Entertainment
B*Witched on the madness of 25 years since debut, ‘not having a clue’ about Irish dancing and hopes for new tour-Rachael O'Connor-Entertainment – Metro
‘We ran back with our trollies full of washing from the launderette to go on Top of the Pops.’
Welcome to Metro.co.uk‘s The Big Questions, where we ask, well, the big questions (and the smaller ones too), and this week, we’re diving deep with B*Witched.
The Irish four-piece burst onto the scene 25 years ago – yes, really – with their debut album and smash-hit single C’est La Vie, still heard regularly at house parties and club nights.
Having split in 2002, the girl group – made up of twin sisters Edele and Keavy Lynch, Sinéad O’Carroll and Lindsay Armaou – regrouped in 2013 on ITV2 reality series The Big Reunion and have been together since.
B*Witched last released a cover single in 2019, but in celebrating 25 years since their debut have created brand new song Birthday – and are hoping to go on a headline tour very soon.
Metro.co.uk sat down with the four icons to talk about the last 25 years, the new single and what’s still to come.
It’s been 25 years since the release of your debut album – does it feel that long?
It’s somehow 25 years since B*Witched burst onto the scene and became household names (Picture: Getty Images)
Lindsay: It’s incredible, isn’t it? That it’s that long. In some ways it feels like it’s gone in a flash. In other ways it does feel like such a long time ago.
Sinéad: My body feels like it’s 25 years older sometimes. The achy joints.
Edele: No! But it’s always weird for me when people use the numbers and they say 20 years or 25, and it’s like ‘Can we stop saying that?’ Because to me it just makes it sound so long ago, it’s like ‘Can we not?’
In that case, we’ll just refer to it as a Birthday – which is the name of your brand new single. What was it like to get together and create something again?
S: Do you know what, it was so good. It was really organic how it all happened, because we had done two series of a podcast over lockdown because we all missed each other. Then our old producer literally was just listening to the podcast and I think he just missed being the fifth member of B*Witched. He got on the phone and said he’d love to do something. It’s taken a while but I think it’s happened at the right time. The minute we heard Birthday we were just like – please! Please can we have it! It’s perfect, it’s a bit of us from years ago but also trying to bring it into 2023. And we’re here!
K: Do you know what I enjoyed was doing the video. We’ve done music over the years, the last few years since we’re back together again, but this is the first proper video. It was like, ‘We’re on a video shoot!!’ And that was amazing.
L: You kind of feel like kids again, like ‘Oh my God, it’s our video!’
It’s being released in the lead-up to St Patrick’s Day – anything big planned?
E: I know we’re allowed to say we’re on This Morning … we’ll be on This Morning on Paddy’s Day. I don’t know if we can mention the other one yet! There’s a few things coming up.
Irish films are winning international awards, Paul Mescal spoke Irish on a red carpet and now B*Witched back with new music…
B*Witched stayed tight-lipped about some of the exciting things they’ve got coming up (Picture: WireImage)
E: Do you know, I wish I could speak Irish. It bothers me that I’m not fluent in Irish, I would really love to be able to speak it. It went away when we were kids so quickly. You knew the little bits in school and then nobody spoke it. It makes me sad! I remember when we were younger it used to get me out of a hole, like if you were on holidays [abroad] you could just be like: Tóg aire sa chistin! (Take care in the kitchen) and they’d just be like ‘What did you say?’
S: It went away for me because it wasn’t even there in the first place. It just never stuck in my brain.
Well, you’ve got the Irish dancing down at least.
K: That’s one way to describe it. I think what we actually do most Irish people would be like ‘Oh my Gosh, here they go again – they don’t have a clue what they’re doing!’ Except for Sinéad. Sinéad knows what she’s doing.
E: My sister was over from America the other day and her two daughters are champion Irish dancers. She said the first time they saw C’est La Vie they were like ‘What on Earth are they doing?’
S: And I think a lot of the shots in that video are on you, Lindsay.
L: I hope not. Of all the people, I never did Irish dancing. I never did it.
C’est La Vie was your debut single and was a massive smash-hit. What is your favourite memory from that time?
E: I think my favourite memory is just the moment they told us in the studio we were number one, and Lindsay ran out screaming. It was so surreal and we were like, ‘what are ye talking about? Are ye joking or what?’ It was the weirdest thing. We were looking for top 20, top 40 even. It was really hard to compute. It didn’t make sense. Lindsay was literally like ‘WAAAH’ and ran out of the room.
S: I thought it was a joke. Then I realised that would be a really mean joke to play on us. I think I could have sworn.
K: One of my favourite memories is us sitting waiting to go on Top of the Pops. Even though we knew (we were number one.)
E: Yeah, even though we knew we were about to come up we didn’t believe it ourselves. We lived in half a house in Egham at the time. And we ran back with our trollies full of washing from the launderette to go on Top of the Pops, and we were like ‘Are we actually going to be on this?’
L: Yeah, we were thinking it can’t be us, even though we knew.
After that, you went on tour with the likes of N*Sync and Britney Spears – at what point did you start thinking ‘this is real’?
E: I think the moment I started thinking this was real is when we landed in Australia. We walked straight off the plane and on to the beach, we didn’t have makeup on, we weren’t getting ready, we were absolutely shattered looking. And the whole beach just stopped and stared. I was like ‘What are they staring at?’
