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Pre-order Nicola's solo version of "Memory of You"
Posted at 4:50 PM, 11 December 2011 - 1 Comments

Nicola Roberts' third single, "Yo-Yo", will feature a solo version of  Girls Aloud's "Memory of You" as a b-side. It will be available on the iTunes bundle, which also includes five different remixes and edits of "Yo-Yo". Pre-order it now, before it gets released on January 8th: http://bit.ly/w14pnO

"Memory of You" only featured vocals from Nicola and (mainly) Kimberley Walsh and is regarded as a cult favourite among Girls Aloud's enthusiasts. It was originally released on 7'' vinyl as the b-side to "The Loving Kind". It later appeared on the Girls Aloud boxset in CD format.

Listen to a 1'30'' sample of Nicola's version:

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Girls Aloud - Tangled Up (instrumentals)
Posted at 2:23 PM, - 7 Comments

1. Call The Shots (Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Cowling/Sommerville)


2. Close To Love (Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Cowling/Coler/Lei)


3. Sexy! No No No... (Girls Aloud/Xenomania/Nazareth)


4. Girl Overboard (Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Coler/Lei)


5. Can't Speak French (Cooper/Higgins//Powell/Coler/Lei/Williams)


6. Black Jacks (Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Coler/Cowling)


7. Control of the Knife (Cooper/Higgins/Sommerville/Shave)


8. Fling (Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Coler/Williams/Moguai)


9. What You Crying For (Cooper/Higgins/Cowling/Larcombe/Boyle)
(not available)

10. I'm Falling (Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Maru'e/Scarlett)
(not available)

11. Damn (Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Coler/Cowling)


12. Crocodile Tears (Girls Aloud/Cooper/Higgins/Powell/Coler/Sommerville/Larcombe)

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Nicola: "It would be a crime not to go back to Xenomania"
Posted at 10:19 PM, 17 June 2011 - 0 Comments

Nicola Roberts seems keen to be working again with Xenomania once Girls Aloud decide to get back together. She told Digital Spy that the girls have a solid history with Xenomania, personally and musically, and it would be a "crime" for them not to reunite with the production/songwriting team:
Digital Spy: So when are Girls Aloud releasing a new album?
Nicola Roberts: We know next year is our tenth anniversary, and personally, I would love for that to happen.

DS: You've previously said you'd like to write songs for the next Girls Aloud album. Would you work with Xenomania again too?
NR: It will probably be a bit of both to be honest. We have a history with Xenomania both personally and musically and it's very solid, so it would be a crime for us not to go back. I'm looking forward to us all setting up camp and working as a team again like all the other records. Now we're a bit older though, there's definitely room for some creativity.

DS: Do you think they've got a load of songs ready and waiting for you?
NR: They're definitely not pressuring us to get back together, but they've probably got a load of stuff ready for us! I wouldn't be surprised at all

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Girls Aloud to return without Xenomania?
Posted at 4:35 PM, 11 June 2011 - 2 Comments

If the Daily Mirror is to be believed, Girls Aloud - all five of them - are apparently set to get back together in January 2012 to record a new album.

However, according to "a source", they will no longer work with Xenomania and instead plan to draw on personal experience for their next album.

The "source" says: "In six months time it'll be back to work as normal – they are itching to get back in the studio. At the moment the Girls are really excited about their new beginning, although they are scratching their heads over who will create signature hits for them."

"They are all grown women now. (...) They have all got so much more experience between them now. They have all been through so much and come out fighting – and they will reflect this in their tracks."

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Nadine: Girls Aloud will come back when/if the time is right
Posted at 12:40 AM, 15 October 2010 - 2 Comments

Nadine Coyle was interviewed by The Guardian and she inevitably spoke of her time as a Girls Aloud. Here's an excerpt from the article, where she talks about her favourite Girls Aloud records, how she recorded the initial vocals to all their songs and that the group will come back when the time is right and if the time is right:
From Girls Aloud's debut album onwards, Coyle sang all the initial vocals in the studio, at the express wish of their producer, Brian Higgins of Xenomania. "From day one. Well, maybe not day one, but definitely week two. And that's how it worked from then onwards. The girls just left me to it." She nods. "And then they would come in and do their parts, and they would have their holidays."

So Girls Aloud don't always make records together? "Oh yes. We were very, very separate. We didn't know it any other way." Coyle speaks in the past tense about the group all the time – although she bats off questions about whether they have split, or are splitting. "After the last record, it was the right time to go and do our own individual things, and then come back together when the time was right, if the time was right." Even when she is pushed, this is as far as she will go.

However, she brims with enthusiasm for her favourite Girls Aloud records – their second album, What Will the Neighbours Say?, and their 2007 single, Can't Speak French. She liked dressing up in Marie Antoinette frocks for that video, she laughs, although "all that stuff" is far less important than the music.


