‘She should still be here,’ Nadine Coyle tells us as she remembers her close friend and bandmate Sarah Harding.
Metro sat down with the singer in London ahead of the five year anniversary of Sarah’s death after being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in August 2020.
She died in September 2021 at the age of just 39.
Nadine has vowed to raise awareness ever since, now partnering with tombola and Breast Cancer Now with a nationwide call to action to check in with a friend and remind them to check their breasts.
‘There are so many people I know personally who thought they were too young for it to affect them that have discovered something, got treated early, and are now fine,’ Nadine, 40, explains.
‘That’s all because of Sarah’s unfortunate situation. She’s helped so many people already.’
Since Sarah’s death, Nadine and her fellow Girls Aloud bandmates, who were put together on Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, have completed a 30-date tour across the UK and Ireland as a four-piece and fundraised to continue to keep her memory alive.
‘There’s an adjustment period after loss before you start trying to live life to the fullest for them. Even when she was really ill she didn’t want anyone being sad,’ Nadine tells us.
‘She would be so pleased with what she’s left behind. She wouldn’t imagine in her wildest dreams that she would lead this huge legacy of saving lives.’
Despite being one of the UK’s most successful girl bands and redefining reality TV acts, Girls Aloud didn’t always have it easy.
Nadine, alongside her bandmates Sarah, Cheryl, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts, were at the height of their success in an era of exhausting schedules, extreme scrutiny, and misogyny.
During the early 2000s, the girls recalled that they would be out partying before going straight to work, often getting into bed just moments before their call for hair and makeup to get ready to perform for thousands.
Those infamous nights out even cruelly earned Sarah the nickname Hardcore Harding.
‘The industry hasn’t improved as much as it should have,’ Nadine tells us.
‘It hasn’t moved forward as much as it should. I think back to things and think “Oh my god, how was that even legal?” It’s probably not! But it’s just the way it was.
‘At least now there’s more conversation around things that are absolutely inappropriate. But I think we have to keep going and we still have a real fight on our hands.’
Hitting the road again in 2024 without Sarah was undoubtedly hard for the girls, with the tour shows featuring touching vocal and visual tributes throughout.
‘I felt her absence every single night on tour and it was really emotionally draining because you’re going through it with an audience who loves her,’ Nadine tells us.
‘They didn’t get a proper chance to say goodbye.
‘There would be moments where you’d expect to see her on stage and she’s not there. But it was good for fans to have that moment with us, a shared experience of the sadness.’
Despite unimaginable grief, Sarah’s impact on her friends, family, fans, music, and women has been undeniable, Nadine says.
‘I’ve even started reading more because of her,’ she laughs.
‘She was so intelligent and classy. I want to be more studious like our Sarah.’
tombola has partnered with Breast Cancer Now to take over Olivia Attwood’s Olivia’s House podcast to focus on the power of friends checking in with each other.
45% of women are still not checking their breasts regularly, and new research shows that a simple nudge from a friend can make a real difference.
Read more here for guidance from Breast Cancer Now on checking breasts.