FIVE
A quintet of youth:
by Ruvini Jayasinghe
In 1997, Scott Robinson, Ritchie
Neville, J Brown, Abz Love and Sean Conlon formed Five (Also known as
5ive) an English boy band who enjoyed great success worldwide.
 In November 1997, the band released their first single in the UK,
"Slam Dunk (Da Funk)". "When The Lights Go Out" was their first major
international hit which cracked the US top 10 and earned Gold status
there soon after.
"It's The Things You Do" "Got the Feeling'", "Everybody Get Up", and
"Until the Time Is Through" were all released as singles throughout
1998. Reaching the top five in different countries, Five had well and
truly made their mark in the world of boy band mania.
A significant element in Five's popularity was their resemblance to
American boy bands such as "New Kids on the Block", "Backstreet Boys"
and "N Sync" in their up tempo musical style and 'street' image, in
contrast to Take That and Boyzone, who at the time were primarily known
for their ballads.
In May 2001, after a lot of creativity and "developments, "Kingsize"
their third and final studio album was completed. It was the beginning
of filming the video for their first single "Let's Dance" off the
album.It was released in mid August 2001, and became their third UK #1,
holding the top spot for two weeks.
In November 2001, "Closer to Me", featuring rare footage of the band,
and "Rock the Party", with an animated video, were released as a
double-A-side single. On September 27, 2001 they split up but four of
the five original members, Scott, Abs, Ritchie and J briefly reformed
the group without Sean on September 27, 2006, with a new management team
headed by music manager Richard Beck.
Seven months later, having secured a lucrative tour, but failing to
gain enough record company interest, the Five made an announcement via
their official website they would again disband.
In the Five's short life-span, they experienced success around the
world, racking up three number-one singles in the UK and selling an
estimate of 15-20 million records worldwide.
Awards
- BRIT Awards Best Pop Act
- MTV Europe Music Awards
- MTV Select Award
- Silver Clef Best Newcomer
- Best British Band 98-2000
- Best Album - 1998
- TMF Awards (Holland) Best Single - 2000, Best Album - 2000 Best
International Group - 2000, TV Hits Awards Best New Band - 1999, Best
Single (We Will Rock You, Queen cover) - 2000. |
