Sugababes have shared their lost album from a decade ago with fans. The band will be touring Australia in 2023.
The original, and current, line-up of Sugababes were only together for the band’s first album One Touch. In 2000 scored them hits with four singles Overload, New Year, Run for Cover and Soul Sound. While on a promotional tour of Japan in 2001 Siobhan Donaghy quit the band.
Mutya Beauna and Keisha Buchanan invited Heidi Lange, who was previously in rival girl-group Atomic Kitten, to join the band for their second album. Over the years there were more line-up changes, in 2005 Beuna left and was replaced by Amelle Barrabah, and in 2009 Buchananan quit and was replaced by Jade McEwan. Suddenly none of the original Sugababes were left in the band.
When the band went on hiatus in 2011, the original line-up reformed, but they couldn’t call themselves Sugababes. Instead, they had to be known as Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan. They got back into the studio and started recording again, but the album never saw the light of day. Just one single Flatline got an official release.
Now the band have uploaded the record and it can be purchased via iTunes and streamed online. While it’s an album from a decade ago the record has some good tunes.
It opens up with the hypnotic Drum, single Flatline is not going to set the world on fire, but Love Me Hard is a powerful ballad, Summer of ’99 is quite a rocking number, Boys sounds like a classic Sugababes track. Other highlights include Victory and the nostalgic Back in the Day.
The band’s live show includes songs from all of their career including Push the Button, Freak Like Me, Round Round, Hole in the Headi and Red Dress.
Famous Lost Records
George Michael – Trojan Souls In 1992 George Michael headed into the studio to make a new record. Michael’s plan for the album was to write a series of songs, but mostly have them sung by other artists. Among the talents lined up for the album were good friend Elton John alongside Anita Baker, Seal, Sade and Aretha Franklin. Some of the unfinished instrumental recordings from this album have leaked online. The project was also filmed for a planned documentary. After Michael’s death some raw footage of him the studio was shared on YouTube, but it has since been removed.
Prince: The Black Album in 1987 Price announced the follow up to his highly successful double album Sign ‘O the Times, would be an album called The Black Album – it had a completely black cover, the opposite of The Beatles White Album. Preview copies of the album were released, but then unexpectedly they were pulled. A few months later Prince released LoveSexy instead. The Black Album did finally get released in 1994 and critics panned it. Prince also recorded music with jazz legend Miles Davis which has also never seen the light of day.
Duran Duran – Reportage In 2006 Duran Duran recorded a whole album that never got a release. Soon after band member Andy Taylor quit (for a second time) and the remaining members went on to fulfill their record compay’s request for a more modern pop album. They teamed up with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake to make Red Carpet Massacre.
Deborah Conway’s Dance album: After Conway’s band Do-Re-Mi called it quits she signed a solo record deal and spent a year in the late ’80s making her first solo album, a Paula Abdul style dance record. The first single was a dance version of the Bad Company tune Feel Like Making Love. The single was only ever released in the UK and record label Virgin decided, much to Conway’s relief, not to put out the album. A year later she launched her solo career with the fabulous String of Pearls album.
Ryan Adams: Suicide Handbook alt.country singer Ryan Adams followed up his year 2000 debut solo record Heartbreaker with a raw sounding album called The Suicide Handbook, but it was dropped an the much more polished record Gold came out instead. Adams has indicated the album will eventually get a release but fans are still waiting.
David Bowie: Toy Prior to releasing Heathen in 2002 David Bowie was in the studio working on an album called Toy. Not liking the results Bowie scrapped the record, but a few tracks were re-worked an included on Heathen. The unreleased album leaked online in 2011 and got an official release in 2022.
Noel Gallagher’s collaboration with Androgynous Anonymous: Oasis singer Noel Gallagher recorded an album with electronic producers Amorphous Androgynous, who also perform under the moniker Future Sound of London. The record was recorded at the same time as the first ‘High Flying Birds’ album. One of the tracks Shoot a hole into the sun ended up as a b-side, and other tracks were seriously re-worked for a later release. Gallagher said after touring with his first solo record, he “couldn’t be arsed” putting out another one, in later interviews he revealed he’d destroyed the master tapes so it could never be released.
Carly Rae Jepson – Disco Sweat In 2019 Carly Rae Jepsen recorded a whole album that was heavily inspired by Swedish group ABBA’s classic 70s sounds. While retro-disco sounds were doing well in charts with Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa embracing the past, Jepson clearly decided it was the wrong direction for her, and the album remains unreleased.
OIP Staff
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