| S Club 8 | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Alias: | S Club Juniors |
| Origin: | London, England |
| Years Active: | 2001–2004 |
| Label: | Polydor Records |
| Spinoff Of: | S Club |
| Past Members: |
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S Club 8 (originally S Club Juniors) were a spin off of the British pop group S Club 7. The group's original 9 members, Jay Asforis (now Perry), Daisy Shelvey, Connor Daley, Calvin Goldspink, Stacey McClean, Aaron Renfree, Hannah Richings, Frankie Sandford, and Rochelle Wiseman were all in their early teens or younger when they were chosen from thousands of hopefuls on the television series S Club Search to appear as a support act for pop band S Club 7.Daley was removed from the group during the early stages of rehearsals for inappropriate behaviour towards the other members of the group. The group went ahead with the other 8 members and Daley wasn’t replaced. He can be seen in the first two episodes of S Club Search.
S club 8, then S club Juniors, were originally intended only as a support act at Wembley Arena on S Club 7's S Club Carnival Tour but were deemed so successful that they went on to support S Club 7 throughout every British date of the tour. They later released their own debut single, "One Step Closer", followed by other singles "Automatic High" and "New Direction". This was followed by the album, Together.
Shortly after this, the band that S Club 8 had originally been created to be a support act for, S Club 7, disbanded and announced they would no longer be releasing music.
This announcement was followed by a ‘grown up’ name change, from S club Juniors, to S club 8. Under the name change, they released singles Fool No More, Sundown and a remixed version of their album track, Don't Tell Me You're Sorry. This was followed by a second album, also titled Sundown
Later on, they appreared in their own TV Show, I Dream, alongside other young actors Lorna Want, who had originally auditioned for S club Juniors herself, Matt Di Angelo, George Wood, Rachel Hyde-Harvey, and Helen Kurup, as well as Christopher Lloyd of Back to the Future fame. The show was panned by critics, and ended up being cancelled after one series. While the UK aired the whole series on CBBC, other countries such as Spain, the USA and France, chose to cancel airings of the show mid-series due to low viewing figures.
The show spawned a soundtrack and third album for S Club 8, called Welcome to Avalon Heights. However, it failed to obtain much commercial success, peaking at number 133 in the UK album charts. It did not chart in any other countries.
Shortly after this, the S Club 8 disbanded.
Their manager at 19 Management, Simon Fuller, informed the members that they would hear from the rest of their management if any more music opportunities arose for them, and that the members should go back to school or college in the meantime. However, no opportunities for the band ever came to fruition, and S club 8 never reunited or released music again.
After they were put together, S club 8 (then S Club Juniors) also had their own documentary series, S Club Juniors: The Story. This followed the 8 remaining members after Daley’s departure navigate their first steps into the showbiz world; including their first TV interviews, photoshoots, local performances, and recording and filming their first single, One Step Closer. It also showed more prosaic clips of their everyday life, including their living arrangements, which included 4 of the members leaving home and staying in a hotel, as well as clips of the members’ private tutoring - an alternative to mainstream school, which allowed them to get their education while still being able to perform and record music.
See also: S Club Search and Together (S Club Juniors album). S Club Juniors was formed in 2001 through a reality television show, S Club Search, and originally consisted of nine members. Connor Daley was removed from the group soon after, as he behaved inappropriately towards the others, but he can be seen on the first two episodes.[1] The auditions were aired on CBBC. S Club Juniors' appearances were considered a success by 19 Entertainment, the management company that had created S Club 7 and auditioned S Club Juniors. Consequently, it was decided they should perform as a support act at all of the venues on the tour. The juniors made their first television appearance on Children in Need on 16 November 2001. By the end of the tour, S Club Juniors had created a following and, with the encouragement of 19, Polydor Records signed the group. Their first single was called "One Step Closer". It was promoted by the TV series S Club Junior: The Story and released in the UK on 22 April 2002 in a chart battle with the Sugababes who released their comeback single the same day. Although the Juniors remained number one in the midweek charts, the single dipped over the weekend and managed to sell 73,000 copies, compared to the Sugababes' 85,000. The Juniors stayed at number two for a second week selling a further 60,000 copies, compared to Holly Valance's 143,000. In excess of 250,000 copies were sold in the UK in total and they stayed in the UK top 75 for 11 weeks.
The group began working on their studio album in June 2002. A video for the second single, "Automatic High", was filmed in Spain, while S Club 7 began their fourth TV series. Released on 22 July 2002, the single reached number two in the UK charts selling 52,000 copies, and spent eight weeks inside the UK top 75 and sold in excess of 110,000 copies in the UK. The third single, "New Direction", was released on 10 October reached number two in the UK charts selling 55,000 copies in the first week. It became their third consecutive top ten hit, selling 130,000 copies in six weeks. The Juniors released their debut album Together on 21 October reaching number five in its first week of sale and selling 40,000 copies. Their fourth single, "Puppy Love/Sleigh Ride", was released on 9 December 2002. The single debuted at number six in the UK charts, and sold 85,000 copies in the UK, spending eight weeks inside the UK Top 40. The song was also used in the 2003 film Love Actually.
