Siobhán Emma Donaghy (born 14 June 1984) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the girl group Sugababes. Donaghy left Sugababes in 2001 and released her debut solo album, Revolution in Me, in 2003. Her second studio album, Ghosts, was released in 2007 and met critical acclaim.
In 2012, Donaghy and her former Sugababes bandmates Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan confirmed their reunion.[1] The original trio were not able to release music under the name Sugababes as it was still owned by the management company. They instead released music under the new name Mutya Keisha Siobhan, until they secured the legal rights to the Sugababes name again in 2019.
Early life
Siobhán Emma Donaghy was born on 14 June 1984 in Eastcote to Irish parents[2][3] and has two sisters, Beibhinn and Róisín. The latter works as her make-up artist.[4]
Donaghy signed her first management contract at the age of 12 with music manager Ron Tom, who had previously helped form British music group All Saints. Donaghy explained she was unsure of "what I wanted to do with my life at that stage. I knew I loved singing and I kind of went along with it." Although her mother was supportive, Donaghy said her father "didn't want me to do it. I was like, 'F***ing dad, trying to spoil it for me', but he didn't like the industry and didn't want his 12-year-old daughter doing it." Soon after, Tom also signed Mutya Buena as a solo artist, and the pair performed an a cappella concert together at an industry showcase.[5] Donaghy and Buena later began recording music together with British producer Don-E, with Buena eventually inviting her friend Keisha Buchanan to a recording session. Tom suggested the trio form a band called Sugababes.[6] He noted the different ethnicity of each member of the group, and likened their appearance to a commercial campaign from Italian fashion brand Benetton.[7]
"It was just never good. Right from the start. We just didn't get on. We ignored each other and went about our business. It was very much a working relationship and we couldn't even work at that. You know all those photos of us refusing to smile? I was just really unhappy and I couldn't be arsed."
Tensions between Donaghy and her bandmates were reported by numerous publications over the course of the promotional tour for One Touch. Donaghy said she and Buchanan "had nothing in common at all, and we went on not to get on. She was Mutya's friend, so I ended up being the odd one out." Buchanan and Buena reportedly invented their own coded language to exclude Donaghy from conversations, and allegedly bullied her out of the group. Donaghy refused to comment on these details, "because people know what happened".[5] She acrimoniously exited the Sugababes in August 2001 during a tour of Japan.[11] According to the band, Donaghy "excused herself to go to the toilet" and never returned,[5] instead flying back to her home in England; Donaghy said she and Buchanan had a "falling out" while in Japan.[3] She later said she was "pushed out" of the group and accused Buchanan of bullying, saying: "It was clear that there was someone in that band who never wanted me in it and that's Keisha. She never wanted me in that band and made my life a living hell."[6] Buchanan has denied all accusations of bullying other members of Sugababes,[12] and she and Buena have described a culture of intimidation within the group instigated by their former manager and producers.[13]
2002–2009: Revolution in Me, Ghosts and hiatus
Donaghy in 2007
Donaghy started writing music with the help of former producer Cameron McVey to help overcome her depression, and began performing under the alias Shanghai Nobody, an anagram of "Siobhán Donaghy".[14] In March 2003, Donaghy released the 7-inch vinyl single "Nothing But Song" under this title as she did not want to be known as "the girl who left the Sugababes [sic]".[citation needed] For the release of her first commercial single in June 2003, "Overrated" (co-written with McVey and Paul Simm), Donaghy reverted to her given name. "Overrated" peaked at No. 19 in the UK.[15] It was followed by the single "Twist of Fate", which was released in September 2003 and charted at No. 52.[15]
Donaghy's debut album Revolution in Me was released by London Records in September 2003, and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 117.[16] Working with her on the album were father-and-son producers and writers Cameron McVey and Marlon Roudette from Mattafix. Each of the 12 tracks on the album was co-written by Donaghy with collaborators including McVey, Silvio Pacini, Preetesh Hirji and Matt Kent.
