Public Servant Lifestyle

Siobhan Donaghy talks about quiting the Sugababes, her new record, new band and why these days she's happier away from the teen pop scene.

Overrated by Siobhan Donaghy

The much-anticipated solo debut from ex-Sugababe Siobhan Donaghy has hit the stores. Co-written by Siobhan and produced by Cameron Mc Vey the enormously atmospheric track - Overrated - is the first single to be taken from Siobhan’s debut album - and her first new material since her departure from the Sugababes in the autumn of 2001.

At 18 years of age, Siobhan finds that she’s already a veteran of the showbiz world. After three and half years with the Sugababes - 11 months of which brought genuine fame - these days she's doing things the old-fashioned way. A live vocalist, with a live band, Siobhan’s touring (for now, at least) in a transit van. "I'm definitely good at roughing it," she grins.

"There's room for music to be a lot more interesting than the teen stuff that's out there. I wanna play live, do interesting videos, we've got great tunes and a couple of them have even have a point. I'm not ashamed to say at the moment I am only listening to my album. Hahaha!"

Showbiz

"There's room for music to be a lot more interesting than the teen stuff that's out there. I wanna play live, do interesting videos, we've got great tunes and a couple of them have even have a point. I'm not ashamed to say at the moment I am only listening to my album. Hahaha!"

Since leaving the Sugababes raven haired Siobhan has been consistently co-writing and recording. She’s completed a ‘secret’ tour of some of Britain's tiniest venues (including Camden's indie Mecca the Dublin Castle, under the name 'Shanghai Nobody' – a neat little anagram of Siobhan Donaghy) and this September releases her debut solo album Revolution In Me. A creative spirit besotted with studio life - "all my free time in the Sugababes was spent in the studio, I loved getting involved" - she was retained as a solo artist after the 'Babes decamped to Universal, as an acknowledged sweet-soul singer with an ear for "wicked melodies".

This time around though, there'll be little hype, Siobhan initially re-emerged with a low-key approach via a limited edition 7" single, Nothing But Song, an irresistible catch-all corker (all acoustic guitar, piano-led reverie, old-school turntable scratch-beats and celebration summer-time whistling) – find a copy if you can!

Dazzling

Her first single proper - the enormous, dazzling, guitar-led Overrated - is no indie-reinvention, though, despite her back to basics attitude. Revolution In Me promises to be an album of sophisticated pop, music across a diverse spectrum.

Track As You Like It is twinkling, grooved-out pop-soul, while Little Bits' is an orchestral dreamscape. Man Without Friends comes on like a glorious, strummed-up stroll through the vocal idiosyncrasies of Bohemians’ frontwoman Edie Brickell and sometime Blue Nile collaborator Ricky Lee Jones, taking a full three minutes to explode into a charming, blissful chorus. All the tracks that have been heard so far have been sculpted through the multi-layered, playful, production dynamics of Massive Attack and Neneh Cherry producer Cameron McVey – and it shows.

Increasingly appalled by the trivial, production-line piffle of the Pop Idol generation, Siobhan's solo lyrics are proving personal and vivid; detailing psychological meltdown, depression – and hope too - in the huge, emotive Iodine.

Turkeys

So how did she come to write this allegorical little tale, we wonder? "I'd been reading about turkeys before Christmas and how they're treated," Siobhan says, "which is appallingly, so I've compared the way the government treats us, to that. People my age, we talk about current affairs, debate things all the time. And all we get in music is a load of covers. We've heard it all before, literally!"

London-born Siobhan is a radiant, sensitive and comical personality of Irish decent, who was discovered aged 12 by Ron Tom, (ex-All Saints manager), who went on to manage the then fledgling Sugababes. A year older than the other girls, who were already good friends, she claims she felt "completely isolated for three years". Leaving school early to concentrate on the band, she was also tutored alone, compounding her feelings of isolation.

Pop Lark

Ultimately, it seems, Siobhan was never much cut out for the pop lark – something she realised as she watched what she thought would be a "a fun job" disintegrate into schoolyard squabbles. Years of inter-band tension, personality clashes, creative grievances, power struggles and promotional pressures left her exhausted and depressed. "We were just so different," she says, "very very very different people. I just didn't feel comfortable, wasn't made to feel good at what I do. It was inevitable it was gonna be three's a crowd."

The End

It was in August 2001, whilst in Japan on yet another promotional trip, that Siobhan finally decided she had enough of the Sugababes. "It was four days before the end of the trip," she remembers, "and I made a decision and that was it. I thought 'I'm not doing four more days, I'm not doing one more minute...In the end, they had to ship me off on my own, wandering round this Japanese airport, I didn't know where I was going, I just followed numbers on the wall. I cried the whole way home on the plane. That was the last time I heard or saw of anyone I had worked with for those 3 ½ years"

Recovered

Back home, she took time off, slowly recovered from the ruthless rigours of the modern music industry. Believing her musical years were behind her, she intended to take up photography at college. "I wasn't gonna do music again," she notes, "I'd completely and utterly had it." A chance meeting, on holiday in Ibiza, with old friend Johnny Lipsey changed everything. Through Johnny, she was back in touch with Cameron, who always believed in her talents, hooked her up in the studio with his son Marlon and a young musician/producer called Pretesh.

"Marlon and Pretesh were similar ages and we were really timid and kind of awkward and...perfect for each other! It was wicked, wicked tunes and I was excited to be writing again. Up until a few months ago I thought I was never gonna go through with it, would never release anything, but I'm out of it now. And I can't wait!"

She was encouraged, too, by CMO - the same management company who already handle Blur and Morcheeba - who were sent a five-track demo and signed her up immediately. "They were so different to my old management," she notes, "I was told I had a say in what I did. And I'd never had that. I thought 'I'll stick with these boys!'"

"I never wanted to be famous anyway," she continues, "and this isn't that kind of record. Our whole thing was 'let's just make music that we wanna listen to'. And you start off from there. Make music you like, music you think other people will like, do things that you like and keep it simple. In the Sugababes it was all so complicated. And there's no need. My sister's a make-up artist and I was never allowed to use her. Now she's my make-up artist. Great! Keep it in the family, have everyone as your mate, sweet."

Overrated is out now, through WEA.