The group joined S Club on their S Club United tour in April 2003 where the announcement came of a name change to S Club 8 and a fifth single, "Fool No More". The single was released on 30 June and reached number four in the UK chart, selling 26,000 copies in its first week and overall 75,000 copies in the UK. A second single, "Sundown", was released in the UK on 29 September 2003 reaching number four in the UK and became their sixth and final top ten hit and selling 37,000 copies in its first week and 80,000 altogether. The album, Sundown, was released on 13 October 2003 and reached number 13 in the UK charts, falling to number 40 in the second week. Despite selling a total of 60,000 copies in the UK and 315,859 worldwide, the record company perceived the album as a failure.[2] In a review for BBC Music, Jack Smith stated that some of Sundowns tracks, "come across as brattier, livelier, younger relatives of... S Club('s)", and that "the album only really flags when the '8 attempt to do more grown-up songs".[3] The third single, "Don't Tell Me You're Sorry", was released on 29 December 2003 in the UK where it reached number 11, becoming the band's first single to chart outside the top ten.
After this, the band turned to acting and were cast in the show, I Dream Unlike the S Club 7 shows which focused upon the group's fictional exploits, I Dream saw S Club 8 as members of a larger ensemble cast. Despite the show being tailored around them, every member of S Club 8 still had to audtion. I Dream revolved around the summer school Avalon Heights, run by Professor Toone (played by Christopher Lloyd of Back to the Future fame), where the characters tried to improve on their talents in the performing arts. S Club 8 members played ‘’exaggerated’’ versions of themselves, while other cast members played characters with different names and personalities to their own. The show featured many songs and dances, normally two to three songs per episode. On 15 November 2004, the show's theme tune "Dreaming" was released as a single, sung by members Sandford and Goldspink. The single charted at number 19, falling to 36 the following week, then out of the UK top 40. On 29 November 2004 an album titled Welcome to Avalon Heights was released, containing songs from the show performed by S Club 8 members and the rest of the cast. The album debuted at number 133, having sold around 700 copies. The following week, it left the chart entirely.[4]
The group disbanded in mid 2004.
In late 2004, Daisy Evans joined five-piece girl group, From Above. They were later briefly signed by Beyonce's father, Mathew Knowles, and had a TV show on MTV, called Breaking from above. They were shortly dropped by Knowles, after releasing 2011 debut single, Not the Same Girl. From Above also auditioned for The X Factor UK in 2012, but received backlash due to the show originally being created for undiscovered artists. They reached the boot camp stages before being sent home.
In 2009, Stacey Franks auditioned for The X Factor UK. She got to the judges houses stages, before being sent home.
S Club 8 (minus Frankie Bridge and Rochelle Humes, who had work commitments with The Saturdays) were set to appear on 2013 tv show The Big Reunion, however were dropped from the lineup after Calvin Goldspink dropped out.
In 2020 band mate Jay Asforis hosted a series of Instagram live conversations with his former fellow band mates.
In his conversation with Evans she recalled her memories of the band's split, explaining that after I Dream was filmed, the band (along with their parents) were told by 19 Entertainment that the programme would be aired. However, following this, the band would be shelved for a while and their tutoring would be stopped and the band advised to go back to school. McClean also mentioned her memories of the split, explaining she was told the “lease was up” on the house she shared with fellow band mates Richings, Renfree and Goldspink. Following her move back home was told she would hear about “future projects”, but these did not happen and the group never reformed. She also talked of her jealousy.
In 2013, members Aaron Renfree and Stacey Franks revealed that they had been asked to take part in the reality show The Big Reunion, alongside the other members of the band (minus Frankie Sandford and Rochelle Wiseman who were on tour with The Saturdays). However, their appearance was cancelled by the shows’ management after fellow band member, Calvin Goldspink, dropped out.
In 2020, member Jay Perry did a series of Instagram live streams, interviewing each member of the band in turn and asking Q&A’s from the viewers in the comment section. A reunion was briefly mentioned, with Renfree, McClean and Shelvey expressing their interest, however other members were not so keen, with Perry himself saying “it’s not for me”, preferring to concentrate on his West End theatre work, Goldspink saying in jest, “only if (we) fill an arena” and Richings commenting that she preferred to leave S club 8 in the past, as a “lovely memory to tell (her) children about.” Wiseman and Sandford had their own work commitments, as they are guest presenters on This Morning and Loose Women, respectively.
In 2022, Sandford, while co-presenting Loose Women, talked about her time in the band, including her childhood upbringing and friendship with Rochelle Wiseman, whom she attended the same part-time stage school alongside. She discussed how the band were “happier than (they) would be today” due to not having the “pressures” of social media and how she and her bandmates used to “mess about” and hide from their chaperones during their time in the band. Sandford also talked about when S Club 8 disbanded, and revealed she was a retail worker for a year, before “getting a call” while on holiday to audition for a new up-and-coming girl band, The Saturdays.
After S Club 7 announced their reunion tour in 2023, rumours quickly spread that S Club Juniors would accompany them on their Good Times Tour. However, these rumours were debunked by members McClean and Renfree during an Instagram live Q&A. Members expressed an interest in partaking in a reunion, with Sandford joking "it would be fun wouldn't it?”
See main article: S Club 8 discography.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | S Club Search | Themselves / Contestants | Reality series |
| 2002 | S Club Juniors: The Story | Themselves | Reality series |
| 2002 | Viva S Club | Crowd of fans | "The Fame in Spain" (Season 1: episode 1) |
| 2004 | I Dream | Themselves | Main roles |