S Club 7: История британской поп-группы

British pop group

S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, are a British pop group formed in 1998 by Simon Fuller after he was fired as manager of the Spice Girls. Original members were Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens. Cattermole left the group in 2002; it disbanded in 2003. After the members performed solo and in smaller groups, the group reunited temporarily for a short tour in 2015. In 2023, the group reunited and announced a tour; however, Cattermole died of heart failure and Spearritt withdrew from the group before the tour. The band has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. They won BRIT Awards in 2000 for British breakthrough act and in 2002 for best British single. In 2001, they earned the Record of the Year award. The band has released four albums: S Club (1999), which reached number one in the UK, 7 (2000), Sunshine (2001), and Seeing Double (2002). The band has had commercial success with songs including "Bring It All Back", "You're My Number One", "Two in a Million", "S Club Party", "Reach", "Natural", "Never Had a Dream Come True", "Don't Stop Movin'", "You", "Have You Ever", "Alive", and "Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You". In July 2023, S Club released their first new single in more than 20 years, "These Are the Days", in memory of Cattermole.

S Club 7 were formed by Simon Fuller, after he was fired as manager of the Spice Girls in November 1997. He described S Club 7 as a continuation of ideas he had had for the Spice Girls, but with a softer, more uplifting image and the same songwriting team was used for both acts. Fuller placed an advert in The Stage and held auditions with more than 10,000 applicants. Both Jo O'Meara and Paul Cattermole were spotted by producers from Fuller's company, 19 Management, and asked to audition. According to journalist Steven Poole, after Fuller's disagreements with the Spice Girls, he picked "the blandest, most malleable characters nice kids who wouldn't answer back". Once the lineup was decided, the members flew to Italy to become acquainted with each other. Stevens remarked that the group "felt comfortable with each other from the beginning". At one point they were nearly called "Sugar Club" instead of the name that stuck. Another theory is that the group is so named because "S" is the first letter of the word "seven". McIntosh, in a December 2012 interview, said a lot of Fuller's success has been based on the number 19 (owning 19 Entertainment); therefore as "S" is the 19th letter of the alphabet, the "S" was put into S Club 7.

S Club 7 rose to fame in a children's television series, Miami 7, first broadcast on CBBC between April and July 1999. The members played fictional versions of themselves and went on adventures and performed a song in each episode. The use of the television show to publicise the group was likened to the Monkees. S Club 7 released their debut single, "Bring It All Back", on 9 June 1999, which The Guardian likened to the Jackson 5. S Club 7's debut album, S Club, was released in October 1999. It reached number two in the UK Albums Chart
In September 1999, "S Club Party" entered the UK charts at number two and number one in New Zealand. The double A side with the ballad "Two in a Million" and the uptempo "You're My Number One", reached number two in the UK charts in December 1999. Hasbro announced a licensing deal to create S Club 7 dolls. In April 2000, S Club's second television series, L. A. 7 (renamed S Club 7 in L. A. in the US), began airing. Later that year, S Club 7 starred in the television series S Club 7 Go Wild!, in which they travelled the world raising awareness of endangered species. "Reach", another retro styled uptempo track, was released as a single in May 2000 and reached number two on the UK charts. and gold in the US. The second single from the album, "Natural", reached number three in September 2000. Alongside numerous other artists, they contributed vocals to a cover of the Rolling Stones song "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll" for Children's Promise, an alliance of seven children's charities. It entered the UK charts at number nineteen. In November 2000, S Club 7 recorded the ballad "Never Had a Dream Come True", the year's official song for the Children in Need charity campaign, which became a number one in the UK and a top ten hit in the US. and became the seventh best selling single of 2001. It won The Record of the Year and earned S Club 7 their second BRIT Award, this time for best British single. S Club 7 donated more than £200,000 to Children in Need after it reached number one. On 20 March 2001, Cattermole, Lee and McIntosh were caught with cannabis in Covent Garden, London. They were cautioned by police at Charing Cross Police Station and released without charge. They released an apology through their publicity firm. BT and Cadbury, who had sponsorship deals with S Club 7, said they were "disappointed" but kept their contracts with the band, Pepsi signed a sponsorship deal with S Club 7 within a month of the caution. PMS, a merchandising company, sued the group for £800,000, claiming that the drugs scandal ruined its sales. After spending most of early 2001 rehearsing, the S Club Party 2001 tour began on 19 May 2001. Hollywood 7 aired alongside a new CBBC reality show, S Club Search, which invited children to extend the S Club brand and audition to form a younger version of the band. The new group were to be chosen to sing with S Club 7 on Children in Need 2001 and to tour with them on their future S Club 7 Carnival 2002 tour. The winning children formed a new group, S Club Juniors, and had six top ten UK hits. In November, they recorded a second Children in Need single, "Have You Ever", co written by Chris Braide and Cathy Dennis. The performance on the night featured many primary school children who had pre recorded their own versions of the chorus, including the first television appearance by S Club Juniors. The single became the S Club 7's fourth number one

The third single from Sunshine, "You", reached number two in the UK. He later described frustration with the S Club 7 management, and said that "things were being handled so badly, I had to go". Cattermole stayed with S Club 7 until June 2002, featuring in four episodes of their final television series, Viva S Club. His final concert before his departure was Party at the Palace, part of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations. Skua failed to secure a record deal. "Alive", S Club's first single without Cattermole, reached number five on the UK Singles Chart,

