Siobhán Donaghy

Siobhán Emma Donaghy[1] (born 14 June 1984) is an English singer-songwriter.[2] She is a founding member of the girl group Sugababes. Donaghy left the Sugababes in 2001 and released her debut solo album, Revolution in Me, on 23 September 2003, which contained three single releases. Her second studio album, Ghosts, was released on 25 June 2007. Donaghy appeared in a remixed version of the hit stage show Rent (titled Rent Remixed) for its 2007–2008 run, playing the role of Mimi alongside Denise van Outen.

Siobhán Donaghy
Donaghy in 2007
Background information
Birth nameSiobhán Emma Donaghy
Born (1984-06-14) 14 June 1984
Eastcote, London, England
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, piano
Years active1998–present
Labels
Associated acts

On 20 July 2012, Donaghy and her former Sugababes colleagues, Buena and Buchanan, confirmed their reunion.[3] 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.

History

Donaghy was born on 14 June 1984 in London, England, to Irish parents[4] and has two sisters called Beibhinn and Róisín, who works as her make-up artist. She attended The Douay Martyrs School in Ickenham, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. She was discovered by former All Saints manager Ron Tom, who went on to manage Sugababes.[5]

1998–2001: Sugababes
Main article: Sugababes

The group was created when Donaghy and Mutya Buena hooked up with Buena's best friend Keisha Buchanan while working together in a studio. Manager Ron Tom decided they were to be a trio and came up with the name "the Sugababies". Within a year they were offered a record contract by London Records and started calling themselves the Sugababes.[6]

Their debut single, "Overload", was a top ten hit in the UK and was nominated for a BRIT Award for "Best Single".[7] It was a top five hit in Germany and New Zealand.[8][9] The group co-wrote most of the tracks on One Touch, with the help of All Saints producer Cameron McVey. One Touch produced three more top forty singles in the UK: "New Year", "Run for Cover" and "Soul Sound".[10]

According to Donaghy, she left the group because she never got along with Keisha Buchanan, whom she described as a bully. Donaghy became depressed (eventually being diagnosed with clinical depression) and could no longer be a part of the Sugababes.[11] In an interview with thelondonpaper, Donaghy said: "It's difficult to leave a band and then make sort of a solo career. I left for a very good reason and I've never for a second wanted to go back there." Despite this, Donaghy maintained contact with Buena, saying she was always pleased to see her.[6]

In March 2010, it was reported that Donaghy's former colleague, Mutya Buena, was pursuing legal rights to the Sugababes name. Buena was doing it by herself and only listed Donaghy and Buchanan's names on the documentation to register the Sugababes' name with the EU's trademark office OHIM.[12]

2002–09: Revolution in Me, Ghosts and hiatus

Donaghy started writing music with the help of former producer Cameron McVey to help overcome her depression, and began performing under the alias of "Shanghai Nobody", an anagram of "Siobhán Donaghy".[13] 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". 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.[14] It was followed by the single "Twist of Fate", which was released in September 2003 and charted at No. 52.[14]

Donaghy's debut album Revolution in Me was released by London Records in September 2003, and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 117.[15] Working with her on the album were father-son producers and writers Cameron McVey and Marlon Roudette from Mattafix. Each of the twelve tracks on the album were co-written by Donaghy with McVey, Silvio Pacini, Preetesh Hirji, Matt Kent and others.

In 2005, Donaghy appeared as a backing vocalist on the Mattafix album Signs of a Struggle and on the Morcheeba album The Antidote.

Donaghy parted with London Records in a mutual decision with the company. 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.[14] The second single, "So You Say", was released in June 2007 and peaked at No. 76.[14] A remix of "Don't Give It Up" by Jerry Bouthier is featured on the Kitsuné release BoomBox, released in November 2007.[16]

The album, Ghosts, was also released in June 2007 and peaked at No. 92.[14] Donaghy had said of the release that she wanted commercial success only so that she could continue to make music. She told The London Paper: "I make left field 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."[17] The album was recorded in a small studio near Barneville-Carteret, France with producer James Sanger;[18] other producers/songwriters include Jony Rockstar, Carl McIntosh ("There's a Place"), Ben Ranyard ("12 Bar Acid Blues"), Charles Lucy of Lucy Tuning ("Sometimes"[19]) and Marius De Vries.

