The Saturdays face 'knife' controversy

[Perdita]

The Saturdays have been forced to re-record their new single 'Issues' after complaints about its lyrics.

Radio stations were threatening to snub the single after believing that the lyrics could encourage knife crime.

A line on the track was originally recorded as: "Can't decide if I should slap you or kiss you."

However confusion mounted after some people thought the "slap" was in fact a "stab", prompting threats to boycott the single.

A new version of the song has been recorded with the word "leave" replacing "slap".

"It was innocent enough and wasn’t meant to be controversial. But to avoid any controversy in the current climate the girls decided to change the lyric," a source told The Sun.

The single is released on January 5.

[Chris_2k11]

seems like too much of a fuss to me..

[Hollie-x]

Tbh i think it's kinda getting a bit OTT. There's this poem in our anthologies at school and because one of them is about this person in a mental institute and he's on about about seeing 'something glistening in your arm' or something, there's a picture of a large kitchen knife on the page, so last year one of the snotty invidulators rang the board and complained that it's promoting knife crime!! It's now been taken off our exam. I thought it was ridiculous tbh.

[Perdita]

Before they soundtracked the fall of communism with the sappy power ballad Wind of Change, the German rock band Scorpions were probably best known for their album covers, which pushed the boundaries of adolescent “ooh-aren’t-I-outrageous?” tedium even by the remarkable standards of European heavy metal. In 1976, Scorpions released an album called Virgin Killer; it was dreadful, and the cover was worse. Its legacy stands only to remind us of the historical necessity and inevitability of punk; whenever a revisionist suggests that the music scene in the mid-1970s wasn’t that bad before the Sex Pistols arrived, I can just wave the sleeve of Virgin Killer in his face.

Or maybe I can’t. The Internet Watch Foundation has suggested that the sleeve, which features a naked, underage girl, may be illegal. As a result, the Wikipedia page that carries it is suddenly unavailable to most British users, immediately giving the band’s outlaw reputation yet another undeserved boost.

Let’s be clear – the sexual exploitation of children is a grotesque, unforgivable crime. The creation and trafficking of child pornography which depicts such acts, is just as bad, as it seeks to make cash from abuse and suffering.
But the Virgin Killer sleeve, the work of one Steffan Böhle, does not depict child abuse; it depicts a naked child, her genitals obscured. Sex is not nudity, and nudity is not sex. There is an argument that a paedophile might derive sexual stimulation from such an image, but the warped mind of a paedophile can find stimulation in all or any images of children, clothed or unclothed.

In our justifiable desire to protect children, it appears that we desperately need to prove our revulsion for paedophilia, to the point where any semblance of logic or intellectual coherence is abandoned. In recent weeks, a commemorative brick bearing Gary Glitter’s name was removed from the wall of the Cavern Club; one of his songs was erased from a GCSE music paper. It’s as if paedophiles have become something akin to JK Rowling’s Voldemort; any mention of their names or deeds is apparently liable to wreak massive psychic havoc in the fabric of society. But I simply don’t see how a collective denial of those facts – because, these days, if it’s not in Wikipedia, it might as well not have happened – helps children. Put it back up. The kids will be alright.

I remember the album, quite liking the Scorpions and having seen them perform in Southampton several times in the 70's and early 80's. Found it shocking at the time but not because of paedophile connections, I just could not understand the art behind the meaning of the album cover. For crying out loud, the album and the picture have been sold for over 30 years

[Perdita]

With their fresh and distinctive sound, brightly-coloured outfits and infectious personalities, The Saturdays have worked solidly this year to become the nation's favourite new girl group. Fresh from freezing their socks off shooting the video to new single 'Issues', we hooked up with the girls - now safely in the warm - to find out what's in store for The Saturdays in 2009.

Your new single, 'Issues', is out in January. Are you excited?
Mollie: "Yes! It's our first ballad which makes performing it a totally different experience. Instead of dancing around we get to stand there and sing which is a nice change for us."

You all look a little bit chilly in the video. How did the filming go?
All: "It was freezing!"
Una: "It was filmed in Whitstable in Kent and my hands got so cold that they lost all feeling. I literally couldn't move them."
Rochelle: "We had to wear long johns and thermal underwear underneath our clothes to keep us warm."
Vanessa: "Literally if you saw underneath our clothes it wasn't a good sight! Primark's very best!"

