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Sky News
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Five on '90s fame, counselling, and finally reuniting: 'We were scared stiff'
From the beginning, the intention was clear. "Five bad boys with the power to rock you," came the shouty introduction in their first video, all hoodies and hair gel, the bandmates swaggering through a dim, strobe-lit corridor that suggested they might be trespassing - or at the very least, flouting a health and safety rule or two. Signed by a then little known Simon Cowell to create "chaos", Five (or 5ive) were the antidote to the squeaky clean boybands of the era. The image was tough egos, not hearts, on sleeves. Jason "J" Brown, Abz Love, Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville and Sean Conlon burst into the charts and on to teen girls' walls with Slam Dunk (Da Funk) in 1997, and continued with hits including Everybody Get Up, If Ya Gettin' Down and Keep On Movin'. They had 11 top 10 singles in total, including three number ones, filled arenas, and even had their own dolls (which is when you really know you've made it). Behind the scenes, as we now know has been the case for so many young pop stars, things weren't always as carefree as they appeared. The inevitable split came after just four years, and a full reunion always seemed unlikely. A couple of comebacks involved different members, but never J. "I hated the industry," he said during his appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2007. "I ran away from it all." Earlier this year, however, the announcement was made: Five - all five! - were making a comeback. A month later, after a few weeks to process the reaction (the initial arena tour dates have more than doubled, due to demand), I meet them at their publicists' offices in London. A constant stream of easy ribbing has to be gently interrupted to get the interview going. Now in their 40s, the bandmates are aware the internet has cottoned on to how often they used to sing about getting up - and getting down - in most of their songs. "We were aware of that at the time," half-groans Ritchie. "We count a lot as well," laughs J. "We're an educational band." They are happy to be back in each other's company. Back in the day, there were squabbles, but never any serious fall-out, they say. Five split because they were tired of the industry, not each other. "We broke up out of love," says Ritchie. "Sean was having a bad time, he was 15 when he joined the band, and it is a high-pressure, high-stress situation. We were thrown into the deep end and it's sink or swim. It had been nearly five years of 18-hour days. We were worn out." When the video for the band's penultimate single, Let's Dance, was released, featuring a life-size cardboard cut-out of Sean in place of the real thing, it was claimed he had fallen ill. In reality, the pressures of the band, and fame, had become way too much. Scott was also suffering, desperate for a break and to spend time with his girlfriend, Kerry (the couple married shortly after Five's split). By the time they called it a day, they were all worn out. 'Our bond wasn't spoken about' "We ultimately made the call that it doesn't matter how many number ones you have, it's not worth this," Ritchie continues. " Our bond wasn't actually spoken about," says Sean, "because of that 'bad boy' image." There was a stigma, he says, and some pressure "to live up to being a lad". They were five young men given the opportunity of a lifetime, so some laddish behaviour was par for the course. But it wasn't the whole truth. "Really, we are five big softies." It was Scott who picked up the phone first. "I hadn't seen J or Abz for a long time. I kept on hovering over their names." Abz first. "Was it 'cus I'm at the top - A, B?" he laughs. Scott reassures him it was an intentional dial. "That means a lot, man." An AirBnB was booked and that was it - the first time in almost 25 years all five had been in the same room. Initially, they weren't reuniting as Five, simply as friends. But word got out, the offer came in. "We didn't sleep," says Sean, recalling the night before the launch. "We were scared stiff... petrified." Given their huge stardom back in the day - and following successful nostalgia-filled reunions by '90s-'00s contemporaries such as Steps and S Club 7 - surely they realised the comeback would be something of a cultural moment? Ritchie says not. "We're just normal dudes that did something that went bigger than I thought." There were fears of ending up "with egg on our face", J adds. "We release it as this big thing and it could have just gone 'pfff'." Staying in a hotel the night before the announcement, Scott called Kerry. "What if no one cares?" Just a few months earlier, millions had watched Ritchie, Sean and Scott taking part in the docuseries Boybands Forever, which pulled back the curtain on the darker side of fame. Their honesty about the