutes before the band was set to take the stage.
“I didn’t think we were going to end – we had done all the promo saying we were all together, having a great tour, wearing Victoria’s Secret wings and stomping up and down the catwalk every night, loving every single minute of it.
“And then, on the very last night of the tour, our management and publicist came up to me and said the girls wanted to split up the band.
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“I was thinking, ‘What?!’ I was in hair and make-up, about to get into my costume, and the show was starting in 20 minutes,” she said.
“I was shocked. I went back to my make-up lady and told her, and was like, ‘F***! I don’t have a job! What am I going to do?’ I screamed and cried on stage and off stage.”
Another member of the band, Cheryl Tweedy hit back at Coyle’s claims, saying that she was ‘full of sh**’ in an interview with Attitude Magazine.
“She was the one who wanted to make a solo record,” she said. “Which is why we took the hiatus.
“She wants to come out and say we broke the band up? No! She shouldn’t tell porkie pies.
“Okay, so do you want us to tell the truth? She wasn’t going to make another Girls Aloud record until she got a solo deal.
“I feel she held us to ransom and then made her solo record deal. It’s the truth. She’s saying that we broke the band up. So there you go.”
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The fight remained in the public eye for years, until 2020 when the band reunited after member Sarah Harding was diagnosed with breast cancer.
In an interview with OK! Magazine, Coyle said the band had put their issues behind them, saying they had ‘a nice harmony going on now’.
“When we see each other, it’s like we’ve stepped back in time. As if we’ve only seen each other yesterday. It’s such a tough time, but all of us have pulled together.”
Harding tragically died in 2021 at just 39 years old, her mum announced the news via Instagram and her band members took to their own social media to share their tributes.
Nicola Roberts shared photos of the two together, saying, “I can’t accept that this day has come.
“My heart is aching and all day everything we went through together has raced round my mind… a part of me or us isn’t here anymore and it’s unthinkable and painful and utterly cruel.”
“Electric girl, you made us. You gave it everything and still with a smile.”
Coyle also shared a tribute, “I am absolutely devastated!!” she wrote.
“I can’t think of words that could possibly express how I feel about this girl & what she means to me!!
“I know so many of you will be feeling this way. For now I’m sending so much love to you!!! ❤️❤️”
Now, two years later after the tragic loss of their friend, the group has decided to reunite for another tour in her honour.
Nadine Coyle, Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh will return to the stage as Girls Aloud.
Speaking with the BBC, Tweedy explained “The anniversary seemed like an obvious thing that we would celebrate, but when Sarah fell ill all priorities changed.
“She passed away a year before the anniversary and it just didn’t feel right, it felt too soon.
“It’s the right time to celebrate Sarah, it’s the right time to celebrate the band and the right time to celebrate the fact we can still do this 21 years later.
“That’s a big honour in lots of ways.”
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Walsh also added, “For us, it will feel very much like she’s there.
“She came alive on stage. That was the happiest she ever was.
“With grief, there’s definitely a shift where it’s like, ‘OK, you’re ready to celebrate that person.'”
The tour is set to kick off in Dublin next May, continuing through to June with shows in Manchester, London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Liverpool.