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Nadine Coyle wants lyrics that make sense
Posted at 5:34 PM, 27 September 2010 - 0 Comments

Nadine from Girls Aloud has said that her debut solo album has a running storyline and that the self-penned tracks each tell a part of the story:

«I wanted the album to be very real, in terms of real instruments. No auto-tune, a full gospel choir on there, really heavy backing vocals, lyrical content that made sense - but not lyrics that only made sense to me, but could make sense to everybody listening. You can take from it what you will, but there's a storyline, and just music that I wanted to hear.»

Nadine also revealed that it was different to record an album for Girls Aloud: «In Girls Aloud, except for 'Stand By You' and 'See The Day', none of our other songs had any storylines whatsoever. It was deliberate, it wasn't about storylines, it was about the music and the fact it could be worked with clothes and it was a backing canvas for us to go as crazy as we wanted with costumes and hair and stuff, so it was a different style.»

She also told Digital Spy what it was like to write her own material away from Xenomania and Girls Aloud:

«I found it liberating. The best thing was being able to come back to songs and re-jig bits: adding a bit of drums here, some BPM there, a bit of drum 'n' bass on that. In Girls Aloud it was always someone else making those decisions. None of us were quite sure who that 'someone' was, but it's great knowing that it was me for this album. It makes the whole thing feel genuine, although I was always half-expecting someone to be on my shoulder telling me, 'No, not like that!'.»


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Nadine Coyle: "I learnt everything I needed to learn about myself as a singer and songwriter from Brian Higgins"
Posted at 6:23 PM, 16 September 2010 - 3 Comments

In her new biography as a solo artist, Nadine Coyle talks about the time she spent being a Girls Aloud and recording with Xenomania:

"We developed a machine-like mentality. I don't regret a second of it. It taught me amazing discipline. I learnt everything I needed to learn about myself as a singer and songwriter from Brian [Higgins]. We made some amazing records with him. And I got to do that alongside four great girls".

Nadine also talks about how her dream was singing songs where "every line means the world to you" with the full back-up of a live-band . She says that the closest she got to that dream with Girls Aloud was when the five girls wore the sparkling gold gowns in "The Promise" video. She even adds that "The Promise" is among the top five songs Girls Aloud ever made.

She also talks about her vocal register in Girls Aloud: "If you listen to all the Girls Aloud records, they're in a really low register. It was because I'd just come off tour and we had to record with my throat tired from three months singing at full energy on the road. I didn't want to have the same constrictions this time."

There is also an interesting paragraph in her biography that explains in a very succint and superficial way how Girls Aloud's albums were made:
«If in modern music industry terms two years seems like a lengthy gestation period for an album, consider for a moment how long Girls Aloud were given to put their five records together. Nadine Coyle has certainly earned her dues. At the end of every one of their ever-increasing tours, Nadine would be sequestered off to the house of GA producers Xenomania in deepest, darkest Kent. She’d work with producer Brian Higgins for two weeks, three maximum, putting vocal licks for songs together, run off on holiday for a week and then return. A week for mastering and bingo! There’s your album. Six weeks, maximum.»


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Nicola Roberts back in the studio as a songwriter
Posted at 8:30 PM, 25 August 2010 - 2 Comments

Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud has been busy working on songwriting. Contrary to rumours that she might be recording a solo album, it has been reported that Nicola was in fact given a publishing deal to write songs that could be used by other acts.

She reportedly said that she doesn't know yet who she was writing her songs for, but they were not for Girls Aloud:

«When I'm not busy with Dainty Doll [Nicola's make-up brand], I'm pretty much just songwriting at the studio. (...) I've always songwritten anyway throughout the band and I have a publishing deal. It's something that I love to do and I'm really passionate about.»

She added: «It's nice that we have the time to do it. I don't know [who I'd like to write for]. [I've written] for Girls Aloud and I was lucky that Brian and Miranda from Xenomania chose some of my songs for the Girls Aloud stuff, so that was really nice.»

Some of the Girls Aloud songs she co-wrote include "It's Magic", "I Say A Prayer For You" and "I Don't Really Hate You". 

So far, the only Girls Aloud member that has released Xenomania-produced solo tracks was Sarah Harding, for the St Trinian's 2 soundtrack. Cheryl Tweedy and Nadine Coyle were also in the Xenomania studios to work on solo material, but those songs have yet to see the light of day.


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Girls Aloud will "probably" reunite next year
Posted at 12:17 AM, 09 June 2010 - 0 Comments

Kimberley Walsh has reportedly claimed that Girls Aloud will "probably" get back together next year. In this week's Star magazine, she is quoted as saying:

«Fingers crossed, we’ll be getting back into the studio at some point – probably next year because we’ve got a lot of solo projects going on. We’ll have a chat at the end of our break to see where we all are.»