Donaghy parted from London Records in a mutual decision with the company.[citation needed] She recorded a second album independently which was picked up by Parlophone, part of the EMI group, which also bought the rights to Revolution in Me. The album's title track, "Ghosts", was released in February 2007 as a 12-inch promotional two-track single with the song "Don't Give It Up". The latter song was given a wider release in April 2007 and peaked at No. 45 in the UK.[15] The second single, "So You Say", was released in June 2007 and peaked at No. 76.[15] A remix of "Don't Give It Up" by Jerry Bouthier is featured on the Kitsuné release BoomBox, released in November 2007.[17]
The album Ghosts was also released in June 2007 and peaked at No. 92.[15] Donaghy had said she wanted commercial success only so she could continue to make music. She told The London Paper: "I make leftfield pop music, and it's a difficult genre to be in because it's not straight pop, it's not alternative, and it's quite hard to market. You have to push it and work it."[18] The album was recorded in a small studio near Barneville-Carteret, France with producer James Sanger;[19] other producers/songwriters include Jony Rockstar, Carl McIntosh ("There's a Place"), Ben Ranyard ("12 Bar Acid Blues"), Charles Lucy of Lucy Tuning ("Sometimes"[20]) and Marius De Vries. According to Donaghy, the album was produced while she was living in the house of music producer James Sanger, who was addicted to heroin during their songwriting and recording sessions. "He was a heroin addict when we made this record. That made for quite a fraught working relationship."[21] Donaghy addressed the experience in the "Track by Track" interviews about making the album.[22]
Donaghy appeared as the character of Mimi, a lead role, in the William Baker-directed production of Rent in London's West End at the Duke of York's Theatre, which opened in October 2007 and ran until February 2008. She said she was "overwhelmed that she got the part and was looking forward to the challenge". In August 2007 she flew to New York to watch Rent on Broadway to get inspiration for her interpretation of her part.[23] This was Donaghy's West End debut.[24] From 2006 to 2011 she worked as a model booker in London.[25]
In a January 2009 interview with the music site We7, Donaghy indicated there would be no further solo albums released for the time being.[26] "At this point in time I have no further plans to undertake another record of my own. Ultimately, the true nature of the business side of the music industry is enough to keep me away. Nonetheless, if I find myself in the future bursting with ideas and experiences I feel the need to share through music, I will be back," Donaghy stated.
In June 2009, Donaghy was featured on the Square1 single "Styfling" produced by Silvio Pacini. Later in the year, she said in an interview with fashion site ponystep.com that she feels she had "had the break" she wanted from the industry and was currently working on new music but was unsure when it would be finished.[27]
In March 2010, it was reported Donaghy's former colleague Mutya Buena was pursuing legal rights to the Sugababes name. Buena was doing it by herself and only listed Donaghy's and Buchanan's names on the documentation to register the Sugababes name with the EU's trademark office OHIM.[28]
In October 2011, several news outlets reported the original line-up of Sugababes would reform.[29][30][31] In January 2012, further circulations 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.[32] 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)"[32] 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."[33] In April 2012, it was reported that the line-up had signed a £1 million record real with Polydor Records.[34] In June 2012, Donaghy confirmed on Twitter that new music would be released, saying: "the soonest it'll be is in 2 weeks. The latest is 10 weeks."[35]
In July 2012, it was officially confirmed the group had re-formed under the name Mutya Keisha Siobhan and were writing songs for a new album under Polydor. The group attended the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 27 July 2012 and posted pictures on their official Instagram page, marking Buena, Buchanan and Donaghy's first public appearance together in 11 years. On 6 August the group confirmed they had written two songs with Shaznay Lewis, former member of All Saints.[36] The next day, Siobhan Donaghy tweeted "With the girls in the studio. I think the album is finished!!!" before adding "Whoop!"[37] In an interview with Popjustice in August 2012 Donaghy stated she had no interest in releasing any more solo material, saying she felt her 2007 album Ghosts was her best work and did not see why she needed to release any more material and that she was completely focused on MKS. An album was confirmed by Donaghy in 2016 to be released in early 2017, however this never materialised.
2019–present: Touring and The Lost Tapes
In February 2019, Mutya Buena confirmed a leak of the demos resulted in the album being postponed.[38] Donaghy has a writing credit on the Bananarama song "Love in Stereo" along with Keisha Buchanan, a song originally written for the Mutya Keisha Siobhan album.[39] In August 2019, Donaghy, Buena and Buchanan reunited for a cover of Sweet Female Attitude's "Flowers", produced by DJ Spoony, as part of his album Garage Classical. The trio is credited as Sugababes, making it the first time since 2001 that Donaghy had performed under the name.[40] Sugababes headlined the second day of June 2022's "Mighty Hoopla" festival in Herne Hill, London.[41] On 20 May 2022, it was announced the band would be supporting Westlife on their Dublin leg. They will make a number of further appearances at music festivals over the summer, including Glastonbury, Portsmouth's Victorious Festival[42] and the Margate Pride Festival.[43]
On 3 June 2022, the 2013 Mutya Keisha Siobhan single "Flatline" was re-released under the Sugababes name.[44] Sugababes announced their 17-date headlining tour, their first tour in nine years, on 23 June 2022, starting on 16 October 2022 in Bristol and concluding on 7 November 2022 in Glasgow.[45]
In October 2022, it was announced that the band would support Take That at BST Hyde Park on 1 July 2023 alongside The Script.[46] They later released The Lost Tapes, an album consisting of previously unreleased material.[47] In March 2023, Donaghy appeared as a special guest on 'Spinning Plates', a podcast series presented by Sophie Ellis Bextor.
On 8 December 2023, a 20th-anniversary edition of Revolution in Me was released with a vinyl pressing for the first time. The release was preceded by the release of an album out-take, "Pop Illusion", as a promotional single.[48]
Personal life
Donaghy married Chris McCoy in 2013. She gave birth to a son on 13 August 2017.[49] Donaghy gave birth to a daughter in 2020.[50]
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