Kimberley Walsh says Girls Aloud will not sing together in tribute to Sarah Harding when they reunite at a charity gala in memory of their late bandmate.
The 40-year-old told The Sun on Sunday night (02.10.22) it would not “feel right” for them to perform as a band on stage at The Primrose Ball event.
Kimberley added instead of singing together, the band have invited Years and Years frontman Olly Alexander, 32, to perform, along with Sarah’s St Trinian’s movie co-star Ricky Wilson, 44, and 71-year-old singer Chrissie Hynde.
The show – Sarah’s dying wish – comes a year after she was killed on September 5 by breast cancer aged 39, after her 2020 diagnosis.
Kimberley said: “It doesn’t feel right without her. We miss her so much. It’s just so hard to get your head around it – to realise that she’s gone.”
She added about being unable to join Girls Aloud bandmates Cheryl, 39, Nicola Roberts, 36, and Nadine Coyle, 37, for a charity walk earlier this year: “I was in Ibiza for my mum’s 70th and I was gutted to miss it, to be honest. The walk was a really special thing to do. But we’ve got the gala, which we’ve been working on for over a year.
“Before Sarah died, we chatted to her and she told us she wanted us to raise as much money as we could for charity.”
The gig will raise money for a study headed by Sarah’s oncologist analysing why so many women are suffering from breast disease at a young age.
Mum-of-three Kimberley, who has sons Nate, 16 months, along with boys Bobby, seven, and Cole, five, with husband Justin Scott, 40, added: “It feels good to be doing something that she wanted and something positive.
“That’s what’s important. What I’ve found hard is people moving on with their lives and Sarah not being here.
“That’s hard because for her friends and family, we are always thinking about her. Nothing can bring her back but, with the gala and the walk, she is involved in our daily lives and that feels special.”
The Primrose Ball, at The Londoner hotel on Saturday October 8, will be hosted by Fearne Cotton, 41 and include a live charity auction.
It was named after Girls Aloud’s single ‘The Promise’, which includes Sarah singing the line: “Here I am, walking primrose.”