S Club

S Club 7 were formed by the music executive Simon Fuller, who had previously managed the Spice Girls. He conceived the group concept after the Spice Girls sacked him as their manager in November 1997.[4] He described S Club 7 as a continuation of ideas he had had for the Spice Girls, but with a softer, more uplifting image.[5] The same songwriting team was used for both acts.[5]

Fuller placed an advert in The Stage[6] and held auditions with more than 10,000 applicants.[7] Both Jo O'Meara and Paul Cattermole were spotted by producers from Fuller's company, 19 Management, and asked to audition.[6] Rachel Stevens was the only member who did not audition; instead, two producers approached her and asked her to record a demo tape.[6] According to the 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".[8]

Once the lineup was decided, the members flew to Italy to become acquainted with each other.[9] Stevens remarked that the group "felt comfortable with each other from the beginning".[9] Several members of the group said that the "S" in S Club 7 stands for Simon, after the group's creator, although the official line has always been ambiguous.[7] The group's entry on the Popjustice website says that at one point they were nearly called "Sugar Club" instead of the name that stuck.[10] 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.[11]

S Club 7 rose to fame in a children's television series, Miami 7, first broadcast on CBBC between April and July 1999.[12][13] The members played fictional versions of themselves and went on adventures and performed a song in each episode.[12][13] In the US, the show was renamed S Club 7 in Miami and broadcast on Fox Family.[13] By 2000, it had been sold to 100 countries and viewed by 90 million people.[2] The use of the television show to publicise the group was likened to the Monkees.[14]

S Club 7 released their debut single, "Bring It All Back", on 9 June 1999, which The Guardian likened to the Jackson 5.[13] It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and was certified platinum.[15][16] S Club 7's debut album, S Club, was released in October 1999. It reached number two in the UK Albums Chart[15] and was certified double platinum.[17] S Club 7 supported Woolworths' Kids First Campaign throughout 1999 and 2000.[18] In September 1999, "S Club Party" entered the UK charts at number two and number one in New Zealand.[15][19] 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.[15]

In February 2000, S Club 7 won for British Breakthrough Act award at the 2000 BRIT Awards.[20] In the same month, the toy manufacturer Hasbro announced a licensing deal to create S Club 7 dolls.[21] In April, 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.[13] "Reach", another retro-styled uptempo track, was released as a single in May 2000 and reached number two on the UK charts.[15]

S Club 7's second album, 7, was released on 12 June 2000. It reached number one in the UK charts[2][15] and was certified triple platinum in the UK[22] and gold in the US.[23] The second single from the album, "Natural", reached number three in September 2000.[15] That October, S Club 7 launched the annual Poppy Appeal campaign with Dame Thora Hird.[24] 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.[25] 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.[13][15]

S Club 7 released their third studio album, Sunshine, on 26 November 2001. The lead single, "Don't Stop Movin'", released in April 2001, marked a more sophisticated sound, likened to the 1983 Michael Jackson song "Billie Jean".[26] It reached number one,[15] went platinum[27] and became the seventh-best-selling single of 2001.[28] It won Record of the Year[29] and earned S Club 7 their second BRIT Award, this time for best British single.[30] S Club 7 donated more than £200,000 to Children in Need after it reached number one.[31]

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.[33] They released an apology through their publicity firm.[34] BT and Cadbury, who had sponsorship deals with S Club 7, said they were "disappointed" but kept their contracts with the band,[34] while the Quaker Oats Company ended talks with 19 Entertainment.[35] Pepsi signed a sponsorship deal with S Club 7 within a month of the caution.[36]

After spending most of early 2001 rehearsing, the S Club Party 2001 tour began on 19 May 2001.[6] Once the tour was over, the group flew to the United States to film the third series of their television show Hollywood 7.[6] The group had to continuously cope with intense schedules and early starts whilst recording for the programme.[6]

Cattermole and Spearritt began dating in 2001 and were in a relationship until 2008.[37] The relationship was kept secret for the first six months. Cattermole later said it had been "forced" by management and did not happen "organically", as their romance had been written into Hollywood 7.[38] 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.[39] The winning children formed a new group, S Club Juniors, and had six top-ten UK hits.[40]

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.[41] The single became the S Club 7's fourth number one[15] and the 21st-biggest-selling single of 2001.[28]

In January 2002, S Club 7 embarked upon their second arena tour. Reviewing a performance for The Independent, Steve Jelbert likened it to "a compilation of toddler-friendly Eurovision entries", and wrote: "They may have been manufactured solely as a money-spinning multimedia creation, but this is a slick, decent-value show, performed by highly trained entertainers."[42]

