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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 9:35:48 GMT -5
S Club Juniors were debuted on Children In Need. "We all came in and it was like, 'Oh my God! Geri Halliwell!' " says Jay. "We were like, 'Uuuuh.' "
"I don't know why we still get star-struck," adds Rochelle. "We know we're normal people, so we should know that they're normal people, too."
They were thrown in at the deep end, supporting S Club 7 in 15,000-capacity venues across the country. Hannah, the youngest, was 10; Aaron, the oldest, 13. The reviews were uneasily positive. "The tiny terrors 'sing' with helium perfection," wrote the Guardian, "and perform dance routines so demanding it's a wonder they have time for geography and joyrides. All good fun, although there is something faintly distressing about six micro-skirted girlies crowding together on a king-size bed... However, nothing is quite as distressing as the fact that at least two of their evil team-penned stompers sound fantastic."
Their debut single, One Step Closer, made it to number two, and the album, Together, went platinum. The critics praised them. Even Liam Gallagher, unexpectedly, announced he was a fan. "I don't mind S Club Juniors," he said. "They're all right. Better than them f**king other ones. Good little kids, man."
When the grown-up S Club split, Fuller decided to extend the lives of the Juniors in the hope that they might fill the void, which is why he's now changed their name to S Club 8. Now, just like the Monkees, the children share a house together - well, four of them do: Calvin, Stacey, Aaron and Hannah. They're the four whose families live a long way away. It's an £850,000 Docklands town house. The other four, who still live with their parents nearby, arrive at the house each morning for home tutoring.
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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 9:36:20 GMT -5
"What's better?" I ask them. "Being home tutored or being at school?"
"Being at home," says Daisy.
"One to one," adds Calvin.
"School's good," says Stacey, "because you get to be with your friends, but home's good because you get a... a... "
" ...a better education," says Calvin.
Paul and Mary, the chaperones, are with them at all times, and they stick to a strict rota of schoolwork, rehearsals, public appearances, etc.
We arrange to meet again on Saturday morning, at the studios for ITV's CD:UK. The band has to get up at 5am for a 7.30am rehearsal, before appearing live at 11am. I turn up with Joel, my five-year-old, at 9am. To prepare Joel, I played him the video for Sundown last night, and he insisted we watch it 40 times.
"Are we really meeting them?" he says. "Are they teenagers? Real teenagers?"
"Yes," I say.
"Whoa," he says. "Man."
On our arrival at Riverside Studios, Joel says, "I don't feel ready to meet them yet. I'm actually a little bit scared."
"Maybe we should stay in the cafe for a moment," I say, "to prepare ourselves."
We sneak into the cafe. Suddenly, Joel freezes and lets out a small yelp.
"What?" I say.
And then I see S Club 8 running towards us, yelling, "You must be Joel! Hi Joel! Are you Joel?"
Joel, in paroxysms of terror, spills his milk all over the floor. Frankie (Poster Girl) immediately rushes to the counter, finds a handful of napkins, gets down on her hands and knees, and cleans up the milk. Joel and I gaze down at her.
"How do you stop them from being starry?" I ask Mary the chaperone later.
"Well," she replies, "Calvin was a bit starry yesterday, so I made him Hoover the stairs."
We follow the band into their dressing room and watch them getting made-up.
"How old are you?" Frankie asks Joel.
Joel grins and says nothing.
"What school do you go to?" asks Jay.
Joel says nothing.
"He's very excited," I explain, "and a little shy."
"Daddy!" groans Joel, mortified. Then he punches me in the face and turns to S Club 8 for approval. There is a slightly awkward silence, while S Club 8 glance reproachfully at Joel.
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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 9:36:57 GMT -5
I'm delighted to say that, as a result of their disapproving glances, Joel has not punched me in the face since. When he clenches his fists, I just have to say, "S Club 8 wouldn't punch their parents," and he stops. It is a watertight argument. At first glance Joel's three great loves - S Club 8, Power Rangers and the Scooby Doo gang - have little in common. But now I see that they are not so different. They are all well-behaved teenage gangs. They all use their power for good. It is very clever of Fuller to realise that children love nothing more than well-behaved teenage gangs.
