1998 All Saints: Never Ever

An older, more streetwise, camouflage clad girl band, All Saints offered wide appeal to not only the Spice Girls' fans bigger sisters, but their old enough to know better father's as well. The maturity was reflected in the music too; 'Never Ever' opens with a spoken word intro that drips with all the melodrama of the Shangri Las' 'Past, Present And Future'. The girls clearly know their heritage and it sets us up for a ride of intensity, but then it blows its potential by settling into a stock R&B groove that's little more than 'Too Much' with flexed muscles and a better production. All of which makes 'Never Ever' a victory of style over substance; like the 'adult cover' versions of Harry Potter books designed to spare the blushes of grown up readers on trains, 'Never Ever' has the sheen of dramatic sophistication on top, but underneath it's just another glass of frothy pop (albeit Coca Cola proper rather than a cheap supermarket brand).