Nicole and Natalie Appleton on their return as a duo: “It’s a dream come true”

It’s been over two decades since sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton of All Saints fame first released music as a duo. Appleton’s debut album, Everything’s Eventual, reached the top ten in 2003 and now, 23 years later, they’re back with soaring new single, ‘Falling into You’, and they couldn’t be happier. “The reaction has just been wonderful; we’re enjoying every second,” Natalie beams, video calling from London. Nicole, sitting next to her older sister, is similarly delighted. “It’s just been a dream,” she smiles, admitting that they were initially nervous to return. “But in the end, we just thought, ‘Why not? Fuck it!’”

The pair revisited Appleton a couple of years ago for a special anniversary re-release of their debut album but initially had “no plans at all” to return, despite the positive reaction to the project. It was Gene, son of Nicole and her former partner Liam Gallagher, who ended up being responsible for the reunion. 

“I remember one day Gene said to me, ‘Mum, why don’t you just go back into the studio with Auntie Nat?’” Natalie’s children chimed in too and soon after, the sisters found themselves back in the studio with songwriter Gareth Young, who worked on the duo’s original debut. “[Our kids] are our harshest critics and if they didn’t think it was a good idea, they would have said, ‘nah!’” Natalie laughs. “They’re massive fans and I think they thought we should’ve maybe thought more of ourselves and they just gave us that little nudge to give it a go.”  

The duo’s return comes at a time when the 90s couldn’t be more in vogue following high-profile reunions from the likes of Oasis, Radiohead and Pulp. Nicole, Natalie, Gene and the rest of the Appleton family were all at the Oasis gigs last summer and say they had the time of their lives. “It’s been a long time coming for them to come back and we went with our mum, kids, sisters and it was just brilliant,” Nicole smiles, saying it made her “proud” to be “a part of the 90s.” Natalie agrees. “We got to see [Oasis] first time round of course and now our children got to see it, and it was so great. It was a brilliant show and just seeing the joy of the fans too – that was a show in itself…but like the 90s, I cherish all of it, personally – Appleton, All Saints – I’m just so proud that we did all of it. Every moment, the ups and downs, it’s part of our life and I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”

All Saints and Appleton’s music is having a timely revival on TikTok of late and so too is their distinct 90s style, much to the pair’s amusement. “They’re all dressed like us now,” Natalie laughs of Gen Z. “The trainers, the baggy trousers…we’re in, we’re really stylish at the moment!” The musician says it’s made her reflective of the era all over again. “To me looking back, the 90s had all genres of music working at the top of their game. I wish I could go back in time and relive that and feel the energy again. I think that it’s one of the best eras.” Nicole agrees. “It is the best and it’s great that it’s all come back, that everyone can experience it again and see the bands.”

They say the 90s was a “crazy” time when they were a part of All Saints alongside band mates Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis. The four-piece’s music bridged pop, R&B and hip hop and saw their debut album turn platinum on account of mega hits ‘Never Ever’ and ‘I Know Where It’s At’, while follow up album Saints and Sinners launched with the now iconic ‘Pure Shores’ from Leonardo DiCaprio hit film The Beach. 

While they “loved all of it”, they are candid about the pressures that came with it too, like those seen in the recent tell-all documentary about the era, Girl Bands Forever. Relentless touring and brutal recording schedules were the norm. “We were travelling around the world and not having a minute to enjoy where we were,” Nicole recalls. Natalie describes it as a “whirlwind of recordings and late nights…we’d be in the studio until 4am sometimes.” There was also the media to contend with too. While in the indie corner there was Blur versus Oasis, in the pop corner was All Saints v The Spice Girls, where members of each would be cruelly pitted against one another in misogynistic times.

“I think the press put that on us,” Natalie says of the so-called ‘rivalry’ between the bands. “It never really came from us. We just had to kind of deal with it. If you look at us now, it’s like there couldn’t be any more love if you tried. But back then, what you didn’t see is that we were all hanging out with each other – we were going out together all the time,” she smiles. “But it wasn’t interesting to know that we were friends, so [the media] wouldn’t write about us having fun together. We’ve known Emma Bunton since she was 11,” she explains of having met Baby Spice at the Sylvia Young theatre school in the early 90s. “We’ve got history with them and still do.