mental health struggles they all faced during their time in Five no doubt contributed to the groundswell of support surrounding the comeback. "I suppose it's a massive part of the healing process," says Scott. "When I started speaking to the boys again, it was like, I'm not sad anymore. Because all of that stuff is a distant memory... I've gone from being a little bit broken, to complete again." They are keen to stress they had lots of good times. "So many highs," says Ritchie. "We played Rock In Rio. How many people was it?" "16 billion," one of his bandmates exaggerates. "We opened the Brits with Queen, Times Square, we went platinum in the States..." "I won two haircut awards," says Scott, adding with mock false modesty: "I don't like to talk about it." While they enjoyed so much of it, it got to the point where they were all desperately craving normality, and a rest. Now, they say it's "massively" important to talk about the low points, and how the industry can learn from its mistakes. 'Nobody's life is that good' "I think the marketing of bands of our era was really based around 'everything's positive, there's no troubles'," says Sean. "I don't really think that that's good for anybody." "Nobody's life is that good," adds Ritchie. Back then, mental health was not part of the conversation - particularly for five "bad boys". "Now, thankfully, it's spoken about a lot," says Scott. "I think it's so, so important." "It takes a lot of pressure off you," says J. "When we were doing it - and we were children doing it - and we are in this position of being on a pedestal almost. You're going through some really rough times and you just want people to know... [but] when you try and voice it to anyone else outside of this collective, it's like [the response is], 'you've got the world at your feet, you're this age, you've obviously got millions in the bank'..." "And that makes you feel a million times worse," Ritchie adds. "I remember having this conversation with one of my best friends. They were like, 'what have you got to be down about?' It actually broke me." Things are different now, Ritchie continues. When he joined the band, he was 17 and "didn't know what too much was". But signed artists now have access to counselling and support, he says. "We've already done it and it's absolutely amazing to be able to speak to someone and go, this is what I'm feeling," says Scott. "We didn't have that. We're not blaming anyone for that. It was a massive time in the '90s where we were all learning at the same time... We're older, they're older. We're more experienced and so are they." Abz chips in: "When you're so wrapped up in it, you're not sure what's left and what's right. To have that break, as wild and as long as it was, whatever happened in that time period, to actually all be here. We're very grateful." 'We didn't realise we were cool' There is also no longer such a snobbery around pop music now. "We didn't realise we were a really cool band," says Scott. "We didn't realise how good our songs were, and that's not blowing our own trumpet." After the split, they tried to "run away" from the music, he adds. J and Ritchie, who "hung out a lot" in later years, would inevitably get asked about it when they were out together. They hated it. "We used to apologise a lot," says Ritchie. "Oh yeah, we're from that rubbish band." He pretends to wince. "Sorry." "It's a ridiculous thing, a really adolescent mindset, the whole, 'I'm selling out'," says J. "I had that for a long time, unfortunately." With enough time passed, he now appreciates the Five back catalogue. "When I hear it, I can hear it fresh. And I'm like, that's why people were digging it." The pop conveyor belt was an industry mistake, says Sean, and artists paid the price. "They looked at our music and bands like us and they thought, okay, it's not really got a lot of depth to it, it's not really moving people in that way that they'd be able to do a tour 25 years later. So we'll get them working all day and all night, maximise it, profit-wise." But here they are, 25 years later. "Our music - and not just our band, the whole '90s era - meant so much to so many people. We're witnessing that now." At the moment, there are no plans for new songs. "I think fans want to hear the old music," says Scott. "They want to remember a simpler time when they didn't have a mortgage to pay. They want the nostalgia." Maybe later down the line though, he adds. Given everything they have been through, the highs and the lows, what would their advice be... "Don't do it!" Abz interrupts, laughing, before I get the chance to finish the question about the boybands following in their footsteps. Get the "right people" behind you, Ritchie says, seriously. "Sleep in the breaks," adds Scott. But would they recommend it? Especially given some of them are fathers now. "I'd do it all again, but different," says Abz. To which Sean quickly reminds him he is now doing exactly that.
