Nicole and Natalie Appleton look back: ‘It was my home away from home during All Saints madness’

Born in Canada, Natalie and Nicole Appleton are singers best known as members of the band All Saints. Raised between Ontario, London and New York, the sisters joined the band in 1996 along with Shaznay Lewis and Melanie Blatt. After their first breakthrough in 1997 and a string of hits including the chart singles Never Ever and Pure Shores, All Saints broke up in 2001. The sisters released music together as Appleton in 2002, and have since reunited with All Saints for three albums. Appleton’s new single, Falling Into You, is out now.

Nicole

If I had to revisit one moment from my life, it would be this – riding my bike around London with my sister during what felt like an endless summer holiday. Not only because it was so much fun, but because I would never be able to ride my bike like I did when I was six. I would be tired and in a lot of pain from sitting for too long.

I have three older sisters, so I always wore hand-me-downs. Nat was really good at saving her pocket money and going to the market to get a nice top, whereas if I had 70p, I’d go straight to the sweet shop. Luckily for me, I used to own her clothes from time to time, like the top I’m wearing here.

Although we grew up in central London, our childhood was like being in the countryside. We were always out with a big group of friends, and we knew everyone from every apartment, from punk rockers to old people, dogs and teenagers.

We look a bit messy in that photo, but we never caused any trouble – except when we knocked on the door and ran away. When we got tired, everyone would go back to whoever was nearby and stand around the dripping kitchen faucet. Orange squash if we were really lucky.

I always wanted to play. At the time this picture was taken, Mom said to me, “Nic, I got you a test.” I was too young to know what that meant, so I went to Sylvia Young [theatre school] and danced away from Flashdance. There was no pre-planned choreography or sense of pressure. I did two wheels, and that was enough to get in.

Sylvia Young was the best school. At that time it was one big group, and I was the last one for a long time. Emma Bunton was there too – she is exactly the same as she was then, a person with a sweet, kind personality. In the end, Nat joined, because he and I always wanted to stick together.

Mel [Blatt] and I immediately became best friends when we met when we were 11 Sylvia Young. After we graduated, we went our separate ways until I met him at the cafe where I worked when I was 19. He told me he was in Shaznay’s band and asked me if I wanted to join. I said yes, because I liked to sing. Once Mel and I met again, it was like no time had passed. Like Sylvia Young, Nat joined us early, and that was it.

Nat was my home away from home and a complete comfort during the madness of All Saints. Working with my sister didn’t put a strain on our relationship at all – we were always together as kids, and we didn’t know any different. When we started having families we would spend every day off together, too. After Gene [Gallagher, son of Liam] was born, we had one Christmas with Nat and Liam [Howlett of the Prodigy, Nat’s husband] where the turkey continued to cook, and everyone was so upset that we ended up getting KFC.

Gene was actually the one who suggested that my sister and I do some more music. We were chatting and he said, “Mom, why don’t you go into the studio with Aunt Nat? The encouragement from my son felt like a real support, and working with my sister is easy – it’s natural I can feel.”

I am proud of our relationship. We were never at odds or pulled in opposite directions. We’ve been through it all and, now that we don’t share a bed, we still see each other a hundred times a day. What are we talking about? Not much. Married at First Sight Australia, mostly.

Natalie

This is my sweet spot. I was nine years old, dressed in a top from the market and standing on my bicycle outside our house in west London. Nic and I loved those bikes – we treated them like they were cars – putting our hands in grease and pretending to be mechanics. This little concrete area is where all the other areas meet, and it was where we would go roller-skating or wash people’s cars. We charge 10p per car. The best way to make money in the 80s.

My dad is from Bow and my mum is from Birmingham. They moved to Canada but my father wanted to go back to England, so we moved to London when I was about five years old. The American words came from the two years we lived in New York when I was 11. We wanted to get along, so it stuck.

We had the greatest childhood in London. It was a real city full of many children and street parties. No matter what happened, Nic was always there for me – my bookworm, my best friend, my beautiful brother with big brown eyes. Our personalities were similar – playful and easy-going – although I have always been a more serious person. Nic and I did not scold each other, and sometimes I did the same with my older sisters.

Although there were four of us in All Saints, being sisters did not change the strength of the group. We were all on the same page – there was no us v them. It was a crazy time for all of us, and I was very surprised. I remember when we had our first meeting with the record company and I saw a piece of paper with our schedule on it. I asked what ROW meant and someone said “the whole world”. I was surprised – I didn’t realize the magnitude of what we were about to do.

The 90s were luxurious and there was a lot of money in the industry, but the payoff took a very long time. There was plenty of entertainment – The Big Breakfast, Live and Kicking, CD:UK and Top of the Pops. Sometimes, the producers would just ask us about our boyfriends or what we look like, but it was something that was done in those days. We had to get used to it. The whole experience of All Saints was like being caught in a whirlwind. In 2001, when the group ended, it was like a pressure cooker. Eventually we had to put things on hold for a while, but not forever.

Nic and I talk on the phone every day and I still say “I love you” – I should tell him I love him more often. Because as I grow older, I admire how it is. She is a great mother, a great aunt, and whatever we go through, she always has my back. I couldn’t live without him.