“But the fact that we were their rivals was an honour,” Natalie continues, “because they were massive and their songs were incredible. They were brilliant to watch, they were so exciting – and to be privileged enough to be their rivals…we were like, ‘we got to that place – and that was brilliant.’”

Both All Saints and the Spice Girls split in 2001. Appleton formed in the aftermath of the breakup after the sisters still very much wanted to make music. “We had time out…and we were like, ‘okay, we’ll park [All Saints], but I don’t think we wanted to be parked. There was so much more we had to say,” Natalie explains. “We wanted to keep going and I think we wanted to express ourselves individually as well and show a different side to us.” 

The sisters went away to Cornwall to record and found solace away from the mania of being in one of the most popular girl bands of all time – and rediscovered their love of music in the process. “We had so much fun,” Natalie says. “My son was a baby, and he was with us while we were creating in the studio. We just had a laugh, and it was so natural.” Nicole loved how there were “no rules” and it being a “really nice, lovely atmosphere,” – a far cry from the 4am finishes when in the studio with All Saints.

Recently, they’ve been “re-listening and re-connecting” to the songs they created in 2003. “It was an emotional one listening to all the songs back because we remember the journey at the time and we were so proud of them,” Natalie says. For Nicole, it “brought back loads of memories” and when they finally headed into the studio to record their new single, “it was just like we carried on where we left off. It was like going back in time,” Nicole adds. “It was like no time had passed at all.”

While no official album has been announced yet, they confirm they’re currently “in the studio” making new music. They say this happened after seeing the response to the new single from fans and critics alike (it was named BBC2’s Song of the Week recently too) after initially having “no plan” and “no expectations” beyond releasing a new single. Natalie explains: “We just had such an incredible reaction to the single and after that we were like, ‘we’re going to have to do more.’ I mean, there’s a few we’ve been working on,” she smiles.

As for the sound, the sisters say it will be a “natural progression” from their last album to now. “It’s just always going to have the same vibe. It will be along the same genre of what we’ve always done,” Natalie says of their pop and alternative roots. They also have two big gigs planned, including an appearance at The Mighty Hoopla and with the BBC Concert Orchestra as part of BBC Radio 2’s ‘Piano Room’ sessions. “There’s other gigs coming up too, which hopefully we’ll be able to disclose soon,” the pair reveal.

The pair last performed with All Saints in 2022 after a highly anticipated reunion and three more albums. Could another All Saints reunion be on the cards anytime soon? “Who knows,” Nicole smiles. “You know, our track record of being in the band is that we go on tour, we make records, we do our own thing for a bit. I feel like that’s just sort of been our path in the last 30 years. So I guess yes, who knows?!” 

Natalie adds: “Obviously we went back to the band and we did more albums, we did tours. We’ve had breaks and gone back and done all that but never really readdressed what we did with Appleton and so right now, we’re just enjoying being able to finally do that,” she says. Can fans expect to hear any All Saints songs at the live shows this summer? “We’ll throw a couple in,” Nicole laughs. Natalie agrees. “Definitely, we love these songs; they’re a part of us too. So we’ll definitely be doing that.”

The sisters themselves seem closer than ever. “We’re loving sisters,” Natalie says, hugging her sister mid-interview. “Every single day we speak,” Nicole adds. “Today, we had to get here early so we could talk before this even started even though we spoke this morning on FaceTime for about an hour too,” she laughs. “We talk in the car on the way home and then we’ll face time when we get home again.” 

In the studio, they say this bond helps them to create more freely too. “Everything we do is embraced and appreciated and any idea is a great idea,” Natalie says. But as sisters, they also “spend about 90 per cent of the time not working and laughing,” or “being silly” in the studio she adds. “It would be a lot cheaper in the studio if we just stopped laughing sometimes… we’re like The Muppets!”

Now, they say they’re finally able to enjoy the success they have more than first time round. “It’s a little bit easier. You enjoy it more; you can take more in,” Nicole says. “You get to have a bit more of a relationship with your fans. We have social media now too, you can have a bit more one on one with fans which is a very different world than it was back [in the 90s].”

The pair say they can’t wait for Gene and the rest of the Appleton family to see them perform this summer. “I think they’re going to be very emotional I think,” Natalie says. Nicole echoes her sister. “They’ll shed a tear probably.” For now, they’re just loving being back as a sister duo and are excited for whatever comes out of the studio sessions. “It’s a wonderful feeling,” Natalie smiles. “It’s like a dream come true for us.”