What sort of chart position are you hoping for with this single?
Frankie: "Well, we always want to better ourselves from the previous single. As long as we go top ten we don't mind, but it would be great to go top five just because 'Up' managed that."
Rochelle: "It's just a tough time because the Christmas singles and X Factor song will still be selling so much. We'll just have to see, but we feel pretty confident."

There are rumours that you're planning to re-release your album. Is that true?
Mollie: "No, not at all. We've got the single out in January and fingers crossed it will help the album climb back up the charts."
Una: "'Issues' is doing really well as an album download, so when people see that it's on Chasing Lights they might go, 'OK, I'll get the album'. It's gone gold already, so we're pretty happy."

Are you planning to release a fourth single from the album?
All: "Yes!"
Rochelle: "All we can say is that if you're a fan of 'Work' or 'Lies' you won't be disappointed! But we're not going to give away too much right now!"

You still get the odd comparison to Girls Aloud - does that annoy you?
Rochelle: "It's a big compliment to be compared to them and we were on tour with the girls which was really good fun and inspiring. They told us that we can go to them for advice whenever we want."
Una: "They were just really nice and normal. They didn't give us too much advice because they didn't want to seem patronising."

So you're not in competition with anyone then?
Una: "Well, Louis Walsh has a new girl-band featuring Jodi Albert who goes out with Kian Egan. When he sees us, all he says is, 'I've got a new girl-band'. We're not threatened. When people compare us to Girls Aloud that's rubbish because they've been around for ages, but now there's a new girl-band on the scene, that will be competition!"
Rochelle: "We've not seen them yet so maybe we should be worried."
Una: "No, I don't think we should. There's five of us and we can stand our ground."

Did you get a chance to watch the X Factor final?
All: "Oh my God, it was amazing!"
Frankie: "I don't normally watch that much, but I watched the final and was so into it! Beyoncé was just amazing singing with Alexandra."
Vanessa: "When she came on stage I was literally blown away. I was shouting at everyone to be quiet because it was just so incredible."
Rochelle: "I know this is a bit cruel to say, but the other two had Westlife and Boyzone, so who got the better deal? She definitely did deserve to win though. She was my favourite from day one."

Do you think it's an advantage that you don't come from a reality TV background?
Frankie: "I think it's a lot more rewarding for us knowing that we've started right from the bottom and had to work our way up."
Rochelle: "I think if you come from The X Factor you have a lot more pressure to get to number one. The press have given Leon Jackson a lot of stick for example, but he's still doing really well. He had a top three hit which is still really good."
Mollie: "I just think it's really sad. He's so sweet."

Where would you like to be a year from now?
Rochelle: "We'd like to have double the success of where we are now!"
Una: "We need to keep up the momentum! I would have hated to shoot straight to the top and then start to fall. We want to keep on climbing."
Vanessa: "Doing a tour next year would be really good – that's something we've always wanted to do."
Mollie: "Getting a second album out would be really good too. We've already started to write. We're going to stick with the same sound because it's really distinctive and that is The Saturdays!"

The Saturdays release 'Issues' on January 5. Their album, Chasing Lights, is available now.


After not being too sure about them, I really like them now.

[Debs]

So you're not in competition with anyone then?
Una: "Well, Louis Walsh has a new girl-band featuring Jodi Albert who goes out with Kian Egan. When he sees us, all he says is, 'I've got a new girl-band'. ,

jodie albert and girl band!!!, im slightly horrified by the idea of that!!!!

[Perdita]

Who is Jodie Albert? Never heard of her.

[tammyy2j]

Who is Jodie Albert? Never heard of her.

Jodie Albert was in Hollyoaks as Debbie Dean and also in Girl Thing - they has a hit with Last One Standing

Louis and Kian's new girlband no name picked yet (Breastlife )debuted on the Late Late Show in Ireland with cover single "When The Stars Go Blue" by Ryan Adams and butchered the song

[Perdita]

I don't watch HO ( I know lol) that is why I had never heard of her. Breastlife, now that is a name I like for a girl band

[Chris_2k11]

Issues peaks at #6

this band are doing very well!