In April 2003, S Club released their first feature film, Seeing Double, a children's fantasy, in which the group fought the evil scientist Victor Gaghan in his quest to clone the world's pop stars. The film's release was marked by rumours that the group were about to split, which they denied. According to Spearritt, of the €75 million the band had made for Fuller, the band members had received €150,000 each a year. The group members travelled economy on flights and prepared their own food and laundry when working abroad. Spearritt's parents reportedly hired lawyers to collect payments owed to them by Fuller and his management company. Ten days after the release of Seeing Double, during their S Club United tour on 21 April 2003, S Club announced on stage that they were breaking up. Fans expressed anger after S Club had denied rumours of a split only weeks prior. Their final single was a double A side, coupling "Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You", from their fourth album Seeing Double, with a new ballad, "Say Goodbye", released on 26 May, which reached number two in the UK. Her debut solo album, Funky Dory, reached number nine on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold. In 2004, Spearritt acted in the films Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London and Seed of Chucky, and played the lead role of Abby Maitland for five series of the ITV science fiction series Primeval. After leaving the show, O'Meara denied that she was racist and said that the show's editing had misconstrued her behaviour. In 2008, O'Meara, Cattermole and McIntosh began performing at British nightclubs, universities and holiday camps as S Club 3, joined occasionally by other band members. On 28 April 2015, S Club 7 reissued Best: The Greatest Hits of S Club 7, with a previously unreleased song, "Rain", as well as "Friday Night" from the S Club album. In May, S Club 7 performed in UK arenas on the Bring It All Back 2015 tour. By December 2017, the group had become a trio again and released a single, "Family". In 2019, Cattermole said that Fuller, not the group members, had been signed to Polydor as S Club 7. The members were merely affiliates and received "pittance" from merchandise. In January 2023, Spearritt said she had been forced into homelessness, living in four temporary homes over a six month period.

On 13 February 2023, S Club 7 announced on The One Show that they would reunite for a two week 25th anniversary tour that October. On 6 April, at age 46, Cattermole died of several heart conditions: cardiac arrhythmia, acute myocardial ischemia and severe coronary artery atheroma and intraplaque haemorrhage. Following his death, Best: The Greatest Hits of S Club 7 reached number seven on the Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100. On 14 May, the group announced they had (for a second time) changed their name to S Club and that Spearritt would not join them on their coming tour, which they would honour as the Good Times Tour as a tribute to Cattermole. Though Lee said Spearritt remained a member of the group, other sources reported that she had left. On 30 June "Don't Stop Movin'" entered the vinyl charts at number one. On 26 July, S Club released their first new single in more than 20 years, "These Are the Days", in memory of Cattermole. It was written and produced by S Club's original songwriting team; Barrett described it as "a nod to our old sound". Spearritt did not take part, saying she was still too upset by Cattermole's death. The band partnered with the British Heart Foundation to raise awareness of heart conditions and raise funds for research. The Good Times Tour began on 12 October at the Manchester Arena, with the group paying tribute to Cattermole. A review noted that the members may have been lip syncing during some of their UK tour performances. The group also announced their first ever North American tour as a second leg of their Good Times tour, which was postponed to early 2024. S Club performed at the 2023 Jingle Bell Ball on 10 December. While attending, they announced new music would be a "definite" in 2024 and the hope for a new television series. The following month, they further discussed the potential for new music, with Lee stating: "If they want to hear more music, we'll do more music." On 7 March 2024, which is Cattermole's birthday, a new version of the song, "Good Times" featuring McIntosh and Lee on lead vocals, was released on digital platforms.

The style of music S Club 7 has is usually pop, or more specifically bubblegum pop. Their first two singles had vocals shared equally amongst the seven members of the group, and it was not until their third single, "Two in a Million", that O'Meara became known as their lead vocalist. Although the band were to progressively change their style over the four years they were together, even their first album had many tracks atypical of the pop genre: "You're My Number One" and "Everybody Wants Ya" were Motown driven, whereas "Viva La Fiesta" and "It's a Feel Good Thing" were both bouncy, salsa driven Latino songs. Over the years their style and direction changed progressively with each new album. Their second album 7 had songs with styles that somewhat opposed the traditional pop songs that rival pop bands of the nineties were releasing. With the release of "Natural" in 2000, S Club 7 showcased a new R&B lite sound. The release of their third album, Sunshine, gave audiences their biggest change: the album contained tracks such as the disco influenced "Don't Stop Movin'" and the R&B ballad "Show Me Your Colours". The album marked a more mature approach for the band. After the departure of Cattermole, S Club released their fourth and final album, Seeing Double, including the single "Alive", which was called a power packed dance floor filler. The single has a style similar to that of their final single, "Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You". The album contained dance tracks that varied from their original bubblegum pop stylings, such as the sex for the CBBC generation on "Hey Kitty Kitty". A reviewer for The Guardian, referring to "Gangsta Love", said "S Club's spiritual home is the suburban disco, not urban underground clubs, and their attempt to go garage on "Gangsta Love" ends up amusing rather than authentic".