Story of the song: Freak Like Me by Sugababes

From The Independent archive: Robert Webb explores a No 1 hit that brought mashup into the mainstream

From left: Heidi Range, Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena at the Brits in 2002 (JM Enternational)

Sugababes (2002 line-up: Heidi Range, Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena) first heard “Freak Like Me” as preteens in 1995, when it was a low-30s UK hit for the R&B singer Adina Howard. Howard’s version is itself barely original: Sly Stone samples nestle in the mix and the melody rests heavily on a mid-paced funk cut from 1976 called “I’d Rather Be with You”, by Bootsy Collins and George Clinton.

The single had a fan in Richard X, though. In 2001 the producer made his name with a series of white-label bootlegs, released under the name Girls on Top. One, dubbed “We Don’t Give a Damn about Our Friends”, adeptly grafted Howard’s a capella vocals on to an “interpolation”, as he put it, of Gary Numan’s 1979 debut, “Are Friends’ Electric?”. It became a club anthem and commercial release beckoned.

A slightly bemused Numan was happy to grant permission. Howard, however, declined. Richard X needed someone to recut the vocals. Sugababes, newly signed to Island Records, weren’t too familiar with Bootsy Collins, and even less Numan. “I didn’t have a clue who Gary Numan was,” said Buchanan. No matter: they loved Richard X’s mash-up. “We tried it out and everyone was like, that’s the first single!” said Buena. Island pressed up a limited “Are Freaks Electric” on vinyl, credited to Sugababes vs Girls on Top, before remixing it for the charts. The rougher edges of Richard X’s original were sensibly left untouched.