They were the squeaky clean girls from Croydon who staked their claim as one of Britain’s first female pop bands to stardom.
With the debut album Always & Forever, the first by a female group to sell more than a million copies in the UK, and ten million records sold worldwide, Eternal paved the way for the success of the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud.
The band consisted of sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, their friend Kelle Bryan and their drama school classmate, then known as Louise Nurding, who later married England football star Jamie Redknapp.
They were adored by young girls across the country after they were launched in 1992, but everything died down when Louise left in 1995 to pursue a solo career.
Three decades later, these four wholesome starlets are a long way from their glory days.
Louise Redknapp was accused of tearing the band apart by trying to get Easther and Vernie Bennett canceled
The band consisted of sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, their friend Kelle Bryan and their drama schoolmate Louise Redknapp
The band had planned to reunite for a tour next year, but this was scuppered by a heated argument.
The once best friends are at war with Louise Redknapp, who is accused of trying to have her bandmates, the Bennett sisters, canceled because they decided not to perform at gay pride concerts.
The two sisters regularly go to church and grew up in a Christian family. In the past, Vernie said Eternal was a “beacon for Christians” and that they would never “sing anything ungodly.”
However, as part of their comeback tour in 2024, the band planned to perform performances of their old hits – including “Just A Step From Heaven”, “I Wanna Be The Only One” and “Save Our Love” – at Mighty Hoopla, a gay community venue popular pop festival.
Easther and Vernie, whose mother is a minister in London, reportedly refused to play the gig and all other LGBTQ+ festivals because they felt “the gay community has been hijacked by the trans community.”
As a result, the band split in two – along the same cleavage lines that existed when they performed in the early 1990s after manager Denis Ingoldsby first put the band together. On one side the Bennetts, on the other Kelle and Louise.
Since the Bennett sisters had a close bond and Kelle and Louise developed a strong relationship while studying together at the Italia Conti drama school, it was said at the time that they were always split down the middle when they had disagreements.
Louise left the band’s upcoming reunion amid the transsexual feud
And after Louise, now 48, left the band, Kelle was the next to go. Despite rumors of falling out, the Bennetts insisted they were “eviscerated” when Louise left.
Such an excuse no longer exists today.
In recent days, it was revealed that Louise and Kelle had decided to pull out of the upcoming reunion due to “transphobic” comments made by the Bennett sisters.
The row has left the music industry stunned, with one executive telling the Mail: “There have been some massive rows between bands in this business, but they have never been more fashionable.” “Usually groups break up over much more trivial things.”
In fact, there is nothing trivial about this. On Monday the dispute took a bad turn. Louise’s long-time publicist and friend, Simon Jones, fought on her side, while Ingoldsby – once a close ally of Louise – supported Easther and Vernie.
Jones, a long-time showbiz PR who counts Ant and Dec and former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl among his clients and is a keen LGBTQ+ activist, released a statement condemning the Bennett sisters for their refusal to join Pride strongly criticized concerts and suggested that he would follow Louise’s example and refuse to work on the tour.
The Bennetts said they were “disappointed” to hear that Louise would not be taking part in the reunion tour
Jones wrote: “A message was sent to the team preparing the Eternal reunion stating that neither Vernie nor Easther would be performing at Pride shows or LGBTQ+ festivals if it were to take place.”
“This was because the duo felt that the gay community was being hijacked by the trans community and they did not support this.”
“Louise is a huge supporter and ally of the LGBTQ+ community and both she and Kelle told the duo that they would not work with anyone who represented these views and therefore the four-way reunion would not take place.”
“The team behind the planned Eternal reunion is gay, including management, PR and tour promoters, and neither I nor anyone on the team would work with artists who hold such views about the trans community.”
His statement is said to have left Easther and Vernie – who once enjoyed a private audience with Pope John Paul II – burning with anger.
The next person to step in was Ingoldsby, Louise’s former manager and the man who shuttled her between her family home in Copthorne, West Sussex, and band rehearsals in Croydon. The couple was once so close that she viewed him as a “father figure.” But there is no doubt whose side he is on today.
Ingoldsby launched a furious counterattack on Louise’s team, accusing her of misrepresenting details of a private email – which her camp denies.
Mr Ingoldsby told the Mirror: “Louise and her team have alienated her and everyone is completely appalled by her bullying behavior, completely misrepresenting the situation to suit their own ideas.”
“The girls sent an email to Louise’s camp saying they loved playing Pride and liked the ethos of the event.”
The group was so large that they received a private audience with Pope John Paul II
Sources close to the band say there is “absolutely no turning back” and that the women, who rose to fame together as teenagers, will likely never speak again
“The fact that their camp is going on record saying they are homophobic is absolutely outrageous.” This is not about gay rights. The girls have played numerous LGBTQI venues throughout their careers and have been inspired by the love and acceptance they received. This is about the debate about the trans lobby and the erosion of the rights of women and children.
“Vernie said she had some concerns that the Pride movement could be hijacked – and she’s not the only one – but this has now been weaponized against her and Louise’s team is trying to get her canceled.”
To make matters worse, Louise made the argument public on Instagram. She shared an image of the Progress Pride flag, a variation of the traditional gay pride flag that includes a chevron in the colors black, brown, blue, pink and white (representing AIDS, Black Lives Matter and transgender people). movement) and a circle to mark intersex people. She also wrote: “Always & Forever” – a defiant reference to Eternal’s hit song.
Kelle, 48, soon broke her silence. She wrote on to find all of our appointments.
“The relationship with our fans and the joy of celebrating our success were and are my motivation.” “My position and my loyalty have always been that I am committed to inclusion and equality for all.”
So far, Vernie and Easther have not responded publicly. However, sources close to the band say there is “absolutely no turning back” and that the women, who rose to fame together as teenagers, are unlikely to ever speak again.