Sweet Babes Going Sour

The recent change of line up for the Sugababes means that there are no longer any of the original members in the band. Mutya Buena has been reported as saying that the band is “a brand” rather than a real band and this last line-up change does make me ask if she’s right.

A lot of groups have changed their line-up over time due to changes in direction, musical differences between members and the odd tragic death. The Sugababes is different. Whereas Fleetwood Mac, Genesis or Rainbow changed over time as the members move to other bands and back again that always seemed a natural process. Because of pop’s nature in 2009 the Sugababes do look more and more like a brand akin to the Monkees or Five Star.

Call me old fashioned but I always used to think that a pop group got its character from its members. But because of the evil X Factor effect all members of this type of band have to conform and aspire to the vision of the PR company.

Such is the media industry sadly.

Then again the public get what they ask for, even if they are not aware of the impact they have when they buy a CD, DVD or elect to watch one TV programme instead of another.