At the tail-end of the last millennium, there was no cooler – or better - female group than All Saints. Natalie, Nicole, Mel and Shaznay got together in London in the mid-'90s, hoping to emulate the sassy, streetwise pop success of US R&B acts like SWV and TLC. They wrote their own tunes, wore their own clothes (combat pants, because they were cheap) and made music that was as popular with the fashionistas and festival goers as it was with pop tarts.

From the moment All Saints released their debut single, the punchy Sept '97 statement-of-intent I Know Where It's At, the band embarked on three years of astonishing success. Not one of their eight singles charted outside the UK Top 10 - indeed five of them reached number one- and their two critically-lauded albums sold over ten million copies across the globe. But then, amid punishing promo schedules and fervid tabloid interest, the friendships All Saints' success had been built on crumbled. "It became like playground arguing," remembers Nat, "Talking behind each other's backs, holding feelings in and not being honest. That obviously led to a lot of anger and bad feelings. A lot of it was to do with the age we were, we didn't handle things very well."

Over the next few years, Shaznay and Mel embarked on solo careers, with Nat and Nic teaming up as a duo. They all racked up Top 10 hits, but it wasn't the same. The girls all found promoting their records quite lonely. Shaznay and Mel kept in touch ("because we didn't have sisters," grins Mel), but neither spoke to the Appletons. The chance of a reunion looked remote. But then towards the end of last year, feeling older and wiser, the quartet made contact and decided to go for a meal. It was the first time the four of them had been in the same room together for over five years.

The evening was a resounding success. "It felt like we'd never been apart," says Nic. "All we did was just laugh." They got their feelings out and restored their friendships. "Us not talking had been like an open wound," says Shaznay. "But I guess we healed it that night." Natalie had been having nightmares for several years before that night - she hasn't had one since. Spend any time with them and it's obvious how close they are again.