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The Lost Tapes (Sugababes album)

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The Lost Tapes
Studio album by
Sugababes
Released24 December 2022 (2022-12-24)
Recorded2012–2014
Studio
  • London, UK
  • Los Angeles, US
  • New York City, US
Length50:41
Producer
Sugababes chronology
Sweet 7
(2010) 		The Lost Tapes
(2022)
Singles from The Lost Tapes
  1. "Flatline"
    Released: 6 September 2013

The Lost Tapes is the eighth studio album by British girl group Sugababes and their first independent release. While work for the album dates back to 2012 when the original lineup reunited and concluded in 2014, the album remained unreleased until 24 December 2022.[1] The Lost Tapes is the second Sugababes album to feature the original lineup after 2000's One Touch.[2] The band announced the surprise release on social media, stating "We wrote this album almost 8 years ago and for various reasons it didn't get an official release, so it's with great pride that The Lost Tapes is available now on all streaming platforms".[3][4]

Background

Production on the album began in 2011 when rumours began circulating about the reformation of the group's founding members, Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. In January 2012, further speculations circulated that the group would reunite were sparked, after both Buena and Buchanan tweeted that they were in the studio with "two other females" and British rapper Professor Green.[5] However, Buena later denied this on Twitter, saying: "No track [with] keisha or professor G he was around tha studio. im jus workin on my stuff @ tha moment. [sic]"[5]

Despite this, Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé confirmed to MTV UK that she had written new songs for Buena, Buchanan and Donaghy, saying: "Yes, that is true. I've written for the original line-up of the Sugababes, which I’m very happy about because I just loved them when they first came out. I loved their sound, it was so cool. It was very different, so I'm happy to kind of be involved in what started the whole Sugababes journey. It sounds amazing."[6]

In April 2012, it was reported that the line-up had signed a £1 million record deal with Polydor Records.[7] In July 2012, it was officially confirmed that the group had reformed under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan and were writing songs for a new album under Polydor.[8] The name was officially registered through the European Union on 27 June 2012.[9] The group attended the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 27 July 2012 and posted pictures on their official Instagram page, marking the trio's first public appearance together in eleven years.

The group enlisted Naughty Boy, MNEK, Sia and Shaznay Lewis as collaborators for the album.[10][11] The album's original title was reportedly The Sacred Three, after the band's comeback concert tour.[12] On 7 August 2012, Donaghy tweeted "With the girls in the studio. I think the album is finished!!!"[13]

Demos of the album's intended tracklist surfaced online in 2016. This marked the first instance of many whereby the group's music had leaked. The Lost Tapes sees a revised tracklist with the removal of "Too in Love" due to the instrumental of the track being offered to The X Factor winner James Arthur for his single "Get Down", as well as "Love in Stereo" which ultimately ended up being recorded and released by Bananarama on their album In Stereo.[14].

Following the leaks, Buchanan said in an interview that the group were working on new material after their previous work was leaked online.[15]

In June 2018, Donaghy hinted at some of the legal difficulties the band had been experiencing when trying to claim back the Sugababes name, revealing "We're still working together. That's really easy to [say] and reassure fans. We're kind of stronger than ever. Things were really difficult when we were teenagers. The vultures were out, it was new to us and relations were strained or whatever. Then we got back together and you've got to go through that full circle of almost like therapy of working out who you are now and what happened back then. We've done all that now." She added that she had no idea when, or even if, an album would be released.[16]

Music and lyrics

The album includes '80s-inspired pop, which is most present on its lead single "Flatline" which has initially released in June 2013[17][18] , pop rock influences as seen on "Summer of '99", and elements of breakbeat, which is notable on "Today".[19]

The song "Boys" features on the album which a short a cappella clip was uploaded of on Buchanan's YouTube account in January 2013. The clip quickly attracted attention, surpassing over 100,000 views. The same day, Popjustice released a three-second clip of the studio version of the single, calling it "simply amazing". The group have also signed with Storm Model Management.[20][21]

A handful of the songs included on the album, namely "I'm Alright", "Love Me Hard", "Today" and "No Regrets" were previously performed by the trio at their first official headline gig at Scala on 1 August 2013.[22] "Flatline" and "Today" were amongst the songs performed throughout their various festival performances and headline tour in 2022.[23]

Singles

"Flatline" was originally released on 6 September 2013 under the Mutya Keisha Siobhan name through Polydor Records. The single was re-released on 9 June 2022 independently under the Sugababes name.[24]

