• Amelle Berrabah feels good about herself now

  • Amelle Berrabah was replaced by Jade Ewen in the Sugababes

  • The 4th line-up of the Sugababes is made up of Amelle Berrabah, Heidi Range and Jade Ewen. Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan now perform as Mutya Keisha Siobhan

  • Amelle Berrabah insists there are no hard feelings between her and Keisha Buchanan



It's funny how time can change someone's recollections.Back in 2009, at the height of the Sugababes' career, gorgeous Amelle Berrabah had hit rock bottom, troubled by disputes with bandmate Keisha Buchanan.
'I was depressed,' she said at the time.
'You shouldn't have to go to work treading on eggshells.
'I got to the point where I couldn't take any more.'
The result?Keisha left the band unceremoniously and was replaced with Jade Ewen, joining longest remaining member Heidi Range.
Cut to 2013, as Amelle, 29, takes time out from Sugababes to release her solo single Love (Is All We Need) with Adam J and Nightcrashers - and memories of the bad times seem to have disappeared.
In fact, when Now meets the songstress in a restaurant in London's Soho, she appears to be looking back at the Sugababes through rose-tinted glasses, managing to forget about the rows with Keisha and her own much written about depression...
'We were all actually very chilled back then - it was all cups of tea, very calm,' Amelle tells us.
'All the things that were written about us, we just laughed about.
'Before I joined, I believed what I read about the girls and the shit that was going down.
'But it wasn't what I expected.
'I think that reputation sticks to a band and is hard to shrug off.'
Keisha and Amelle did clash but the girls met at Wireless a couple of years ago and 'are all good now'.
'I wouldn't say I was depressed. It was more stress,' says Amelle.
'I was drained. We were worked so hard and I had a lot going on in my life.
'People could see it in my eyes, that something was missing.
'My best friends and family knew. I got very skinny, down to about 7st.
'But I was going through a few rough times in the band and in my personal life, so I wasn't really thinking about looking after me.
'I became a shadow. But like any job, there's always a hard period.
'It just makes you stronger.
'I'm happy and in a good place now. I'm healthy and cool.'


Love (Is All We Need) by Adam J Feat Amelle & Nightcrashers is  out now.
Read the full interview with Amelle Berrabah in this week's Now magazine dated 19 August 2013 - download the digital edition now!