BBC News
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Kicking off tour in Cardiff will be a 'special' moment, say Five
Nineties British boyband Five are ready to "get on up" when they kick off their massive UK arena tour in been a long time coming for many, but fans in the Welsh capital will be the very first to see the original group on stage together after a 25 year hiatus, with the boys saying it will be a "special" and "emotional" moment. The group - Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Abz Love and Jason "J" Brown - haven't performed as a five-piece since they broke up in 2001, amid burnout, mental breakdown and backstage the band believe they will enjoy their success much more this time around. The group sold more than 20 million records in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and announced in February they were reuniting for a UK arena tour. "I'm so emotional about this. To have my brothers back does feel really, truly special," Scott told BBC Radio Wales."Cardiff really is going to be a special moment, because we open the tour in Cardiff. The 30 seconds before we go out, I think there will be some tears, I really do."The band were unsure whether the tour tickets would sell, J said, adding: "After being away for a quarter of a century you really don't know how you're going be received."But Ritchie said he thinks it's even better this time around: "There's something so magical, I never thought this could ever be a reality that the five of us are going out and doing it again." In the 25 years apart and band members going their separate ways, Abz moved to Carmarthenshire to escape the limelight and became a farmer."I am not a farmer by any means, but I loved it. I had a couple of pigs, two alpacas, two horses, five ducks, a couple of geese, five dogs, three or four feral cats. "I love Wales so much, I love the people, I was a resident for about two or three years. "The people are so beautiful so friendly, so yeah, you could say the gig is a bit of a homecoming." Five were formed in 1997, in a gruelling audition process that saw more than 3,000 aspiring singers audition for former Spice Girl managers Bob and Chris Herbert. The band were then signed by Simon Cowell to RCA Records on a five-album hits, including Everybody Get Up, Got The Feelin' and If Ya Gettin' Down, came thick and fast, but the recent BBC documentary Boybands Forever highlighted the pressures the band felt, with a gruelling schedule of performances, press and promotion."Back in that time, a band of our music, they just thought they needed to make as much money as possible because it's going to be short-lived," said Sean. "They never thought a band of our nature would be doing an arena tour. There were some tough times, but there were some great times too." Known for their synchronised dance routines, the group plan to keep on movin' and bring them back to the stage once again, even if they are a little rusty."It does come back when you start getting back into the swing of things again, rehearsals, the moves, 'oh I'm meant to go up there, and go down there'," said Abz. "But I do need a little reminder of the lyrics, so I will be going back through the albums and reminding myself which parts were mine and what I'm actually singing where and when.""I'm feeling pretty good about the moves," said Ritchie."I can't wait to get back out there and thrust me hips again." The 25-date tour kicks off in Cardiff on 29 October and 2 November can hear Five on BBC Radio Wales at 12:00 BST on Saturday 21 March and on BBC Sounds.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Multi-platinum-selling band add extra Glasgow date for 2025 reunion tour
Five have announced seven extra dates for their 2025 tour. The boy band, who formed in 1997, have shared that they have added an extra show date in Glasgow. The extra dates have been added following an unprecedented demand for tickets to see the band perform again. The 90s band will be in the city this year (Image: Newsquest) READ MORE: The boy band will be performing in the city's OVO Hydro on November 16 and again on the 25. Tickets for the tour go on general sale tomorrow, March 7, at 10am on READ MORE: The band, which consists of Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, and Sean Conlon, will perform their biggest hits including If Ya Gettin' Down, Everybody Get Up, When The Lights Go Out, Keep On Movin', We Will Rock You, and Let's Dance. The band said: "Absolutely buzzing to share that we're adding even more dates to the Keep On Movin' 2025 tour. "To say we're overwhelmed by the response to the tour so far would be an understatement, we're truly speechless. READ MORE: "Getting all this support 25 years on is nothing short of mindblowing. "We cannot wait to be back on that stage surrounded by our incredible fans, make sure you get your tickets." They are the only UK act to hit the Top 10 with all of their 11 singles, including three number ones. The 2025 Keep On Movin' tour will be the first time all five band members will share the stage together again in 25 years.
