Girlbands Forever: Does Melanie Blatt still speak to her All Saints bandmates and are they friends again?
Mel describes being in All Saints as 'hell" in the BBC documentaryAll Saints star Melanie Blatt has revealed the group’s bitter split in Girlbands Forever – but do they still speak to each other?
Melanie has opened up about her time in the 90s band for the BBC Two mini-series and recalled All Saints’ huge fallout.
In the show, 50-year-old Mel admits they went their separate ways in the early noughties because they “didn’t like each other”.
In a frank admission, she says: “The friendship and business took its toll on us. It was tricky, it was always tricky. Our communication wasn’t great. But when you look back, a lot of the things that were dramatic could have been so easily resolved. But that’s hindsight. It’s a right (bleep).”
When Mel is asked why All Saints split up, she replies: “Because we didn’t like each other. We’d fallen out. It was hell. It was like separate everything and just so ridiculous.
“But literally one of the proudest moments of being in that band was calling it quits because we didn’t stay for the money. We wanted to be done, we didn’t want to be with each other anymore.
“We made that decision, we were in control. We were supposed to go on tour and we had to give the money back. And I am so proud of that.”
Mel then says: “One of the only decisions we were all happy to make together was to tell each other to (bleep) off.”
Girlbands Forever: Do All Saints still speak?
Melanie was in All Saints with Shaznay Lewis and sisters, Natalie and Nicole Appleton. The first two episodes of Girlbands Forever chart the rise and fall of the girl group, from 1997 to 2001.
Despite their bitter break-up in 2001, Mel, Shaznay, Natalie and Nicole didn’t walk away from each other for good. In fact, they have reunited as a band several times over the years and are all friends again. Phew!
In 2018, All Saints released their EP Red Flag and Mel was keen to point out how much she and her bandmates had matured since their first time in the charts.
She told Off Key: “We feel more rounded and accomplished as humans. All Saints has definitely matured, we don’t feel old.
“After twenty years you learn a lot, see a lot and give a lot. The person you were twenty years ago is very different, you’re more mature, you see it more relaxed.”
In 2021, All Saints again proved there is definitely no longer any bad blood between them. The foursome took to the stage for a set at the Isle of Wight Festival. And this was just one of multiple gigs that summer.
At the time, Natalie shared a selfie with Mel, Shaznay and Nicole and wrote on Instagram: “My girls, what a journey we have been on together..the ups n downs and all arounds.. I couldn’t imagine it any other way but it to be with you #2021 #gigging #allsaints #alllove.”
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“Like a sister”
Last year, Shaznay released her first solo material. At the time, spoke about the close bond she still has with Melanie. The girls were the two original members of All Saints and still think of each other as “sisters”.
Shaznay told The Sun: “Melanie will always be like a sister. When I was starting this project, I said, ‘I don’t think I can do this without you’. And she said, ‘You (bleep) better!’.
“Then she came to watch me on Radio 2’s Piano Room and gave me a pouch of crystals to look after me wherever I go. That’s the kind of relationship I have with Melanie.
“But we are all cool. I love All Saints and I’m proud of what I achieved with them.”
What does Melanie from All Saints do now?
Melanie revealed this year that she has embarked on a very different job to that of a pop star. Mel appeared on the 2022 series of Celebrity MasterChef and has now turned her love of cooking into her career.
The singer runs her own burger company in London, called Full Fillings. Her burgers are made from slow cooked meats, stews, casseroles and curries and are deep fried.
Mel spoke about her venture on ITV’s Good Morning Britain earlier this year. She said: “When I was doing MasterChef, something clicked. I just loved the environment, even with the stress of the timings. It’s another creative thing and I’m just obsessed.
“A few years went by and I was like, ‘What am I doing? What am I going to do? What is my real passion?’ And then, I was about to turn 50 and I was just like, ‘I’m going to do it!'”
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