Exactly fifteen years ago three talent show hopefuls – Cheryl Tweedy, Kimberley Walsh, Nicola Roberts, Sarah Harding and Nadine Coyle – were thrust together to form a band called Girls Aloud.
Little did ‘Popstars: The Rivals’ viewers, realise the group would go on to become one of the most important pop acts of the 21st century, as well as one of the best girl bands of all time.
And while they called time on their chart reign four years ago now (where did that time go?), fans are now celebrating their anniversary* and the impact they made on British music.
But Girls Aloud were never just about the music – they served up some pretty iconic moments during their time together, and here we remember 15 of the best….
1. Sarah’s face when she realises she’s in the band and Javine’s face when she realises she’s not
After weeks of competition, ‘Popstars The Rival’ all boiled down to this moment. And what a moment it was.
It happened eight years ago, but the sound of Sarah singing completely the wrong note during a performance of ‘The Loving Kind’ on ‘GMTV’ still makes us wince.
3. Cheryl is NOT up for climbing to the highest point in Greece
Girls Aloud’s E4 fly-on-the-wall documentary served us many iconic moments, but Cheryl’s dislike of sightseeing was undoubtedly a real highlight.
Moaning and groaning as girls tried to reach a viewing point during a trip to Greece, an increasingly irate Chezza delivered some classic one-liners.
Our favourite? Well, let’s just say she is not impressed when she discovers “the people do no have the fookin poop n scoop rule”.
4. Nicola ain’t bovvvered
In 2003, Nicola Roberts responded to Busted’s Matt calling her a “rude ginger bitch” with this. Aloud FOREVER. #FBF pic.twitter.com/Q6SsHqxblo
After Busted guitarist Matt Willis branded her a “rude ginger bitch” (charming), Nicola responded by getting his words emblazoned on a mini-skirt, proving she was not an RGB to be messed with.
The fact she was also rocking some serious crimping also adds something a little extra special.
5. Cheryl won’t let Ashley trick her twice
The narrative around Cheryl in the wake of then-husband Ashley Cole’s much-publicised infidelities was very much one of a victim, with many questioning her choice to take him back.
Chezza took that criticism and turned it on its head with this subtle dig during the ‘Tangled Up’ tour, thanks to a couple of lines borrowed from Kelis.
6. Sarah’s Brit Awards acceptance speech
The girls finally won their first Brit Award in 2009 for Best Single, and after Kimberley gave the usual thanks to management and their label, a rather refreshed Sarah grabbed the mic and shouted “Can I just say, it’s about timmmeee!… I think I just wet myself.”
And that is why we heart the Harding.
7. The girls go on a ghosthunt
Cheryl wasn’t exactly convinced about the paranormal when the band signed up to appear on ITV2′s ‘Ghosthunting With…’, but she soon learned the hard way not to mess with ghosts.
8. Nadine’s post-split tweet
You should know by now I had no part in any of this split business. I couldn’t stop them. I had the best time & want to keep going. Xxxx
After the girls decided to end the group with a tweet (it still cuts deep), Nadine wanted to distance herself as far as she could from “this split business” in her own sassy post on the social networking site.
9. Nadine skipping the Brits because she’d lost he passport… again
Long-term fans will know that way before Nadine was part of Girls Aloud she involved in an now-iconic incident involving a passport.
Fast-forward nine years, and she managed to “misplace” it once again, meaning the other girls were forced to attend the 2008 Brit Awards as a four piece.
10. Hey Dolls
We know celebrity dolls are never exactly great, but these were particularly bad.
Another classic from their ‘Off The Record’ series saw Cheryl kick off at her team when she realised Nadine had been sent to wardrobe ahead of a TV appearance, while she’d had to wear her own clothes.
12. Cheryl starts her beef with Nicole Scherzinger
Remember the days when Cheryl was gobby and had no hesitation about telling everyone exactly what she thought? We miss those days.
Someone who probably doesn’t though is Nicole Scherzinger, was Chezza was less than complimentary about her during an interview way back when.
However, karma came back to bite her when Cheryl lost her job on ‘X Factor USA’ in 2011, only to be replaced by – you guessed it – Nicole Scherzinger.
13. Cheryl slips us
It was the band’s big comeback performance on Children In Need, and while Cheryl’s slip up certainly didn’t derail it, it sure as hell made us chuckle.
In one of Ant and Dec’s most memorable ‘Undercover’ sketches, Girls Aloud were led to believe they were taking part in a religious daytime talk show fronted by two nuns.
Highlights include Cheryl reading the joke of the day (“how do you shock a nun? Tell her she’s pregnant…”), the girls trying their best to link ‘Love Machine’ to Jesus, and Nicola’s clear disdain for the whole experience.
15. Little Girls Aloud