Five reveal how two members almost didn't turn up to the band audition 😮

This year, all five members of Five have reunited to go on tour, so we just HAD to get the 'Slam Dunk Da Funk' singers in to chat to us at Hits Radio, Off The Record.

In our exclusive chat with Five, where they join Hits Radio's Fleur East, they talk about becoming famous in the 90s, the moment they knew they'd made it, what happened when they split up way back in 2001, and why they decided to reunite.

Fleur East was joined by Sean Conlon, Abz Love, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and J Brown to talk about their rise to fame, how the stars aligned to get the band together, and what happened when Sean left and the band split up. Of course they also revealed what it was like getting back together and how different things have been this time around.

The band initially released songs between 1997 and 2001, with Number 1 hits like 'Everybody Get Up', 'If Ya Gettin' Down' and 'Let's Dance', and three Top 5 albums. You can hear many of their hits on Hits Radio, as well as Hits Radio 90s and Hits Radio 00s.

How Five were formed

Five was created back in 1997 when the members of the band answered an advert in The Stage, a magazine which covered the entertainment industry. As the members explained it was pure chance that some of them ended up auditioning.

"I'd just left school," Scott explained. "It's actually a pivotal moment, what happened, to get me to that audition. I was 17, but I might have had a couple of drinks the night before. So I woke up in the morning and my dad comes into the bedroom.

"He says, 'Scott, you've got this boyband audition thing today, this Spice Boys'. And I said, 'No, I'm not going, I can't,' and he said, 'You've got to go, that audition could change your life'. And I said, 'alright I'll go' and it DID change my life."

Sean then revealed he was still at school when he joined and he hadn't even done his GCSEs. At the time the only exam he took was Music, which he achieved an 'A' in, however he explained: "I did do them, after the band, I went back and did them, so if my children are listening, you've still got to persevere and do them!"

J admitted he'd never heard of The Stage, however, his girlfriend at the time asked him to go to the newsagent to buy it. When he got to there there was just one copy left in the shop, which would normally be for someone else, but they hadn't turned up for it. Amazingly this was the only reason he saw the advert.

"This was the only time that the girl hadn't come in, to buy the copy," he explained. "Honestly there was one copy left and she sold it to me, I took it home. Going through (it), I'd never even looked at all these auditions, I'm looking (and thinking) no chance... then I saw the advert for this band."

Five's instant success

Five were at their height of success in the late 90s with their huge hits 'Slam Dunk (Da Funk)', 'Everybody Get Up', 'If Ya Gettin' Down' and 'Let's Dance' propelling them to the top of the charts as their fans flocked around them.

Ritchie recounted: "Walking past a school on your way somewhere, and you see the time and it's like 3.28. A major panic would come over you and you'd be like 'where's my cap? Quick I've got to get out of here!' Because it was going to happen."

Scott went on to explain: "We were so young, and we weren't equipped to deal with the things that were going on... A lot of bands do a school's tour and they get a fan base. We done none of that, we went from not being famous to being famous like that. Instantly."

Opening up about dealing with the instant success, J admitted: "We dealt with it well at first, but it was a very strange experience, nothing can equip for that psychologically."

With Ritchie adding: "It was like being thrown in at the deep end, it's like sink or swim."

Why Five decided to reunite

It's been nearly 25 years since all five members of the group have performed together, and as Ritchie explained it's been a "massive healing process".

The singer went on to say: "Genuinely to be friends again, but also to step right back into the fray. That thing that did it to us, and look it right in the end and go 'we're doing it on our terms'."

Sean explained that back in the day, promotion was a stress, but this current promotion has been one of the best two weeks of their lives, with the others chipping in to say they've done it the right way, and enjoyed it.

Scott admitted they've connected on deeper level, as they've spoken about what's happened in the past.

J added: "It's taken so long because there's five individuals, it's taken so long because each one of us has had to come to that place that you genuinely went 'I want to do that again'. And now all of us want to do it again."

When are Five on tour?

Thankfully all five members want to reunite for a tour, and they will be going on tour in November and December 2025.

How to listen to the full Off The Record with Five on Hits Radio

Listen to Five Off The Record on Rayo, now. Search 'Rayo' into your app store to download the app for free on iOS and Android.

Take a look through other tours taking place in 2025 and beyond:

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