Girls Aloud 'almost died' after stage mishap: 'It was terrifying'

The remaining members of Girls Aloud - Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh - have opened up about their late bandmate, Sarah Harding. Speaking candidly on Radio 2, the girls confessed how much they miss Sarah's "electric and wild" presence while on tour.

This is the first time the girls have been on tour since 2013 and sadly, Sarah, who tragically passed away from breast cancer three years ago, isn't with them. Paying tribute, Cheryl expressed: "There are little moments that you would share with her individually on stage on tour. Where there's no more Sarah than in that moment and I can't describe... like, nobody else would know her that way, other than us four."

Kimberley fondly remembered her friend, saying: "For me, I just love, I can see it in my mind whenever I want, seeing her perform Footloose on tour. To me, it just epitomises everything about her that was just so electric and wild. And the way she moved, like everything! If I need to feel Sarah that's what I watch."

Also sharing her memories, Nadine admitted: "Do you know, I had so so many[memories]. So many tour ones, so many nights out, so many mornings after the nights out where we would just look at one another like, 'Are you all right?'" reports the Mirror.

"But, not that long ago... recently I went to see her in Manchester. We went for a night out and I was making friends outside with people and she was banging on just saying, 'What are you doing just talking to strangers, you can't be just going talking to strangers! ' I was like, 'Sarah it's fine, it's fine! ' And then we sat outside just talking to strangers and I sat on her knee the whole time. I was like, 'You sit on my knee now', so we took turns."

"And we had the best night, just such a laugh, really like old times again. Even though she wasn't well, she was just so, just Sarah."

Nicola added: "I have a really really early one. We were still in the Popstars: The Rivals house. It was bonfire night and me and Sarah desperately wanted to go back up north. We had like one day off the next day. We were like "please", begging production, so they were like, 'Fine! ' They got us a car, took us to Euston, I got on my train, she got on her train, and we were like, 'Bye I'll see you in a day or so'.

"And then my train stopped at Crewe, pulled up at Crewe and I looked out the window and Sarah was on the platform with her suitcase, and I just looked at her, she looked at me, she started waving her arms around. She was like, 'Help me, my train! ' And I was like, 'I'll help you! ' And then my train slowly starts driving off and I was like, 'I can't help you! ' It was just so her to be flustered and in a panic."

Radio 2 presenter Rylan Clark probed them about unforgettable moments on tour, leading Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine and Nicola to recount a hair-raising tale about a near-death experience during a previous show involving a stage prop known as The Cage.

Nadine recalled: "That's when we almost died! We were just attached by tiny little seatbelts. Holding onto tiny wee bars. And we were like dangling for our lives, and we were like, 'Is this it, is that where it ends? 'Cheryl chimes in: "It was the first one, the first arena one [tour]. We were hanging 20 foot in the air.

Kimberley then elaborated: "It was like a cage platform thing that lowered. And in the tech, one side lowered and the other didn't... terrifying."

What amplified the fear was the realisation that something had gone awry, but their initial attempts to alert the crew fell on deaf ears due to the loud music.

"Because the music was so loud, we were screaming over the mics and no one in production could hear," Nicola explained. "We had a kabuki curtain so it was lowering behind the curtain and no one in the arena could see what was happening. So Kimberly's hand was literally like sweating and slipping out of my hand.".

On the opening night of the new tour in Dublin, all four girls visibly grappled with their emotions as they paid tribute to their late friend Sarah on stage, singing the ballad I'll Stand By You while footage of her played on screen. Since Sarah's passing, the girls have raised £1million for cancer charities, including The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal.

They're set to rock Manchester this weekend and will continue their tour throughout June with gigs in London, Liverpool and Glasgow.

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