The third single from Sunshine, "You", reached number two in the UK.[15] The group was disappointed by the choice of single, as they had hoped to continue the more contemporary sound established by "Don't Stop Movin'". Cattermole said later that they had "wanted to be perceived as cool since the very beginning" but that their management had "taken it away".[26]

In 2002, Cattermole quit S Club 7 to rejoin his school metal band, Skua.[37] He later described frustration with the S Club 7 management, and said that "things were being handled so badly, I had to go".[26] 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.[43] Skua failed to secure a record deal.[26]

After Cattermole's departure, the group was renamed S Club. The remaining members re-signed their deal with Fuller and their record company.[44] "Alive", S Club's first single without Cattermole, reached number five on the UK Singles Chart,[15] and their fourth album, Seeing Double, reached number 17.[15] O'Meara announced that she would step back from performing for the remainder of the year due to a back condition.[3][45]

In April 2003, S Club released their first feature film, Seeing Double. The film moved into the realm of children's fantasy, and saw the group fighting 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.[46]

That month, the Sunday Mirror reported that of the €75 million the band had made for Fuller, the band members had received €150,000 each a year.[47] The Mirror also reported that the group members travelled economy on flights and prepared their own food and laundry when working abroad.[47] Spearritt's parents reportedly hired lawyers to chase payments owed to them by Fuller and his management company.[47]

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.[3] They cited a mutual split, saying it was time "to move on and face new challenges".[3] The members later described exhaustion from hectic schedules and long filming days.[48] Fans expressed anger after S Club had denied rumours of a split only weeks prior.[49] 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.[15] On 2 June, a greatest hits album, Best: The Greatest Hits of S Club 7, was released, containing the previously unreleased track, "Everybody Get Pumped". It reached number two in the United Kingdom.[15]

In 2003, Stevens signed a £1.5 million four-album deal with Polydor and Fuller.[50] Her debut solo album, Funky Dory, reached number nine on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold.[51] In January 2007, O'Meara joined the fifth series of the British reality television show Celebrity Big Brother, broadcast on Channel 4. She and other contestants were accused of making racist and bullying comments about the Indian contestant Shilpa Shetty, which drew record numbers of viewer complaints and international media coverage.[52] After leaving the show, O'Meara denied that she was racist and said that the show's editing had misconstrued her behaviour.[53]

In 2008, O'Meara, Cattermole and McIntosh began performing at British nightclubs, universities and holiday camps as S Club 3.[54] Other members of the group occasionally joined them.[26] Cattermole later declared bankruptcy and sold his 2000 BRIT Award at auction.[37] He worked various other jobs, such as a community radio manager and as a psychic.[37] Spearritt acted in the 2004 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.[54]

On 14 November 2014, S Club 7 reunited for a BBC Children in Need telethon, performing a medley of "S Club Party", "Reach", "Bring It All Back" and "Don't Stop Movin'".[55][56][57] 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.[58] In May, S Club 7 performed in UK arenas on the Bring It All Back 2015 tour.[59][60] By December 2017, the group had become a trio again and released a single, "Family".[61]

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 had received "pittance" from merchandise.[62] In January 2023, Spearritt said she had been forced into homelessness. She said that people wrongly assumed the members of S Club 7 were millionaires, and that they had not been on a good wage compared to the modern music industry.[63]

On 13 February 2023, S Club 7 announced on The One Show that they would reunite for a 25th-anniversary tour.[64] The tour is scheduled to begin at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on 13 October 2023 and culminate with a performance at the O2 Arena in London two weeks later.[65]

On 6 April 2023, Cattermole died of natural causes at the age of 46.[66] His bandmates said they were "truly devastated".[66] Following his death, Best: The Greatest Hits of S Club 7 reached number seven on the Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100.[67] On 14 May, the group announced they had changed their name to S Club and that Spearritt would not join them on their coming tour.[68][69] Though Lee said Spearritt remained a member of the group, other sources reported that she had left.[70] On June 30, "Don't Stop Movin'" entered the vinyl charts at number one.[71]

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.[72]

On 8 September, it was announced that S Club had joined forces with the British Heart Foundation to raise awareness of heart conditions, and to raise funds for research, following Cattermole's death.[73] Four days later, North American tour dates were announced.[74] On 12 October, a performance billed as a preview of the Good Times tour was held at the Manchester AO Arena. Band members paid tribute to Cattermole during the show.[75]