Angels with Dirty Faces is the second studio album by British girl group Sugababes. It was released by Island Records in the UK on 26 August 2002 and in most European territories by September 2002. The album marked the band's debut on the Island label following their split with London Records in 2001 and was their first regular release to be recorded under the second line-up, including new member Heidi Range, who replaced founding member Siobhán Donaghy.
The album features production from Lucas Secon and Xenomania and peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, achieving triple platinum status. The album also won the award for Best Album at the 2002 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party.
Production and release
Shortly after the release of the final single from the band's debut album, One Touch, group member and co-founder Siobhán Donaghy left because of personal differences within the band. She was officially replaced by new member, Heidi Range during 2001. After being dropped by their former label, London Records, the band began to search for a new record label. Having already started writing material for the band's second studio album, they eventually signed with Island Records.
Promotion
"Freak like Me", which samples Gary Numan's "Are 'Friends' Electric?", was the first released single and entered the UK Singles Chart at number one. "Round Round", produced by Xenomania, was the second released single and also debuted on the UK chart at number one. The third single released was a double A-side release of "Stronger" and "Angels with Dirty Faces", which reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The last single, "Shape", which samples Sting's single "Shape of My Heart", was the only one from the album not to achieve a position in the top ten of the UK Singles Chart; it entered at number eleven. The song, however, did reach the top ten in Poland (number one), Ireland (number nine) and the Netherlands (number ten).
Critical reception
AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called Angels with Dirty Faces "one of the best pop albums of 2002" and "an assured and durable follow-up to 2001's formative One Touch." He described the album as a "thoroughly convincing amalgamation of the artists they've been weaned on [...] with a strong foothold in contemporary trends [...] At no point during the remainder of the first half does the album lose steam [and] apart from a couple bum moments during the second half of the album this is a pop album that offers much more depth and excitement beyond the singles."
- "Shape" samples from "Shape of My Heart" performed by Sting.
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Weekly chart performance for Angels with Dirty Faces
! scope="col"|Chart (2002)
! scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
|align="center"| 120
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 178
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Eurotipsheet)
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2002 year-end chart performance for Angels with Dirty Faces
!scope="col"|Chart (2002)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 100
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| 25
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2003 year-end chart performance for Angels with Dirty Faces
!scope="col"|Chart (2003)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 50
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| 54
|}
Certifications
Release history
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Angels with Dirty Faces release history
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Date
! scope="col"| Format(s)
! scope="col"| Edition(s)
! scope="col"| Label
! scope="col"|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | United Kingdom
| 26 August 2002
| CD
| Standard
| rowspan="2"| Island Records
|
|-
| 19 October 2024
| LP
| Standard
|
|}