Girls Aloud are back and after over 10 years apart, they will finally go out on tour once more although for three of the women this means leaving their children at home.
Creating hype with countdown clips, Nadine Coyle, 38, Kimberley Walsh, 41, Nicola Roberts, 38, and Cheryl, 40, finally confirmed they are returning.
The chart topping group will embark on a mammoth UK tour in honour of their 21st anniversary and their late bandmate Sarah Harding who died two years ago.
Fans have been excited to see the reunion but also wondered if we could see their children follow in their footsteps and make an onstage debut.
Cheryl laughed when asked about the possibility of little boy Bear, who she shares with Liam Payne, joining her on tour.
‘The problem is that I want Bear to have a normal childhood,’ the Fight For This Love singer shared to Vogue. ‘I don’t want people recognising him on the street.
‘But he’s twigged that I’m famous. The other day he said, “How lucky am I to have famous parents?” I said, “It doesn’t matter.” He goes: “Yeah. But it’s pretty cool”.’
We think two famous parents is exceptionally cool – and Nadine agrees as she said: ‘It is though. Cheryl, you thought your life would be over at 30, but look at us still being able to do the same things we did at 17.
‘That’s going to be so inspiring to so many people!’
The four powerhouse women have been chasing their own projects since the split but were brought back together by the sad loss of Sarah to breast cancer.
Girls Aloud have said they are ‘heartbroken’ to be reuniting without her but are tighter than ever since the devastating death.
Chatting to presenter Zoe Ball on Radio 2, Cheryl said of their loss: ‘Every step of this process has been weird, to be honest.’
‘We started this discussion with Sarah,’ she revealed, explaining how their 20-year anniversary was ‘pending’ before the star’s diagnosis in 2020.
‘The fact that we’re here now and she’s not is heartbreaking,’ the Fight For This Love singer continued. ‘It’s never going to be the same.’
Speaking to Heart Radio, also this morning, the former X Factor judge revealed that they keep on waiting for Harding to walk through the door.
‘It’s felt bizarre, even this morning getting dressed, Sarah would be the one late anyway but when we’re all there you still feel like you’re waiting for someone else,’ she said.
She went on to reveal that while Harding was on board for their reunion, her diagnosis put everything ‘to the side’.
‘I spoke to Sarah one-on-one in the later stages when she was really poorly and she did say, “I hope you all do something when I’m not here,” but in that moment I couldn’t entertain that conversation,’ Cheryl revealed.
‘I do think of that energy every minute. I’m like there’s definitely something missing,’ added Kimberly, fondly.
Nicola misses ‘everything’ about her. ‘You never quite knew what you were going to get with Sarah, but it was always impactful,’ she said, before acting out her chaotic, fun energy.
Kimberly added that Harding always talked about how much she loved Girls Aloud. She even made them all watch old videos of them performing and together a few months before she died, to remember all the ‘amazing times’ they’d shared.
It seems the show – which will celebrate Harding, and remember her – is going to be pretty ambitious, as Nadine told Radio 2: ‘We’ve been known for that, like the many tours that we’ve done, where we’ve flown over, landed on another stage and then flown back.
‘Or on one of the tours, we got under the B stage and then ran through the arena backwards to get to the dresser. I mean, we really are gluttons for punishment but we’re all about the entertainment.’
Now with children of their own, Cheryl explained on Radio 2 how six-year-old Bear is a natural performer. This will be the first time he’s seen his mum perform as a popstar.
‘The irony of how much I’ve tried for [Bear being a performer] to not happen, and he is the one bursting at the seams, he is full of it,’ said Cheryl, who shares Bear with One Direction star, Liam Payne.
'The Girls Aloud Show' Arena Tour Dates
The announced dates for the Girls Aloud Show tour are:
- 18 May – 3Arena Dublin
- 20 May – SSE Arena Belfast
- 23 May – Manchester AO Arena
- 24 May – Manchester AO Arena
- 27 May – Cardiff Utilita Arena
- 31 May – Newcastle Utilita Arena
- 1 June – Newcastle Utilita Arena
- 4 June – Aberdeen P+J Live
- 8 June – Glasgow OVO Hydro
- 12 June – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
- 15 June – Leeds First Direct Arena
- 18 June – Birmingham Resorts World Arena
- 22 June – London The O2
- 23 June – London The O2
- 29 June – Liverpool M+S Bank Arena
On seeing the girls back in the day on TV, Bear apparently asked why they were so ‘naked’, according to amused mum Cheryl, speaking to Heart.
Meanwhile, Kimberly is going to ‘have to try and fight’ her sons – Bobby, Cole, and Nate – off the stage, she told Zoe.
Fans are over the moon with the news, including Rylan, who phoned into Radio 2 and said: ‘On behalf of the gays, welcome back.’
Girls Aloud had a meteoric rise to stardom on ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, storming the charts with hits like Can’t Speak French, The Show, and Love Machine.
In 2009, the group went on a hiatus before returning for their 10 year anniversary in 2012 and officially splitting the following year.
This morning, the Girls Aloud website was down. Perhaps it’s because of the rip-roaring Love Machine the four women have conjured in the space of 24 hours.
Pre-sale tickets will be up for grabs on Wednesday, November 29, at 9am, with the general sale on Friday December 1, 2023, at the same time.
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