Track listing

The Lost Tapes track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Drum"
3:34
2."Flatline"
Hynes3:53
3."Love Me Hard"
Stannard3:42
4."Summer of '99"
Eliot3:58
5."Boys"
  • Stannard
  • MNEK
3:05
6."Metal Heart"
Booga Bear4:25
7."Beat Is Gone"
Stannard4:29
8."No Regrets"
  • Buchanan
  • Donaghy
  • James
  • Lucas Juby
  • Ben Harrison
  • Felix Howard
  • Harry Craze
  • Hugo Chegwin
Naughty Boy4:01
9."Today"
  • Buchanan
  • Donaghy
  • Buena
  • Gifty Dankwah
  • Emenike
MNEK3:42
10."Victory"
  • Evigan
  • Allan
  • Stannard
3:12
11."I'm Alright"
Stannard4:04
12."I Lay Down"
  • Buchanan
  • Donaghy
  • Simm
  • McVey
Booga Bear4:08
13."Back in the Day"
  • Buchanan
  • Donaghy
  • Buena
  • James Murray
  • Mustafa Omer
Mojam4:23
Total length:50:41
Deluxe edition – bonus tracks[25]
No.TitleLength
14."Back to Life"3:34
15."Breathe Me"4:17
16."Only You"4:11
Total length:62:43

Release history

The Lost Tapes release history
Region Date Format(s) Edition(s) Label Ref.
Worldwide 24 December 2022 Digital download Standard Self-released [1]
31 December 2022 Deluxe [25]

Charts

Chart (2022) Peak
position
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[26] 2
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] 13

References

  1. ^ a b "Sugababes - The Lost Tapes". Apple Music. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Sugababes surprise release 'The Lost Tapes' album". Retro Pop Magazine. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ^ "We wrote this album almost 8 years ago and for various reasons it didn't get an official release, so it's with great pride that The Lost Tapes is available now on all streaming platforms. A very Merry Christmas, love Mutya, Keisha & Siobhan". 24 December 2022.
  4. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (24 December 2022). "'Thank you': Sugababes release album they recorded eight years ago". Independent. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  5. ^ a b Corner, Lewis (9 January 2012). "Mutya Buena denies original Sugababes reunion plans". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  6. ^ Dorken, Joanne (25 January 2012). "Emeli Sande Confirms Song With Original Sugababes". MTV. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Sugababes sign £1m record deal". RTÉ.ie. RTÉ. 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  8. ^ Cochrane, Greg (20 July 2012). "Original Sugababes regroup as Mutya Keisha Siobhan". Newsbeat. BBC. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  9. ^ Saunders, Louise (20 July 2012). "Original Sugababes come up with catchy new relaunch name... Mutya Keisha Siobhan". Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  10. ^ Clarke, Naomi (24 December 2022). "Sugababes give fans early Christmas present with long-awaited new album release". Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Surprise! Sugababes Release 'The Lost Tapes' Album [Listen]". That Grape Juice. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  12. ^ "10 Legendary Unreleased Albums by Amy Winehouse, La Roux, Bowie and More". matuklon.com. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  13. ^ Original Sugababes Mutya Keisha Siobhan finish new album – Music News – Digital Spy Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Digitalspy.com.au (8 August 2012).
  14. ^ "Bananarama: In Stereo review – pop duo shimmy into the modern age". the Guardian. 19 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Sugababes Keisha Buchanan insists MKS album is still coming". CelebsNow.co.uk. 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  16. ^ Copsey, Rob (28 June 2018). "The original Sugababes lineup insist new album will happen". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Mutya Keisha Siobhan announce new single 'Flatline'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Mutya Keisha Siobhan preview new single 'Flatline' – listen". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Sugababes Finally Gift Fans The Early Christmas Present They've Been Waiting Eight Years For". HuffPost UK. 24 December 2022.
  20. ^ "We are super excited to announce that we now represent @MKS Official". Twitter. Westminster, London: Storm Model Management. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  21. ^ "Stormmodels.com". Stormmodels.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013.
  22. ^ Price, Simon (3 August 2013). "Simon Price on Mutya Keisha Siobhan: A proper Suga rush from the original babes" Archived 25 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  23. ^ "Sugababes review – reunited trio celebrate reigning over an era in British pop". The Guardian. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Sugababes demand #JusticeForFlatline following live comeback". retropopmagazine.com. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  25. ^ a b "The Lost Tapes (Deluxe Edition)". Apple Music (NZ). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
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