Girls Aloud at Sheffield Utilita Arena: Pop icons shine during comeback show as they honor Sarah Harding

Girls Aloud made their Yorkshire comeback to a glowing and appreciative crowd during an emotional night at the Sheffield Utilita Arena.

Yorkshire lass Nadine, Cheryl, Nicola and Kimberley took their adoring fans on a pop extravaganza reminiscent of when they first found fame on Popstars: The Rivals – way back in 2002. In the crowd, who have warmed to ‘naughties bangerz’ courtesy of DJ Theo, you’ve found devotees who grew up with the girls as well as, rather poignantly, their next generation of Girls Aloud fans.

The fabulous ensemble shone, fittingly in their sparkling sequins, on opening numbers Untouchable and The Show. Big hits Love Machine and Can’t Speak French followed soon after. Of course, loud cheers and accompanying whoops.

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As fans know all too well, unfortunately, the girls only have one member. This follows the tragic death of Sarah Harding in 2021 – following her diagnosis of breast cancer. Throughout Tuesday night’s show in Sheffield, her loving friends took moments to pay tribute to Sarah. A montage honoring her arrival during Whole Lotta History with Nicola citing the song’s increased resonance for the group in recent years.

While the girls, still showing their respect, regularly turned to images of Sarah singing her parts – most notably in the Pretenders cover of I’ll Stand By You. Before the concert, details were shared on screens, directing fans to how they could donate to the Christie Cancer Campaign in Sarah’s memory.

The Girls Aloud reunion comeback shows are divided into several sections. They all come with pretty generous costume changes. Wake Me Up probably being the grandest, with the girls flying through the air on motorbikes. This performance brought out the trademark Girls Aloud sass, which came in abundance on Thursday. Sexy! No, No, No and Something Ooooh being the highlights.

Kimberley from Bradford spoke of how happy she was to bring her group back to Yorkshire. Cheryl led the audience, decked out in their fur hats and illuminated glow sticks, in appreciation of the highly skilled dancers who helped add to the evening’s spectacle in well-choreographed routines – the song and dance blended particularly well during Biology. Cheryl also told those in the arena that the evening and the comeback tour was “a celebration of Sarah”.

It was Sarah who had the final say of the night, as her stripped-down solo voice reverberated throughout the venue for the evening’s closer The Promise.

Setlist

• Untouchable
• show
• Something new
• The car of love
• I can’t speak French
• Biology
• The whole Lotta history
• Wake me up
• The sound of the underground
• Girl overboard
• No good advice
• Graffiti my soul
• Long hot summer
• I will stand by you
• Sexy! No no no
• On the subway
• jump (for my love)
• Call the Shots
• Something about Ooooh

encore

If you want to see Girls Aloud on tour, you can purchase tickets for the remaining tour dates through Ticketmaster.

You can find the latest family fun in Yorkshire and nearby by visiting our What’s On homepage. There you can also find guides to things to do in the region.

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