Girls Aloud have revealed the touching gifts given to them by late bandmate Sarah Harding before she died.
Harding lost her life in 2021 at the age of 39 after being diagnosed with breast cancer, devastating the band and their army of adoring fans.
Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, and Kimberley Walsh are now touring the country with all their pop hits in a show dedicated to Harding and honouring her legacy.
Speaking in a new interview, the foursome admitted it’s still hard to comprehend that Harding is gone.
Derry-born Nadine said: ‘I keep expecting her to burst in, with some tale of woe, like, a horse ran in front of her and then this happened and this happened and she had to rescue it.
‘She always had these amazing tales; getting from A to B, she’d have A to Z happen in between.’
The girls also reflected on Harding’s diagnosis, after which the five of them had sleepovers, reminiscing on their time in the group and watching old clips.
Harding revealed publicly in August 2020 that she had breast cancer which had advanced to ‘other parts’ of her body. Later that year, she moved in with her mother while having treatment, but was sadly told in March of the following year that her disease was terminal.
The other Girls Aloud members spoke about a future without her – albeit reluctantly – during which conversations Harding made it clear that she wanted them to continue performing.
Cheryl recalled to The Guardian: ‘She said it to me, but at that time I just wanted her to stop talking, honestly. It was painful to hear her knowing what was coming. It was bizarre. How do you have that conversation? It felt wrong.’
‘Your heart’s breaking for the person asking you to go on and do it,’ added Nicola, remembering Harding’s wish for them to do another tour.
‘And you know she would have loved this,’ Cheryl said.
At that point in the interview, the Fight For This Love hitmaker reached into her handbag and pulled out a small drawstring bag containing a smooth white stone.
Inscribed on it was ‘you are loved’, with a feather on the other side.
The stone was a gift from Harding before she died, with Kimberley admitting she thought they all said the same thing before Nadine revealed hers says ‘hope.’
Meanwhile, Nicola’s had a rather cheeky meaning, given how she was always portrayed as the grump one in the group.
‘She brought a pouch with these stones in and we all picked one and I was last and mine – and this is hilarious – says “smile”,’ said the Liverpudlian singer as the rest of the girls cackled.
Girls Aloud reunited earlier this year for their sell-out tour, on which they perform all their bangers, from Sound Of The Underground to Wake Me Up, and The Promise.
At several points in the show, Harding is given the limelight, with footage of her singing her lines played on screens as the rest of the band looks on lovingly.
Several times, clips of Cheryl, Nadine, Nicola, and Kimberley in tears have spread online, particularly as they remember Harding during their rendition of I’ll Stand By You.
Speaking ahead of the tour as they made the exciting announcement that they were reforming and getting back on stage, Harding was on all of their minds.
Cheryl said: ‘We all started talking about the possibility of doing something to celebrate Girls Aloud’s 20-year anniversary a few years ago.
‘The anniversary seemed like an obvious thing that we would celebrate. But when Sarah fell ill, all priorities changed. She passed away a year before the anniversary and it just didn’t feel right, it felt too soon.
‘But now, I think there is an energy that does make it feel right. It’s the right time to celebrate Sarah, it’s the right time to celebrate the band and the right time to celebrate the fact we can still do this 21 years later.
‘That’s a big honour in lots of ways.’
The Girls Aloud Show has so far taken the Untouchable hitmakers to Dublin, Newcastle, Manchester, and Cardiff.
Later this month, they’ll play in Leeds, Birmingham, and London before finishing in Liverpool.
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