Kimberley also told Star magazine that she doesn't know what to expect from the group's next album:

«I don't really know what direction the music will go in. We never plan any further ahead than a few months and never have. It has always been quite an organic thing. We never actually thought we'd end up still here, seven years down the line. God knows where we'll end up!»


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Xenomania flashback: Cadence - Japan (2004)
Posted at 2:10 PM, 28 April 2010 - 1 Comments



"Japan" is the song that would eventually become Girls Aloud's "Memory Of You". It was released in 2004 by a trance project called Cadence. "Japan" was written by Xenomania and produced by Cadence, with vocals by Louise Griffiths.

Girls Aloud's "Memory Of You" (2009) retained the melody and lyrics, but everything else changed: new verses were added on the second part of the song and the backing track is also completely different.


Cadence

Cadence consisted of Mike Koglin (Grammy-nominated producer, remixer and DJ), Darren Edge and Paul Woods. At one point, Paul Woods was also part of the Xenomania team, having co-written and programmed a few Girls Aloud tracks, as well as Frank's "All I Ever Do" and Kylie Minogue's "Giving You Up".

They released three 12'' singles between June and July 2004, on Famous Inc, a label set up by Xenomania. The 12'' of "Japan" included two versions: the "Club Vox" and the "Koglin Dub".

"Japan" was written by Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Giselle Somerville, Tim Powell and Mike Koglin. It was the third and final release by Cadence, after "Don't Say It's Over" and "Stay Tonight".


Louise Griffiths

English pop singer, songwriter, model and actress, Louise Griffiths was a contestant in the BBC television series Fame Academy in 2003.

Louise was also a member of the girlband Orchid, who originally recorded Girls Aloud's "Sound of the Underground" in 2001. Orchid's version was never released, but their voices can still be be heard on the chorus of the Girls Aloud single.

Orchid were Louise Griffiths, Eve Bicker (the female voice on the Xenomania-produced "7 Ways" by Abs Breen) and Giselle Sommerville (who co-wrote "Japan" and several Xenomania songs, besides being one half of the pop duo Mania).


"Memory Of You"

Written by Brian Higgins, Girls Aloud, Giselle Somerville, Miranda Cooper & Tim Powell and produced by Brian Higgins/Xenomania. "Memory Of You" was the b-side of the single "The Loving Kind" (2009) and initially was only available on a limited edition 7'' vinyl picture disc, sold exclusively through Girls Aloud's online store.

Girls Aloud's fans were disappointed that the song was only available on vinyl format, which led to the creation of campaigns for the release in CD or digital form. The Sun even ran a story about Girls Aloud's fans having "gone mad" for the b-side.

It was later included in high quality on the official Girls Aloud singles box set.

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Xenomania news roundup
Posted at 5:10 PM, 05 April 2010 - 0 Comments

  • ALEX GARDNER's "I'm Not Mad" debuted in the UK Singles Chart this week at number 44.

    As Chart Rigger puts it, "'I'm Not Mad' will go down as another sadly lost gem that was touted in the blogosphere — and one that truly deserved the hype! — but overlooked by the general record-buying/music downloading public".
  • MIRANDA COOPER is in the latest issue of Red Magazine talking about new singer/songwriter Emeli Sandé. Miranda says: «She's part of an exciting new generation of producers and writers, and I am always hearing great things about her.» Emeli Sandé wrote Chipmunk's "Diamond Rings" and also appears on Wiley's "Never Be Your Woman".
  • New Xenomania protégée BROOKE X has been finishing her debut album, so it won't be long until there's new music out there. Meanwhile, here's the top 3 Brooke X tweets from the past week:

    -- "If I like my record anymore I'd marry it, have lots of song babies together and live happily ever after in the rock and roll hall of fame."
    -- "Holy shit, we are KILLING this album! I'm on aural pleasure overload!"
    -- "I've just heard the sound of love, and it's on my goddamn album."
  • Through some intensive Twitter investigation, Popjustice discovered that there is a GIRLS ALOUD cover of The Go-Go's' "Our Lips Are Sealed" hidden somewhere in the Xenomania vaults.
  • MINI VIVA talk about the pressure of working with/for Xenomania:

    «There’s always that little bit of pressure because they’re well known for the Girls Aloud stuff and it’s always in the top ten. We just wanna have the same success if you know what I mean. We just wanna do well for them and we want people to love ‘em [the songs] as much as they love Girls Aloud songs.»
  • "Jump Off" by the BANNED OF ST TRINIAN'S has been remixed and re-recorded by Almighty and J.K. The track has been released as a download, CD-R and is now on the compilation Almighty: Definitive Collection: Volume 8. Listen to clips and buy it here.

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"The Promise" is nominated for an Ivor Novello award
Posted at 5:39 PM, 04 April 2010 - 0 Comments


Girls Aloud's "The Promise" is nominated for an Ivor Novello award for Most Performed Work. The song is running up against Lily Allen's "The Fear" and James Morrison's "Broken Strings". "The Promise" was written by Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Kieran Jones, Jason Resch, Carla-Marie Williams, Tim Powell and Nick Coler (published by Warner/Chappell Music).

