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All Saints always had 'a difficult relationship', says Melanie Blatt

Natalie Appleton, Nicole Appleton, Shaznay Lewis, Melanie Blatt of All Saints performing during Isle of Wight Festival 2021 at Seaclose Park on 18 September, 2021 in Newport, Isle of Wight. (Photo by Mark Holloway/Redferns)
(L-R) Natalie Appleton, Nicole Appleton, Shaznay Lewis, and Melanie Blatt of All Saints performing during the Isle of Wight Festival 2021 at Seaclose Park on 18 September, 2021

Former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt has described how there was "always a difficult relationship between the four of us" in the group.

In an interview with Good Housekeeping UK magazine, Blatt said the 1990s girl group, which was also made up of sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton and Shaznay Lewis, had a tricky dynamic.

Blatt told the magazine: "For a start, you've got two sisters. Nic and I were best friends when we were 11, then Shaz and I were best friends... we could never get it right.

"It's such a shame; I think if we'd got it right, we'd have been laughing. At the same time, we didn't fake it. We didn't pretend we were okay.

"And we certainly didn't stay in the band for money."

Nicole Appleton, Natalie Appleton, Shaznay Lewis and Melanie Blatt of All Saints performs live at O2 Academy Leeds on 11 December, 2018 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Andrew Benge/Redferns)
"It's such a shame; I think if we'd got it right, we'd have been laughing. At the same time, we didn't fake it. We didn't pretend we were okay"

Blatt, who features on the cover of the April issue of the magazine, also discussed how she and Nicola Appleton both discovered they were pregnant while on tour but "didn't have the communication skills" to talk about it as they were so young.

She told the magazine: "I'd only been dating Lily's dad (Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender) for a couple of months and the pregnancy was unplanned, but I knew that having the baby was absolutely the right thing for me.

"Nic decided to have an abortion, but we didn't really discuss it because we didn't have the communication skills to do so.

"I don't think we've ever spoken about it, to this day."

Blatt said she spent "many, many years feeling ashamed about being in a pop band", but she is more comfortable hearing the group's songs now.

She recounted: "I wanted to work with Timbaland and Missy Elliott. I didn't want to release Pure Shores.

English-Canadian girl group All Saints, circa 1997. From left to right, Natalie Appleton, Nicole Appleton, Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis (Photo by Tim Roney/Getty Images)
All Saints, circa 1997 - (L-R) Natalie Appleton, Nicole Appleton, Melanie Blatt, and Shaznay Lewis

"I was always making a fuss, I was always upset, and I was wrong. It became our biggest song."

Blatt, who appeared as a contestant on last year's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, said she would love to publish a cookery book or have her own cooking show.

She added: "Something like Cheeses of the World, where I travel to Africa and Asia and talk to people about cheese.

"I'm putting it out there, because I'm going to make it happen."

Source: Press Association

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