26 November 2023 , 13:18
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Girls Aloud could be adding a date at Glastonbury Festival after announcing a series of comeback shows, their first since the sad passing of Sarah Harding in 2021.
Cherly Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle and Kimberley Walsh have agreed to bury their differences and announce a number of arena dates from May next year for their first shows as a foursome after Sarah died from breast cancer aged 39. The dates have fuelled speculation that Girls Aloud could be vying with the Spice Girls for the legends slot on Sunday afternoon at Glastonbury Festival.
This follows the festival's organisers vow to bring more girl power to the bill after a male-dominated festival this year and Emily Eavis calling for more female talent being backed: "The music industry needs to invest in more female musicians to create future headliners. This starts way back with the record companies, radio. I can shout as loud as I like, but we need to get everyone on board.”
Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh, Nicola Roberts and Cheryl at BBC Radio 2 to announce the comeback of Girls Aloud on November 23, 2023 (GC Images)Dua Lipa and Madonna are both tipped to feature as headliners on the Pyramid Stage and other top female artists being lines up for headline-grabbing sets across the other stages. A festival insider told The Sun : "Girls Aloud have been at the top of the wishlist to play after rumours of a reunion emerged. The festival needs some girl power after last year’s all-male line-up and the girls fit the bill. They also have a huge back catalogue of pop anthems, so all ages will be singing along — exactly what the Legends slot is all about.”
The setlist promises all of the band's historic pop hits including No.1 songs 'Sound Of The Underground', 'The Promise' and 'I'll Stand By You', alongside classics such as 'Love Machine', 'Call The Shots', Biology', 'Something New' and 'The Show'.
Cheryl receives standing ovation with Girls Aloud pals supporting West End debut
Responding to the backlash about the festival's all-male headliner, with Arctic Monkeys, Guns 'n' Roses and Elton John topping the bill this year, Emily said: “We try our best and we obviously aim for 50:50. Some years it’s more, some years it’s less. This year, we did have a female headliner, and she unfortunately had to pull out.”
Girls Aloud in 2013, with Sarah Harding (Getty Images)The Girls Aloud reunion tour was given the green light by the band after Sarah Harding's mother Marie agreed for her daughter's vocals to feature at points during the show. The reunion tour will also see a cut of money get sent to Sarah’s estate as the group plan to continue to perform like they are a five piece.