"The Promise" is Girls Aloud's fourth number one single in the UK Singles Chart and won "Best British Single" at the BRIT Awards 2009. It was the first single to be taken from the group's fifth studio album Out of Control.

Brian Higgins said that Xenomania knew that "The Promise" was "the piece of music Girls Aloud needed to announce them as a supergroup in this country": "'The Promise' was the sound of a big group, a group about to be huge. They needed the theme tune to the biggest girl group on the planet".

In the past, Xenomania have been nominated for Gabriella Cilmi's "Sweet About Me" and Sugababes' "Hole In The Head". In 1999, Cher's "Believe" won three Ivor Novello awards for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, Best Selling British Single (decided by sales) and International hit of the year.

The Ivor Novello Awards recognise the best British songwriting and composing. The ceremony will take place on Thursday 20th May 2010 at the Grosvenor House, London. See the full list of nominees.

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Xenomania songs for Valentine's Day
Posted at 9:54 AM, 14 February 2010 - 7 Comments

Whatever situation you might be in, here is a list of songs for Valentine's Day, all of them written and produced by Xenomania:


SONGS ABOUT LOVE

Girls Aloud - It's Magic (2005)
Key lyric: "With you, only you, I know that I can be myself / Funny how I could find love with you and nobody else"

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - If You Go (2007)
Key lyric: "I've got my summer sun, I'll take my love and run, I got you babe"

Pet Shop Boys - Love etc. (2009)
Key lyric: "I believe, call me naive, but love is for free"

Natacha Atlas - When I Close My Eyes (feat. Myra Boyle) (2003)
Key lyric: "You're shining in my eyes, walking on my ocean, sailing in my skies every time I see you there"

Girls Aloud - Untouchable (2008)
Key lyric: "Without any meaning we're just skin and bone, like beautiful robots dancing alone"



SONGS ABOUT LUST

Dannii Minogue - All I Wanna Do (1997)
Key lyric: "All I wanna do is touch you"

Vagabond - I've Been Wanting You (2009)
Key lyric: "Keep it going baby, you know I don't need no sleep / 'Cos the urge is getting stronger, more of you is what I need"

Girls Aloud - Graffiti My Soul (2004)
Key lyric: "Out the bedroom, down the stairs, along the carpet, no one cares / On the table, on to the floor, it's procreation - and nothing more"

Girls Aloud - Watch Me Go (2005)
Key lyric: "I wanna feel that funky fever, baby I'm at the door / Got the keys, got the gasoline / Pour it on, I'm ready to blow - ow!"

Girls Aloud - Money (2006)
Key lyric: "Getting deep-deep-deep and then I'm gonna... gonna beep your beep-beep and then I'm gonna... jump on that man!"

Girls Aloud - Fling (2007)
Key lyric: "Nothing more than a fling, baby, fling, baby / Just a bit of ding-a-ling baby, bling baby / Don't want relationships, so swing, baby"



SONGS FOR BROKEN HEARTS

Alexis Strum
Nothing Good About This Goodbye (2003)
Key lyric: "Tell me, will you miss me when I'm in your history? / Baby, there ain't nothing good about this goodbye"

Mini Viva - I Wish (2009)
Key lyric: "And I go oh-oh no, he could be the one who hits the light inside my soul"

Girls Aloud - Whole Lotta History (2005)
Key lyric: "Baby, I miss you, so tell me, is she really that beautiful? / Each time she's kissed you, tell me, is it really that good for you?"

Sugababes - Never Gonna Dance Again (2007)
Key lyric: "I lost the rhythm when you said it's over / And as the final record starts to fade / I feel the dancefloor turning colder"

Jessie Malakouti - Standing Up For The Lonely (2009)
Key lyric: "I saw the warning signs from the start but I never thought you'd break my heart / I'm standing up for the lonely and the lovers that you left behind"



SONGS FOR MOVING ON

Sugababes - Hole In The Head (2003)
Key lyric: "Seven hours since you went away, 11 coffees, Ricky Lake on play / But late at night up when I'm feeling blue, I'd sell my ass before I think of you"

Rachel Stevens - Funny How (2005)
Key lyric: "My heart got tired, it's way past three, take these fools away from me"

Frank - Complicated (2006)
Key lyric: "Don't, I'm better on my own, just leave me all alone 'cos I feel suffocated"

Mania - DNA (2004)
Key lyric: "I'm no maniac, don't want you back, I won't retract - no way"

Saint Etienne - Lightning Strikes Twice (2005)
Key lyric: "Everyone should have a reason to believe, so I still believe that lightning could strike twice for me"

Moonbaby - I'm Thru With Love (2000)
Key lyric: "Had it up to here, I'll take a running jump if any boy comes near / I'm thru with love, it didn't do much for me"

