Live report: Mutya Keisha and Siobhan slay the Scala for their comebac

The original Sugababes play old hits and future favourites in the performance we never thought would happen.

It’s only fitting that for a band famed as much for their squabbles as their music that there should be an air of tension as the crowd awaits the return of Mutya Keisha Siobhan – the original Sugababes reborn. Back together after 12 years apart, the R-Patz & K-Stew of girlbands are about to unleash their new material on a mega-hyped horde. It’s baking hot in London’s Scala, and in between wiping the sweat off, the big questions on everybody’s lips are: Will they do any ‘old ones’? Will the new material be any good? And, predictably: Are they going to split up before the end of the set? All eyes (and phones and iPads) are homed in on the three stools at the centre of the stage. We wait.

As the unmistakable drum intro to their debut hit Overload starts up and the three ladies slink out of nowhere to take their places, the huge cheer from the (mainly male) crowd threatens to lift the roof off. If the girls are nervous, they don’t show it, and when they start to sing it almost feels like they’ve never been away. This is essentially a showcase for new material, but there’s more than one nod to the hardcore fans: the legendary nonchalant ‘sitting down dance’ for Overload is present and correct. Next is Run For Cover, a Number 13 hit in 2001 and their penultimate single as Sugababes version 1. As it’s the first time in over a decade Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan have performed together, it’s interesting to see their old material performed by three ladies who know how to work a stage, instead of the slightly awkward teenagers who first trilled these songs back in the early Noughties. While this may have been part of their charm, it’s no disappointment to see “our girls” have all grown up.

Mutya Keisha and Siobhan backstage before the gig

It’s time for the long-awaited new material, but not before Siobhan has told the crowd “Thank you for coming. It means an awful lot. And believe it or not, we’re just as excited as you.” The first new song, I’m Alright, sees the former Sugababes on familiar territory, a message to a former lover – or band member? – that they’ll be just fine without them, thank you very much. While it’s fairly uneventful at first, it soon builds and the harmonies lift the song way out of the mediocre. So we’ve dipped our toe in the new stuff and all’s good, but Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan aren’t quite ready to take the plunge into the unknown: next is the Sugababes’ Number 7 hit from 2002, Stronger. It’s the first non-Siobhan line-up track of the night, and while one half of the crowd sings along, the other waits with bated breath – is Siobhan going to sing the soaring middle eight made famous by her replacement Heidi Range? The answer is yes and she does it brilliantly, but she’s barely audible, as the fans’ roars not only lift the roof off, but swing it round their heads and hurl it toward King’s Cross station.

Even Mutya acknowledges the night truly belongs to Siobhan, pointing over at her and nodding her head in respect, and Keisha beams with happiness. How to follow that nostalgic reverie? Why, with a slew of new songs, of course. First up is Love Me Hard, which sounds like it could have been lifted from either of Siobhan Donaghy’s solo albums. Next up is Boys, which the girls have already teased online. It’s pretty much Hole In The Head redux, complete with minimal dance routine and catchy chorus. Today comes next, an Emeli Sandé-esque update of Run For Cover, produced by MNEK, who’s penned tracks for Little Mix, Misha B and was behind the Number 1 hit for Duke Dumont and A*M*E, Need U. No Regrets also tips its hat to the ladies’ first album, before the band launch into the song that changed everything – for two of them at least – and was their first ever Number 1 back in May 2002. Yes, Freak Like Me, the very first single without Siobhan, gets an airing, losing none of its sass or spark despite having a different lady on vocal duties.

As we breeze into the encore, the by-now drenched crowd is treated to I Lay Down In Swimming Pools, a fan-favourite that’s been doing the rounds online and is a mash-up of Kendrick Lamar’s Swimming Pools (Drank). At long last, it’s the first ever performance of the big comeback single Flatline, now well-known to the audience, who sing, chant and cheer along. There are very nearly a few flatlines among the throng when the trio sneak in the chorus of Push The Button midway. As the track fades out, the girls come together in the middle of the stage and hug each other, still belting out those killer harmonies. It can’t be over already, can it? Mutya, Keisha and Siobhansmile, give their thanks and a meek wave and leave the stage. The masses want more, and while it’s not coming tonight, thankfully we don’t have another 12 years to wait. The name may be different, but the voices have never gone away.

Call them MKS, Origibabes, Sugababes 1.0 or whatever you like, but Mutya Keisha and Siobhan are well and truly back.

Chart Facts

As the original incarnation of the Sugababes, Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan had four Top 40 hits on the Official Singles Chart. Their biggest was Overload, which hit Number 6 in 2000 and sold 165,000 copies. The last time the three of them were in the charts together was with Soul Sound in July 2001 – it reached Number 30.

Their debut album – and only one together so far – One Touch was released in December 2000 and reached Number 26 on the Official Albums Chart. It's sold over 220,000 copies.

Sugababes' biggest selling album is Angels With Dirty Faces, which featured two Number 1s – Freak Like Me and Round Round – and has sold 920,000 copies. This album was the first of three Mutya and Keisha would record with Heidi Range as Sugababes, before Mutya left in 2005.

Main photo: Brian Rasic/Rex Features