The Independent
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘We wouldn't say no': Five keen to kick off reunion tour with Glastonbury slot
Boyband Five have said they 'wouldn't say no' to kicking off their reunion tour with a performance at this year's Glastonbury Festival. It comes after the group announced they would reunite with their original line-up for the first time in 25 years. The group – made up of Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon – have performed as a four piece and with three of their original members following the band's break-up, but have not fully reunited since splitting in 2001, when they were just a three-piece. Speaking to the PA news agency about the possibility of a spot at Worthy Farm, Conlon said: 'We don't want to get carried away, if it came, it would be unbelievable, we wouldn't say no.' The group were also keen to reunite with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, who they performed with during their original run together, and recorded a cover of the band's We Will Rock You, but said nothing had been planned yet. Robinson told PA: 'Now we're talking, come on Brian, get your old guitar out, let's be having you.' It comes after the five-piece said they got back together in an AirBnb to meet up again as friends, before realising they had 'unfinished business' and the reunion was on. Neville told PA: 'It was a wonderful moment, as I said, within 10 seconds of seeing each other, we were like, 'wow, boys, there's still something special in the air'.' Robinson added: 'It was nerve wracking after so many years, not just for trepidation or negativity, but it's just like it was such a huge, huge thing, a big moment. 'But then the magic was there within us, and we just thought, after spending a bit of time together, it was just like we could do something here.' Five will embark on the 12-date Keep On Movin' tour this year, starting at the Brighton Centre on October 31 and running until November 16, when the group will play the tour's final gig at Glasgow's OVO Hydro. Along the way the band will also perform at London's O2 Arena, Cardiff's Utilita Arena and Manchester's AO Arena, supported by DJ Naughty Boy. The band will treat their fans to some of their biggest hits during the shows such as If Ya Gettin' Down, Keep On Movin' and Everybody Get Up. Five said their fame had been 'instant' in the 1990s when they formed and said they related to the struggles of getting famous at a young age evidenced in the BBC's Boybands Forever documentary series, which some of their number featured in. Neville told PA: 'I think becoming famous at a really early age, look at any child star and name anybody that hasn't then gone through some kind of transition mentally or had to break through some kind of war or didn't make it. 'So maybe it's something we need to look into a little bit for what fame does to a young brain.' Love said he would advise young people starting out in music to 'think about it' rather than 'rushing in', but the band said they thought the industry was 'nicer' in the current day than back in the 1990s. Brown said the group would be reuniting with a new-found appreciation for each other. He told PA: 'Back in the day, we really didn't appreciate, not what was going on, but each other, how special it is, what we've got, and that's what we've got now. 'The energy was good back then, without that appreciation, but now we've got it, and just looking at each other what we've been through, I bet there'll be some tears.' Formed in 1997, Five have sold more than 20 million records worldwide, with all 11 of their singles featuring in the top 10 of the UK singles chart, and they also had four UK top 10 albums. The group has charted in almost 20 countries, and their reunion also comes 25 years after they won the Brit Award for best pop act in 2000. Tickets for the tour will go on general sale on March 7 at 10am via with an exclusive pre-sale on March 5. – Five's Keep On Movin' tour in full Friday, October 31 – Brighton, Brighton Centre Saturday, November 1 – Bournemouth, BIC Sunday, November 2 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena Tuesday, November 4 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena Wednesday, November 5 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena Friday, November 7 – Manchester, AO Arena Saturday, November 8 – Leeds, First Direct Arena Sunday, November 9 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena Tuesday, November 11 – London, The O2 Friday, November 14 – Newcastle, Utilita Arena Saturday, November 15 – Aberdeen, P&J Live Sunday, November 16 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘We wouldn't say no': Five keen to kick off reunion tour with Glastonbury slot