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Xenomania news roundup
Posted at 3:13 PM, 05 February 2010 - 2 Comments

  • Alex Gardner and his guitarist Tommy are on the road on a radio tour. They are going to be on the road until next Monday and going through Manchester, Stockport, Birmingham and Liverpool (stations include The Pulse, Rock FM, Wish FM, Key 103, Real Radio North West, Juice 107.6, Imagine FM, Radio City in Liverpool, Signal One and BRMB in Birmingham).
  • A girl auditioned on American Idol with "Something Kinda Ooooh" by Girls Aloud. After she finished singing, Simon Cowell said, sarcastically, «One of the most meaningful lyrics ever written», to which fellow judge Victoria "Posh" Beckham replied: «Better than zigazig-ah?». Watch the audition video here. At one point you can even see Cowell singing along to the lyrics ("ooh").
  • The lovely Florrie Arnold (drummer in Xenomania's house band JFK + singer + songwriter, etc.) has set up a website. Soon you'll be able to watch videos with drumming lessons from Florrie. For now there's a few pictures and funny out-takes and bloopers filmed by Xenomania's sound engineer Toby Scott. You can also find Florrie on Facebook and YouTube.
  • Fred Falke said in an interview that he really enjoys collaborating with Xenomania: «I really enjoy my time spent with at Xenomania, a writer and production team based in Kent, England. I get to work in a team of brilliant people, with them for Mini Viva recently was a wonderful experience.»
  • Former Xenomania singer/songwriter Carla Marie Williams has set up a joint venture production/management company called BigMouthEntertainment. They are about to launch their first act, a new female collective called RD (aka Ruff Diamondz).
    With Xenomania, Carla-Marie co-wrote several Girls Aloud songs (including     "The Promise" and "Sexy! No No No..."), Alesha Dixon's "The Boy Does Nothing", Mini Viva's "Left My Heart In Tokyo", Sarah Harding's "Too Bad" and many others. She also sang with Neil Tennant on Pet Shop Boys' "The way it used to be".
  • Mini Viva will be DJing at two upcoming nights in the UK: The Nightingale in Birmingham on 13th March and a TBC venue in Leicester on 22nd February. Keep checking their MySpace for the confirmed Leicester venue.
  • Gabriella Cilmi's "Hearts Don't Lie", the only Xenomania-produced track on her new album, has leaked in full. The Beat Review has reviewed the song:
    «It kind of redeemed her identity back after that gruesome 'On A Mission' (...). 'Hearts Don't Lie' doesn't escape the 1980's sound Gabby's trying to achieve. Although it doesn't sound anything like 'On A Mission', 'HDL' is more of a soul-dance-jazz fusion.»
  • Girls Aloud's "The Promise" is nominated for "Best BRITs performance from the last 30 years". You can vote here.
  • "Jump Off" by the Banned of St. Trinian's has been remixed by Almighty. Click here to listen to the previews and buy the remixes. "Jump Off" is one of the eight Xenomania tracks on the St. Trinian's II soundtrack.
  • NiteVisions are being tipped as "ones to watch" for 2010. Here's what CityLife says about them:
    «Calling NiteVisions ‘the Duran Duran Juniors’ isn’t merely an aesthetic and musical comparison – for members Andy and James Taylor are the sons of (respectively) New Romantics Andy and Roger Taylor. In their former guise as The Electric City, they even had Simon Le Bon’s nephew on drums. With sharp suits, a great look and killer hooks, stardom seems to have been hardwired into the pair’s DNA: you can’t help but think they came out of the womb holding hairspray and pouting (possibly thinking: ‘This is like the Girls On Film video’).

    «Britain’s premier hit-factory Xenomania (Girls Aloud, Mini Viva) are currently helping the duo straddle the shiny high-wire of genius pop: the retro-nouveau disco-pop of Fire, for instance, blitzes forth like a more high-energy Cut Copy, and is so ridiculously danceable, it makes you wonder if at Xenomania’s Kent HQ, they’re putting amyl nitrate into their Glade Plug-Ins. Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos has declared himself a fan. You will be too.»

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End of Decade: lists (part 3)
Posted at 4:47 PM, 16 January 2010 - 1 Comments

The online music websites are publishing their "best of the decade" lists. This is the third round up of the Xenomania songs/albums that appear on those lists.
See also: part 1 and part 2.


Associated Content: The Top 10 Greatest Albums of the 2000s

7. Rachel Stevens - Come and Get It (2005)

The second solo album by British pop singer Rachel Stevens, of S Club 7 fame, "Come and Get It" was deemed a chart failure and Ms. Stevens's musical career was put on indefinite hold although the album was a critical success, even making a list of the "1000 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die." It has gone on to become a sort of cult phenomena in the U.K. The album spawned the singles "Negotiate with Love," "So Good," "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)," as well as underground hits "Crazy Boys" and "Nothing Good about This Goodbye."


