Parade plot comeback with Xenomania hitmaker

If British girl groups were clothing stores, then Girls Aloud would be Harrods, The Saturdays would be Topshop, and Parade would be the clothing aisle at Tesco’s. But even though Parade’s music is basic-as-fuck, the girls care enough to try and dance and do choreography during their performances, which immediately puts them higher than The Sats in my eyes (even though I can barely tell both groups apart – they look so similar).
Parade debuted last year with the single “Louder”, which peaked at No. 10 on the UK charts. Their follow-up “Perfume” barely scraped into the top 40, and when their debut album only reached No. 171, the group were reportedly dropped and had to change management.
You’d expect Parade to call it quits like the now-defunct (thank God) Wonderland, but they’re currently in the midst of plotting a comeback with the help of former Xenomania hitmaker Tim Powell, who’s been behind some of the greatest pop tunes to come out of the UK.
During his time with Xenomania, Powell was involved in crafting a flawless catalog of classics that includes “Red Dress, “Hole in the Head”, and “Round Round” from the Sugababes, and Girls Aloud’s “Call The Shots”, “Can’t Speak French”, and “Love Machine”. It doesn’t get any better than those songs, which were the last truly great tunes to come out of the UK girl group scene before it all turned to shit.
Parade haven’t released any new music this year, but they’ve been keeping their names out there with a tonne of social networking and a support slot on The Wanted‘s recent UK arena tour. They’ve been plugging a new song around the place called “Throw It Up In The Air” which looks like it could serve as their official comeback single. It’s generic and still a bit basic, like a lazy Brave Brothers production or something that The Wanted would record if they were female, but it’s kind of catchy and much better than The Saturdays’ last two singles.
I like Parade’s determination and respect their worth ethic, and now that Tim Powell is on board, I’m cautiously willing to give them another chance.
Check out “Throw It Up In The Air” below, live from The Wanted’s tour (starts 0:55).