L: And we’re talking Bondi beach, which is huge. Everyone was just looking, and we were like, ‘Why are they looking at us?’
E: First it was like, ‘Why is everyone staring, I don’t get it.’ Then we realised, ‘Oh my God. They’re actually staring because it’s us.’ We had a number one record [in Australia] and we didn’t realise. We had just landed and we had become number one that day.
And in travelling the world, did you have any mad interactions with fans?
The four-piece were gifted butter and had a convoy of fans following them in taxis (Picture: Getty Images)
S: Sometimes they’d give you really weird things. Was it in Germany we were, and someone gave us butter. Did somebody do that?
E: Yep. Kerrygold.
K: When we went to Singapore there was a string of taxis following us everywhere. A big string of taxis going everywhere we went. Like how can you guys afford to do this? We did okay there, yeah!
Have you ever met someone and been surprised to learn they’re a big fan?
E: We did a gig with Bastille on the Late Late Show in Dublin a couple of years ago and Dan (Smith, frontman) was a B*Witched fan. I don’t know if he actually professes that in public so sorry if he doesn’t, but yeah he came to see us in Clapham Grand. And it was a bit like, ‘Oh, Dan from Bastille, or you’re a B*Witched fan? Okay.’
Having been in the spotlight now for 25 years, have you ever heard wild rumours about yourselves?
L: There were rumours at the time about romances and stuff, and they weren’t true. I think I was linked to Zack from Hansen. And JC from N*Sync.
K: I was linked to H from Steps! And Edele and I were called the Tequila twins in the press one time. Where that came from I do not know.
How different is being in a band now than when B*Witched started off, especially when it comes to things like social media and the conversation around mental health and the duty of care given to artists?
Social media and more open conversation around mental health makes things very different for bands in 2023 (Picture: Redferns)
E: There’s a massive difference. Record companies now have people you can speak with about mental health which is amazing. It’s amazing, I’m so glad they recognised this and brought it in. It was really needed. And social media makes it really different when it comes to the fans. Essentially you’re in their front room and they’re in your front room. It’s completely different to how it used to be, when you’d have to pick up the magazines and read papers to know anything. Now they just have to flick on Instagram or whatever.
It’s worth noting that 25 years later B*Witched still has the same lineup. You have the sisters link, but how do you think you’re all still so close after all this time?
S: We’re together longer this time than we were the first time, thanks to the Big Reunion. It’s so easy. When we did the Big Reunion and got back together, my kids and Edele’s kids were quite young, and it was just nice to look forward to the weekend and go on stage and have a nice dinner and have a sleep-in – and we were getting paid, thinking ‘this is brilliant!’ It’s just really easy and really nice. There’s not that much pressure.
E: And we’re all relatively similar. None of us are crazy partygoers or anything like that. We’re all very laid back.
Looking ahead to the future, is there anything you’d like to cross off your bucket list?
A B*Witched tour could be coming very soon if the group gets their way (Picture: Redferns)
L: We’d love to do our own tour again. That would be great. It’s definitely something on the agenda we’d love to look at in the next year or two.
S: I’d love to do Graham Norton.
L: Oh I’d love to do Graham Norton!
S: We need to get on that couch.
More: Trending
E: Sort yourself out, Graham!
B*Witched’s new single Birthday is out now.
How does B*Witched spend their weekends?
When you’re together in a group, what does a typical Saturday look like for B*Witched?
Sinéad: Probably gigging!
Keavy: Well actually, hang on a minute Sinéad. If it’s from the morning, it starts with a very funny race around whatever city we’re in to get Sinéad the perfect coffee. She will not just accept any old coffee, we literally will have to get in the car and go from coffee shop to coffee shop trying to find Oatly milk. That’s how it starts.
Sinéad: It’s so diva-ish, yeah.
Edele: We’re often late to rehearsals because she’s got to have her coffee with the right milk – like mother of God, could you not have started looking at 7am? We’ve got to go!
Lindsay: If we’re together on a Saturday it’s normally because we’ve got a gig that night, so we either have rehearsal or we’re travelling or if it’s between gig maybe just hanging out.
Edele: We might try to get a decent dinner in just so we can actually hang out together, rather than being on the run and rushing around. We usually have a nice dinner and nice chats before the gig and soundcheck. Then we’ll have a drink or two, there’s drinks there. Then we come off and decide whether to have another drink.
What TV shows are you bingeing on a Saturday?
Lindsay: Oh, White Lotus! I’m on the second series, hallway through, very good.
Sinéad: I’m terrible, I never remember the stuff I’m watching. I just watched the whole thing last weekend and I can’t even remember what it was. Was it The Fall? And I’m on the Murdaugh Murders. Oh no, College – College something. Friends From College!
What is your favourite brunch order?
Edele: Avocado on toast. With mushrooms and spinach and stuff like that.
Lindsay: I like French toast with avocado maybe. Or something with asparagus and egg and spinach.
Keavy: I like maple and egg muffins, chuck a load of vegetables in them. And also avocado on the side. And some toast!
Sinéad: Yeah, I’m like Edele – that vibe. I’m starving now, I actually want to go eat. No more talk about food, I’m famished.
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