NME: 100 Tracks of the Decade

97. Sugababes - Round Round (2002)

Xenomania in excelsis, and one of the ’Babes finest moments

Probably one of Xenomania’s most perfect tracks, ‘Round Round’ is mean, it’s taut, it’s sexy and it’s awesome. Preceding ‘Sound Of The Underground’ by several months, it never falls into the slightly nudge-nudge Carry On ‘knowing’ territory that Girls Aloud often do – Sugababes were by far the cooler proposition. The chugging, locomotive introduction and whip-smart rhythms are totally dancefloor irresistible and the classic Destiny’s Child you-ain’t-all-that lyrics (“I don’t need no man, got my kicks for free”) perfectly nonchalant, in the days when they could still draw on Mutya’s sultry drawl.



The Stylus Decade: Top 100 Singles

65. Girls Aloud - Biology (2005)

"Biology" is all hooks—sprouting in all directions, stuffed with more complex subtext than they're often credited with, hooks that build and build until "they give it up, and then they take it away/a girl's got to zip it up, and keep her head in the shade." And that's not even the chorus, or at least not the only one. You can't mistake their biology, but whatever Girls Aloud's genesis or growth, the reason they're so beloved is because they're pretty infallible at making this kind of surprisingly, loveably deep (with hooks, with ideas, with personality) pop.



Cambridge News: Soundtrack of the decade

Girls Aloud - The Sound of Girls Aloud (2006)

While the girls themselves spent the decade looking impossibly glamorous (and occasionally, in the wee small hours, a bit “tired and emotional”), evil genius Brian Higgins and his Xenomania writing/production team have doggedly applied themselves to creating some of the finest, shiniest pop records of all time.

From the moment Sound of the Underground’s driving surf guitar riff merged into those retro electro beats and that urgent, panicky vocal about “water running in the wrong direction”, it was clear we were in uncharted territory. Since then, Higgins and co have barely put a foot wrong. From the plangent twang of No Good Advice to the frankly bonkers free-for-alls of The Show and Biology, this singles collection is pure, lipglossed pop perfection.

Girls Aloud - Biology (2005)

Why use one chorus when five will do?



GayDarNation: Albums Of The Noughties

5. Girls Aloud - Chemistry (2005)

Purists can talk all they want about innovation, sincerity and credibility, but as much as it might hurt them to admit, the quest for the perfect pop song will always remain music's ultimate goal. If, by the time of their second album What Will The Neighbours Say?, Girls Aloud had stepped out the shadow cast by Popstars: The Rivals, with Chemistry, their third album, the foxy five-piece took a stiletto heel to any memory of the reality show and stomped it to death. They were a real band, with killer songs.

Of course, Brian Higgins and the rest of the Xenomania hit-making team were the real geniuses, but could anyone have delivered this album's closer ‘Racey Lacey’, which lambastes promiscuous females, with such tongue-in-cheek brilliance? And no matter what anyone says, ‘Biology’ is among the best singles of the last 20 years.

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Girls Aloud fans launch top 10 campaign for "Untouchable"
Posted at 9:54 AM, 02 January 2010 - 0 Comments


It's clear that the world needs a new Girls Aloud album. It shouldn't be too long now - if the Daily Star is to be believed, the girls will reunite with production team Xenomania in the summer.

Meanwhile, Girls Aloud fans have launched an online campaign to restore the group's record-breaking chart run. On 3 May 2009, "Untouchable" reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the first Girls Aloud single to miss out on a top 10 placing, thus being their lowest charting single to date.

Fans of the girl group have now set up a Rage Against The Machine-style Facebook group to give the single a second chance and get it on the top 10. To do this, they are going to choose a specific week (to be defined) to download the song and/or its remixes from any download site that counts towards the chart.

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Best of 2009: lists (part 3)
Posted at 8:08 PM, 01 January 2010 - 2 Comments

The online music publications have been publishing the inevitable "best of the year" lists. This is the third (and final?) round-up of the Xenomania songs/albums that appear on those lists. (See part one and two)


Popjustice: The Top 33 Albums Of 2009.


3. Annie - Don't Stop
5. Pet Shop Boys - Yes
18. Various Artists - St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold



Popjustice: The Top 45 Singles Of 2009.

6. Mini Viva - I Wish
8. Mini Viva - Left My Heart In Tokyo
22. Girls Aloud - Untouchable
31. Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc
32. Girls Aloud - The Loving Kind



Digital Spy: Top 50 Singles of 2009


20. Girls Aloud: 'Untouchable'

Even though it came from an '08 LP, even though it was chopped up like a cheap cut of meat for its single release, and even though it ended GA's run of top ten hits, we couldn't not include this sublime disco-pop torch song. They'll be back next year, right? Right?!



