| Biography | All Saints are an English girl group formed in London in 1993. They were founded as All Saints 1.9.7.5, with members Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis, and Simone Rainford. The group struggled to find commercial success and were dropped by their label shortly after Rainford left the group. In 1996, the group were joined by Canadian-born sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton and signed to London Records under their shortened name.
Part of the 1990s wave of British girl groups, they peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart with debut album All Saints (1997), which became the UK's third-best-selling girl group album of all time to date. The album contained three UK number-one singles: "Never Ever", "Under the Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade" and "Bootie Call". "Never Ever" is the third-best-selling girl-group single in the UK, behind the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" and "Shout Out to My Ex" by Little Mix. It also won two Brit Awards: Best British Single and Best British Video, and the group were nominated for Best British Breakthrough Act. Their second album, Saints & Sinners (2000), became their first UK number-one album and achieved multi-platinum success. It included the UK number-one singles "Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee". Amid in-fighting among the group members, All Saints 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 United Kingdom and All Saints were dropped by their label shortly afterwards. Following a second split in 2009, the group reunited in 2014 for a series of live performances, prompting the group to release of Red Flag (2016), and Testament (2018). As of January 2016, All Saints have sold 12 million records. Musicians including Jessy Lanza and Charli XCX have cited All Saints as an influence on their work. The group's influence on British fashion in the late 1990s has been noted, particularly their signature style of cargo pants in promotional imagery and live appearances. |