Boyband Five have said they 'wouldn't say no' to kicking off their reunion tour with a performance at this year's Glastonbury Festival. It comes after the group announced they would reunite with their original line-up for the first time in 25 years. The group – made up of Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon – have performed as a four piece and with three of their original members following the band's break-up, but have not fully reunited since splitting in 2001, when they were just a three-piece. Speaking to the PA news agency about the possibility of a spot at Worthy Farm, Conlon said: 'We don't want to get carried away, if it came, it would be unbelievable, we wouldn't say no.' The group were also keen to reunite with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, who they performed with during their original run together, and recorded a cover of the band's We Will Rock You, but said nothing had been planned yet. Robinson told PA: 'Now we're talking, come on Brian, get your old guitar out, let's be having you.' It comes after the five-piece said they got back together in an AirBnb to meet up again as friends, before realising they had 'unfinished business' and the reunion was on. Neville told PA: 'It was a wonderful moment, as I said, within 10 seconds of seeing each other, we were like, 'wow, boys, there's still something special in the air'.' Robinson added: 'It was nerve wracking after so many years, not just for trepidation or negativity, but it's just like it was such a huge, huge thing, a big moment. 'But then the magic was there within us, and we just thought, after spending a bit of time together, it was just like we could do something here.' Five will embark on the 12-date Keep On Movin' tour this year, starting at the Brighton Centre on October 31 and running until November 16, when the group will play the tour's final gig at Glasgow's OVO Hydro. Along the way the band will also perform at London's O2 Arena, Cardiff's Utilita Arena and Manchester's AO Arena, supported by DJ Naughty Boy. The band will treat their fans to some of their biggest hits during the shows such as If Ya Gettin' Down, Keep On Movin' and Everybody Get Up. Five said their fame had been 'instant' in the 1990s when they formed and said they related to the struggles of getting famous at a young age evidenced in the BBC's Boybands Forever documentary series, which some of their number featured in. Neville told PA: 'I think becoming famous at a really early age, look at any child star and name anybody that hasn't then gone through some kind of transition mentally or had to break through some kind of war or didn't make it. 'So maybe it's something we need to look into a little bit for what fame does to a young brain.' Love said he would advise young people starting out in music to 'think about it' rather than 'rushing in', but the band said they thought the industry was 'nicer' in the current day than back in the 1990s. Brown said the group would be reuniting with a new-found appreciation for each other. He told PA: 'Back in the day, we really didn't appreciate, not what was going on, but each other, how special it is, what we've got, and that's what we've got now. 'The energy was good back then, without that appreciation, but now we've got it, and just looking at each other what we've been through, I bet there'll be some tears.' Formed in 1997, Five have sold more than 20 million records worldwide, with all 11 of their singles featuring in the top 10 of the UK singles chart, and they also had four UK top 10 albums. The group has charted in almost 20 countries, and their reunion also comes 25 years after they won the Brit Award for best pop act in 2000. Tickets for the tour will go on general sale on March 7 at 10am via with an exclusive pre-sale on March 5. – Five's Keep On Movin' tour in full Friday, October 31 – Brighton, Brighton Centre Saturday, November 1 – Bournemouth, BIC Sunday, November 2 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena Tuesday, November 4 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena Wednesday, November 5 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena Friday, November 7 – Manchester, AO Arena Saturday, November 8 – Leeds, First Direct Arena Sunday, November 9 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena Tuesday, November 11 – London, The O2 Friday, November 14 – Newcastle, Utilita Arena Saturday, November 15 – Aberdeen, P&J Live Sunday, November 16 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