29. Mini Viva: 'Left My Heart In Tokyo'

The debut from Mini Viva - a.k.a. lively Northerners Britt and Frankee - proved once again that a day without a Xenomania pop song is like a donut without the post-gobble guilt, a silent trump without the private smirk, a Daily Mail diatribe without the... we'll stop there.



41. Pet Shop Boys: 'Love etc'

Like lots of pop fans, DS got the horn when we heard the Pets were teaming up with Xenomania. The blood kept rushing south thanks to 'Love Etc', an electro gem with a call-and-response hook, a timely message and a nod to trendy artist Gerhard Richter.



Sparkle - Albums of the year

Pet Shop Boys - Yes

It was great to have the Pet Shop Boys back with a new album and after watching them steal the show on this year’s Brit Awards when they received the life time achievement award and sang the track All Over the World which has Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker March woven into the song from their new album Yes.
The album is one of their best albums for years and includes the excellent Love Etc, The Way It Used to be and Did You See It Coming.
It was produced by Xenomania, the production team behind Girls Aloud, and there are a couple of songs I could imagine the girls singing More Than a Dream being one.

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Christmas Countdown: Girls Aloud - I Wanna Kiss You So
Posted at 3:08 PM, 24 December 2009 - 0 Comments


In the spirit of Phil Spector's classic Christmas album, Xenomania produced a bonus disc of Christmas songs for Girls Aloud's Chemistry album, which includes covers of seasonal classics, as well as a few originals.

"I Wanna Kiss You So (Christmas In A Nutshell)" is, hands down, the best of the bunch. It was produced by Brian Higgins and written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Nick Coler and Shawn Lee.

It's overloaded with Christmas references, but manages to convey quite beautifully the warm sense of feeling like a big kid on Christmas night. And it's packed with brilliant lyrics like "I make angels in the snow / I like that funny feeling when my bum gets cold" or the classic "Bish bash bong whoo!", that you'll be shouting in your head all Christmas.


Lyrics:

I like going out on Christmas eve
If Santa needs a helper why should it be me?
And I like dancing the night away
And waking up to Jingle Bells on Christmas day

And Christmas morning when the church bells ring
My heart starts beating fast
Oh, I'll never stop being a big kid deep in my heart

I wanna kiss you so like no-one's done before
Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure
It's only a kiss you know, so don't you ask for more
Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure

I make angels in the snow
I like that funny feeling when my bum gets cold
And I like getting in a snowball fight
Then racing my toboggan through the starry night

And Christmas morning when the church bells ring
My heart starts beating fast
Oh, I'll never stop being a big kid deep in my heart

I wanna kiss you so like no-one's done before
Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure
It's only a kiss you know, so don't you ask for more
Under the mistletoe we'll fall in love for sure

Christmas ain't fun if your heart don't feel young
I guess I'll always believe there's a big kid in me

Bish Bash bong Whoo!
We're just another Christmas crazy family baby
Bish Bash bong Whoo!
We'll be loving Christmas day when we're 80


[Written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Lisa Cowling, Nick Coler and Shawn Lee]

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Best of 2009: lists (part 2)
Posted at 2:30 PM, - 0 Comments

The online music publications have been publishing the inevitable "best of the year" lists. This is the second round-up of the Xenomania songs/albums that appear on those lists. (See part 1 here)


Orange Music Store: Top 10 Dance Tracks of 2009

Mini Viva - Left My Heart In Tokyo
Penned by the creative wizz-kids behind Girls Aloud's back catalogue and performed by a pair of loopy-as-you-like young starlets, 'Left My Heart In Tokyo' was only ever destined for chart glory.

Stuck Records: The Best 50 Singles of 2009

5. Mini Viva - Left My Heart In Tokyo
It’s a shame that for its greatness, ‘I Wish’ has seen Xenomania revert back to familiar territory with a ‘Call The Shots’-style mid-tempo number. Back in late summer ‘…Tokyo’ showed much promise from the duo who were (and hopefully still are) being groomed as GA’s natural successors. A very tasteful yet delirious song with many surprises (including false endings, disco baselines and crowbarred middle-eigths), it proved to be something of a slow-burner in the charts against the odds. Their launch has been surprisingly low-key, let’s hope 2010 gives us the chance to know them a little better.


Totally Dublin - The Ten Best Pop Albums Of 2009

2. Pet Shop Boys - Yes

Over 25 years into their career Messrs Tennant and Lowe wrote a top ten hit for Girls Aloud, won a Brit for Outstanding Achievement and, with the help of Xenomania, concocted their best album in years. Their trademark plangent melodies and wry lyrics are here in abundance. Love etc,. takes the subject of vacuous celebrity culture and has something intelligent to say about it. All Over The World takes a snippet of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and transforms it into a global-pop stomper. Pandemonium – which is ostensibly about Kate Moss and Pete Doherty – is typically witty, glamorous and brilliantly catchy. Legacy wraps a surreal lyric (“The Carphone Warehouse boy has been on the phone…”) around a sombre melody. The highlight is The Way It Used To Be – a dramatic pop belter to match anything in their back catalogue.


