After an explosive reunion performance, bubblegum pop band S Club 7 will bring it all back to the Capital FM Arena in May. Jemma Page caught up with group member Jon Lee ahead of the concert
Gluing your eyes to the TV screen in the hope of catching a glimpse of your favourite music video, recording the latest chart topper on a cassette tape from Radio 1 and learning the lyrics in monthly magazine Top of the Pops – this was the music scene in 1999.
And it’s a world away from what Noughties pop band S Club 7, who recently regrouped after a remarkable reunion medley, are used to.
“There wasn’t any downloading or Facebook and Twitter,” says Jon Lee, the youngest member of the group. “And back in the day we’d have to sell 250,000 copies in the first week to secure a place at number one, but now it’s about 20,000.”
Twelve years after their final performance, the band reunited to perform a medley of hits – including S Club Party, Reach, Don’t Stop Movin’ and Bring It All Back – at BBC Children in Need 2014.
“We didn’t really let people know we were doing it until last minute, so to walk in and see the audience go insane was bizarre,” says the 32-year-old.
“And with social media we got to see an instant reaction from people all over the world on our phones – it was very different but amazing to experience.”
One million YouTube hits and three days later, the band – also consisting of Bradley McIntosh, Hannah Spearritt, Jo O’Meara, Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens and Tina Barrett – announced they would be hitting the road again as part of their 11-date Bring It All Back tour.
“There was no guarantee we were going to get the reaction we had so we had our hearts in our throats. But then we released tour tickets and certain venues sold out in 20 minutes,” says Jon.
About the tour Jon adds: “It’s very much going to be a greatest hits show and a celebration of what S Club was back in the day – but with a modern twist to make it relevant.”
Two decades ago the group exploded onto the pop scene with the release of their chart-topping single Bring It All Back.
“Some of our old fans have their own children now which is quite strange,” explains Jon. “At the time it was good wholesome cheesy fun, so hopefully we’ll get a whole new generation of fans this time round.”
Over the course of four years, the band managed to bag themselves four number one singles – with their lowest charting single peaking at number five.
“In an arena Reach [which was released in 2000] is incredible,” says Jon. “You get to see 12,000 people throwing their arms in the air at the same time – it gives me the biggest rush in the entire world.”
The group’s previous tours – S Club Party in 2001 and Carnival in 2002 – have been heavily themed, but this time Jon says the focus is more on the music.
“The Carnival tour is still to this day amazing. I watch it with my nephews and nieces to show them what Uncle Jon used to do and I think to myself, ‘that’s such a cool tour for a little pop group’,” says the ever humble Jon.
“But this time we’ll be taking our audience on a journey through our hits. It’ll be very interactive with the fans.”
The group will have their faces displayed on huge video screens at the side of the stage – technology the superstar admits to not understanding.
“It completely goes over my head because I’m too old, but it sounds amazing on paper,” he jokes.
The band had been planning their comeback two years before their performance – and were even approached by the likes of ITV2 hit show The Big Reunion.
“It was the 10 year anniversary since we split up two years ago, and we wanted to get back together then,” explains Jon.
But the seven-piece believed the timing wasn’t right and their story wouldn’t have been fitting for the TV show as they had remained friends throughout the split.
Jon jokes: “It’s very much brotherly, sisterly relationships – apart from Hannah and Paul because that’s just weird [as they dated for six years].”
Paul became the first member to quit the band in 2002 but the group stayed together and hit the big-screen with their feature film Seeing Double.
But shortly after its premiere in 2003 the band announced their split and their final single ‘Say Goodbye’ hit number two on the charts.
Following the split, Rachel became the runner up on Strictly Come Dancing in 2008, Hannah turned into an actress and starred in TV dramas Marple and Primeval, Paul joined rock band Skua, Bradley became a producer, Jo appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 and Tina kept a low profile.
Jon, on the other hand, returned to his roots in musical theatre – and went straight into Les Miserables in the West End, just one week after the group disbanded.
“It’s where I felt comfortable and very happy,” he says. “S Club took me on a slightly different journey.”
And after selling over 10 million records, winning two Brit Awards and starring in their own record-breaking TV shows, is there anything left for the pop band to do?
“We can only focus on one thing these days, whereas before it’d be five or six projects at once,” says Jon. “We want this tour to be the best one yet so we’re dedicating 100 per cent to it – we’d get confused otherwise.”
