SINS OF THE SAINTS
22nd September 2000 - Daily Star / Megastar
Reporter: Debbie Pogue

They're the bad girls of pop whose reputation for all-night partying and fighting each other has threatened to outshine their musical tallent.

Nicole, Natalie, Mel and Shaznay fall in and out of love - with each other celebs - more often than they could ever hope of reaching No.1 in the charts.

Yet those All Saints insist they're here to stay, despite all the rumours and a punch-up on a TV show.

Tensions
Nicole, the younger of the two Appleton sisters, admits: "We fight in public all the time. Me and Shaznay came to blows at the Jools Holland show. But that doesn't mean we will split."

That very public row happened back in December 1998, when Nicole shocked fans by battering Shaznay Lewis over the head with a microphone, before claiming: "All I want for Christmas is a new band."

But her dramatic departure from the group didn't last long. She was soon back in the fold, ready to record more hits.

Those who know the girls defend their behavior by highlighting the tensions involved in working together non-stop.

Shaznay, the one member of the All Saints who seems to be untouched by their fame, is open about the problems they've faced.

She says of one particulary rocky period: "We were needed in the same country at the same time. But we didn't know - what's that phrase? - our arses from our elbows. We were close to cracking up."

Yet the four girls have enjoyed enormous success. Their latest single, Black Coffee, is out on October 2, closely followed by their new album, Saints & Sinners.

Both look to be sure-fire hits. And it's all thanks to a drunken night in a London restaraunt, which led to the formation of All Saints.

Nicole, 25, whose latest love is Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, says: "Me, Mel and Shaz got really drunk.

"This Mary J. Blige song came on and we all saing it. That night, they decided I was in the band."

In an interview in this month's Ministry magzine, out today, Natalie, 26, admits: "We're like f***ing Oasis - mad for it." Hercomment sums up All Saints who, for all their teeny-bopper fans, have a very grown-up attitude to life.

Natalie, who is dating Prodigy star Liam Howlett, says: "This guy came up to me recently and was like, 'Would you ever go out with an ordinary guy?'

"I said, 'Well, would you go out with an ordinary girl? I'm normal, too, you know. Just don't breathe alcohol all over me, sober up, and maybe you'd have a chance!'"

For Melanie Blatt - whose film career began alongside Nat and Nic in the flop flick Honest and was followed by a part in the porn film Dog Eat Dog - the unconventional approatch to performing began early on

"We sang the theme to Revenge Of The Nerds," she says. "We greased our hair down and stuffed pens in our pockets, just like in the film."

Mates
The duet may not have won them any awards, but it did cement their friendship.

"I can't remember exactly when we met," says Mel, 24, who has a daughter, Lilly, with her partner, former Jamiroquai bass player Stuart Zender.

"We were in the same class and then, BAM! We're best mates, solid for a year."

Mel speaks of her upbringing as "anti-establishment". She says her parents were a couple of football-mad hippies who took her ro her first Manchester Untied game when she was just 18 months old and to Glastonbury when she was six.

"I remember going on anti-nuclear marches chanting, 'Hi-rosh-i-ma! Nag-a-saki!' I didn't know what it meant, but the singing was fun," she says.

After a few years in the spotlight, the girls now live seperate lives.

Shaznay, 24, is frank in her views of the other band members, describing Mel as a tomboy and Nicole as being far bubblier before the industry took it out of her.

She adds: "I remember when I first met Nat I thought, 'Oh, she's glam'. She looked really cool, very American."

Single mum Natalie - whose daughter, Rachel, is now aged seven - admits she's attracted to rich, good-looking celebs.

"Success is sexy. It makes you feel good about yourself," insists the former girlfriend of Jamie Theakston and Johnny Lee Miller.

She confesses to being a snob - even before she found fame with All Saints. "I was the poorest snob," she says. "Even when I was signing on, I wanted more."

Nicole's list of boyfriends could make even the biggest snob envious. The former lover of Robbie Williams is nowdating his deadly enemy, Liam Gallagher. Yet she's keen to quash rumours of other celeb "conquests" - including claims that she had a close encounter with actor Leonardo DiCaprio in a toilet.

"That was a f***ing lie," she says. "I didn't call him 'immature', either. He's actually a sweet guy."

She also denies dating former EastEnder Sid Owen: "Or the rest of them. I haven't met half of 'em."

Yet she is more coy when it comes to talking about her new love, Liam. "He's a great guy, that's all I'm saying," she says.

Well, not quite. Sorry, Robbie - as well as calling you a "treacherous bastard" earlier this week after you slagged her off, she rates Liam far higher than you.

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