Fairfield County Weekly - 50 Nifty Records From '09

Pet Shop Boys - Yes

With the assistance of British hitmaking team Xenomania, the PSB concocted their best, frothiest, most hum-along-able album in more than two decades. Lead single "Love etc." is just as unforgettable as any of their previous singles. — D.T.



Drowned in Sound - Top 50 Albums of 2009

40. Annie Don't Stop


The Guardian - Critics' poll 2009

48. Annie – Don't Stop



Stuck Records: The Best 50 Singles of 2009

35. Pet Shop Boys - Did You See Me Coming?

This is a straightforward pop song and two people meeting, the attraction is obvious, or is the object of Neil’s attentions one step ahead and controlling the show? The stand out moment is as the middle eight ends and goes into the instrumental, it makes the song for me. Not the obvious choice for a second single from ‘Yes’, there are more singleworthy tracks on there, but this song breezes along quite nicely and it’s a positive song about the beginnings of a love affair. LA


30. Mini Viva - I Wish

In the January 2010 issue of Word magazine, Peter Robinson wonders whether (in order to make the charts reflect music consumption more accurately) a hypothetical 13-year old “hammering the same tune on repeat for eight hours on You Tube” should count towards that song making the chart. If this rule were in place in the last two months of 2009, Mini Viva’s single I Wish would probably be number one on the basis of my You Tube views alone, such is my tireless – and possibly mid-life-crisis-presaging – obsession with the song and its video. I find everything about it just utterly compelling; the double chorus, the lovely crystal clear synths, the sky-scraping melody. It is the last great single of the noughties and Mini Viva are the first great pop group of the “tens” (or whatever it will be called). I realise that Simon Cowell is a force for conservativism in pop, and that the last thing pop needs is undue regard for “tradition”, but this RATM4XMAS thing seems like anti-pop, pro-rock, pseudo-political, musical snobbery to me – and that’s just as conservative as Simon Cowell. Buy “I Wish” by Mini Viva instead! Honk your horn for bright as a button, primary coloured future-pop! Hrnk hrnk!! CG

6. Girls Aloud - The Loving Kind

Some of us (i.e. me) literally popgasmed at the news that Pet Shop Boys had collaborated with Xenomania on a song for Girls Aloud. If you are looking for a Pop Trinity they would be a good candidate. A midtempo affair in the same vein as ‘Call The Shots’, it had trademark Tennant melancholy, desperation (‘I’d do anything’) and hopelessness over someone’s suspected ability to be loved or loving. It’s what Neil once termed ‘tragi-disco’. Meanwhile, musically it makes one want to curl up in its warm synths against winter’s bitterness (an electro blanket?) and have a hot chocolate to hand. Although I pictured mist, station platforms and collars pulled up, the video reflected underlying anger with the girls smashing glass and various objects. But looking stunning while doing so. So fair enough. Girls Aloud’s last top ten single to date was a beautiful affair.

3. Girls Aloud - Untouchable

On the surface this is just a “fan favourite” from 2008’s ‘Out Of Control’ album which delightedly received a release towards the beginning of this year. But dig a little deeper and it’s much more significant. The original version runs at just short of seven minutes, make no mistake this is one epic pop song – although it was trimmed down to a much more radio friendly four minutes upon release. It also became Girls Aloud’s first official single (ignoring ‘Theme To St. Trinians’) to miss the top ten, which feels almost criminal considering some of the lame cover versions that have out-peaked it. Yet what makes it so good? Is it the immediately distinctive twangy hook? The build-up into a 90s-esque trance ballad? The beautiful “without any meaning we’re just skin and bone, like beautiful robots dancing alone” lyric which closes the track? Like the best Girls Aloud songs, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly which is that crucial factor which keeps the whole thing hanging together so it’s best to stop analysing and just enjoy the sheer rush of another Xenomania classic.

14. Pet Shop Boys - Love etc.

On their best single for donkey’s years the Pet Shop Boys take the subject of celebrity and treat it with some compassion – a nice touch for the most famous ironists in modern pop. Love etc started out as a Xenomania backing track which the production house had been holding back for another artist, but Tennant and Lowe kept asking after the bouncy tune they’d heard in the studio until finally the Xenomania resolve was broken. It is in some senses an atypical single for the Pet Shop Boys in that it doesn’t sound like any of their previous, and yet at the same time there’s something about it that is unmistakably “them”. Maybe it’s the namechecking of Gerhard Richter, I don’t know. What I do know is, after The Beatles, the Pet Shop Boys are the best pop group there has ever been, and Love etc. is a worthy addition to the “oeuvre”. CG

Amazon.com - The Best Songs of 2009

4. Pet Shop Boys - Love etc.

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