Appleton
about the artist
Appleton make their triumphant return to the pop landscape with new single 'Falling into You' – the first single for Nicole and Natalie Appleton as a duo in 23 years. They're also prepping for their live band comeback set at London's iconic Mighty Hoopla festival this May.
"It was actually our kids Gene and Ace who suggested we reunite," Nicole recalls. "Gene said out of the blue: 'Why don't you do something with Auntie Nat again?' And as soon as the idea was out there, we both realised how much fun it could be. I'm just so excited to be…
MoreAppleton make their triumphant return to the pop landscape with new single 'Falling into You' – the first single for Nicole and Natalie Appleton as a duo in 23 years. They're also prepping for their live band comeback set at London's iconic Mighty Hoopla festival this May.
"It was actually our kids Gene and Ace who suggested we reunite," Nicole recalls. "Gene said out of the blue: 'Why don't you do something with Auntie Nat again?' And as soon as the idea was out there, we both realised how much fun it could be. I'm just so excited to be singing with Nic again."
In a way, Appleton laid the groundwork for this year's reunion in 2023, when they put together a brilliantly received reissue of beloved 2003 top ten debut album 'Everything's Eventual.' Their debut album title now feels spookily prescient as it's been well over 20 years since Natalie and Nicole performed as a duo. It's also nearly five since they last toured with their band All Saints, the era-defining girl-group the Appletons made five albums with. They remain immensely proud of everything they achieved with the group — five UK number one singles, two BRIT Awards, global sales exceeding 12 million — but now is the right time to revive their sister act.
Their prior success can't be underestimated with Appleton's debut single, the thrilling 'Fantasy,' a punchy pop-rock banger with a UK garage-influenced breakdown, storming to number two in the charts in September 2002. A few months later, it was followed into the top five by 'Don't Worry,' a lush and timeless ballad. "The entire music scene has changed since we put out the first Appleton album" says Nicole, "we're going into this with no expectations and enjoying the process of writing and performing again for the love of it."
Their album featured songs co-written by Natalie and Nicole with Marius de Vries (Madonna, Björk), Gareth Young (Sugababes, Dannii Minogue) and Ash Howes (Kylie Minogue, Ellie Goulding) and the album was a critical and commercial success that's become a pop cult classic. "It was really emotional revisiting those songs for the vinyl reissue" Natalie says. "We wrote that album with some of our best friends and pretty much made it in its entirety before taking it to the label. When I listen to it now, I'm just so proud of what we made." Their hard work and vision paid off in February 2003 when 'Everything's Eventual' debuted in the top ten and ultimately went gold.
Now, 23 years later, the duo's new single 'Falling into You' is a fitting continuation of the Appleton story. Beautifully fluid and timeless-sounding, it almost feels like the younger cousin of 'Don't Worry.' Natalie and Nicole co-wrote the track with Gareth Young, the producer of 'Fantasy' with his new songwriting partner Bnann. "We hadn't worked with Gareth since we made the 'Everything's Eventual' album, so we were amazed at how quickly everything clicked into place again," Nicole says. "This song just flowed out of us because it's very much the story of us."
When Appleton perform with their band at Mighty Hoopla in May, they'll deliver a pop masterclass featuring their signature Appleton hits plus a couple of All Saints classics. "We're planning on throwing in a fun cover or two," Nicole teases, "but you'll definitely hear all the songs you expect from us."
You can really hear their sisterly bond on the chorus when they sing: "By my side, we're living in the moment, we're turning into something brand new." It's a reminder that if everything's eventual, then family is forever. Because 'Falling into You' came together so naturally, Natalie and Nicole are keen to continue writing together: their creative spark is fully aflame again. "We like the idea of releasing another single at some point, but we're not putting any serious pressure on ourselves like we did back in the day. We just want to have fun," Natalie says. To paraphrase a lyric from 'Fantasy,' we'll just have to wait and see what's about to go down.
Nicole echoes her sister's sentiments and says the main aim is to celebrate their musical legacy. "People grew up with the songs we made together, so it's a joy and a privilege to be singing them again now. We just can't wait to get back on stage."