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.[20] This was Donaghy's West End debut.[21] From 2006 to 2011 she worked as a model booker in London.[22]

In a January 2009 interview with the music site We7, Donaghy indicated that there would be no further solo albums released for the time being.[23] "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.[6]

2011–16: Forming Mutya Keisha Siobhan
Donaghy performing with Mutya Keisha Siobhan in 2013
Main article: Mutya Keisha Siobhan

In October 2011, several news outlets reported that the original line-up of the Sugababes would reform.[24][25][26] 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.[27] 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)"[27] 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."[28] In April 2012, it was reported that the line-up had signed a £1 million record real with Polydor Records.[29] 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."[30]

In July 2012, it was officially confirmed that the group had reformed 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, marked Buena, Buchanan and Donaghy's first public appearance together in eleven years. On 6 August the group confirmed they had written two songs with Shaznay Lewis, former member of All Saints.[31] The next day, Siobhan Donaghy tweeted "With the girls in the studio. I think the album is finished!!!" before adding "Whoop!"[32] In an interview with Popjustice in August 2012, Donaghy stated that she had no interest in releasing any more solo material, saying that she felt her 2007 album Ghosts was her best work and didn't 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 for unknown reasons and the group have not made any announcements or stated if they have remained together since.

2019–present: Return to Sugababes

In February 2019, Mutya Buena confirmed that a leak of the demos resulted in the album being postponed.[33] Donaghy has a writing credit on the Bananarama song "Love in Stereo" along with Keisha Buchanan, a song that was originally written for MKS's album.[34] 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 performs under the name.[35]

Discography
Main article: Siobhán Donaghy discography

Theatre appearances
Year Production Role Theatre
2007 / 2008 Rent Mimi Duke of York's Theatre, London

Personal life

Donaghy married long-term partner Chris McCoy, in a private ceremony, on 17 January 2013 which MKS colleagues Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan attended. On 10 April 2017, Donaghy confirmed on her official Instagram post that she was expecting her first child. On 13 August 2017, she gave birth to a son, Ford Charles McCoy.

References
  1. "GRO Birth Registration Index". 1984.
  2. Raphael, Amy (22 June 2003). "Interview with Siobhan Donaghy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  3. Original Sugababes Confirm Reunion! MTV. 20 July 2012
  4. https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/music-reviews/2003/1121/448984-donaghys/
  5. Raphael, Amy (21 June 2003). "Amy Raphael talks to Siobhan Donaghy". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  6. "Siobhan Donaghy – The one that got away". PonyStep. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  7. "Brits 2001: The winners". 26 February 2001. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  8. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  9. "charts.nz – Sugababes – Overload". charts.nz. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  10. "SUGABABES | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  11. Biography at IMDb
  12. Mutya sues for Sugababes' name. Thefirstpost.co.uk (4 March 2010).
  13. Cripps, Charlotte (2 October 2003). "Siobhan Donaghy: My bitter life as a Sugababe". The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  14. "The Official Charts Company – Siobhan Donaghy". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  15. Chart Log UK – Siobhan Donaghy Archived 19 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Zobbel.de.
  16. Siobhan Donaghy Mixed By Jerry Bouthier. Nuloop.com.
  17. Press section of her web site. Siobhandonaghy.co.uk.
  18. Elan, Priya (25 June 2007). "Sibhan Donaghy; Ghosts". NME.com. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  19. "Index", LucyTune.com
  20. "Siobhan Donaghy – Donaghy Lands Role In Rent", 6 August 2007, Contact Music. Contactmusic.com (6 August 2007).
  21. "Kylie’s Director Reinvents West End Rent", 3 August 2007, Whats on Stage Archived 30 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Whatsonstage.com.
  22. How Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan – aka the Sugababes – became MKS | Music | The Observer. Theguardian.com. Retrieved on 12 May 2014.
  23. "Siobhan Donaghy's Ghosts voted most underrated album!". We7.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
  24. Corner, Lewis (19 October 2011). "Sugababes original lineup to reform?". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  25. "Original Sugababes lineup of Keisha, Mutya and Siobhan set to reform". Metro. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  26. "Original Sugababes line-up rumoured to be reforming". NME. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  27. Corner, Lewis (9 January 2012). "Mutya Buena denies original Sugababes reunion plans". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  28. Dorken, Joanne (25 January 2012). "Emeli Sande Confirms Song With Original Sugababes". MTV. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  29. "Sugababes sign £1m record deal". RTÉ. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  30. Corner, Lewis (25 June 2012). "Sugababes original line-up to unveil new music within 10 weeks". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  31. Mutya Keisha Siobhan get in the studio with All Saints’ Shaznay Lewis | Metro UK. Metro.co.uk (7 August 2012).
  32. Original Sugababes Mutya Keisha Siobhan finish new album – Music News. Digital Spy (8 August 2012).
  33. Mutya Buena #ChartShowChat, retrieved 28 September 2019
  34. "Bananarama record MKS song for new album "In Stereo"". Hamada Mania Music Blog. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  35. Garage Classical by DJ Spoony, retrieved 28 September 2019
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