"Jon! Joel!" says Karen from the group's record company. "Do you want to meet another pop star?"
"Oh yes," I say.
We follow Karen down a hallway and are ushered into another dressing room. The atmosphere couldn't be more different. Gone are the bright lights, the giggles of the children, the high-fives. Here, the lights are low, the ambience smooth and mellow. In the middle stands a louche, Jim Morrison-like figure.
"Hi," purrs Gareth Gates, in the half-light.
"Can my son have your autograph, please?" I ask.
"Sure," he drawls.
"He has gone a bit George Michael, hasn't he?" says Karen in the corridor outside.
Hannah The Cutie's father is here today to watch the show. He hovers - slightly awkwardly - in the background, looking as if he doesn't know where to stand. I ask him if he goes to all their TV appearances and he says, "No. This is the first one ever." He pauses. "It's just that we're taking Hannah home with us for the weekend so it seemed sensible to meet her here."
He seems almost apologetic to be here. He works on the Thames in cargo haulage. Hannah was just 10 when she was uprooted to join S Club Juniors.
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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 9:37:26 GMT -5
"It must have been a difficult decision for you," I say.
"Of course it was," he replies. "But what if your son got picked for Manchester United? How can you turn something like that down? You have to go with it."
Would I have done the same had I been in his position, had Joel been picked from 10,000 hopefuls for an uncertain, worrying but possibly brilliant future? I think I'd have to.
"Do all your friends like S Club 8?" Rob asks Joel.
"I'm not sure they've all heard of it," Joel replies.
At this, I'm surprised to see Rob crumble a little. He looks momentarily heartbroken. "But they've all heard of S Club Juniors," I say, trying to make him feel better.
"That's right," says Joel. "They've all heard of S Club Juniors."
At this, Rob perks up.
"He seemed really upset when I said my friends hadn't heard of S Club 8," says Joel later.
It's true. It was an over-intense response. The more time I spend with the adults around S Club 8, the more I realise how childlike they are. When Rob had said all that stuff about Stacey being bubbly and Rochelle being bubbly, I assumed he was spinning me a bit of PR machinery. Now I think he was listing off their positive character attributes in the same way a teen would write Hannah Is A Cutie on his schoolbag.
The next morning, Joel asks me to invite S Club 8 to stay the night at our house. In a slight flap - I fear that such a sudden withdrawal from the S Club gang may be bad for his psyche - I phone Rob to ask if we can see them one last time. He invites us to the Disney Channel studios on Wednesday.
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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 9:37:49 GMT -5
"Remember the last time we were here?"
Rochelle is sitting on Rob's knee in the corner of the Disney studio. Rob is rubbing her back. Soon they will mime Sundown on live television. Now they are resting between rehearsals.
"I remember!" laughs Rob. "They made you say, 'I'm Kim Possible' over and over again."
"It was a tongue-twister," says Rochelle. " 'I'm Kim Possible! I'm Kim Possible!' And Calvin and Jay were off-camera making me laugh!"
"Yeah," says Rob, wistfully, rubbing her back. "That was funny."
"Frankie looks different!" I say to Rob.
"She's done her hair differently," says Rob.
When the Guardian recently interviewed Simon Fuller, the billionaire owner of Pop Idol, the various S Clubs and Gareth Gates, he said, "I'm just like a child. I get so enthused."
The quote was considered a hollow one, an easy thing for him to say to deflect accusations of child exploitation. But I'm beginning to understand. During my first meeting with S Club 8, I had a cynical attitude. Today, like the other grown-ups around the band, I'm finding it much easier to be childlike. S Club 8 are not children adrift in an industry of adults. They are children in an industry of children.
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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 9:38:22 GMT -5
When it's time for Joel and me to leave, I say, "It was great to be with the S Club gang again."
"Everyone's in the S Club gang!" says Rochelle.
"That's right!" says Rob.
"I'm thinking of starting a new S Club for five- and four-year-olds," announces Joel.
"That's a great idea," says Jay.
"A brilliant idea," says Rob
· Sundown, the single, is released on Monday. The album, also called Sundown, is released on October 13.
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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 9:38:48 GMT -5
There ya go guys! ;D
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Post by Bethany on Sept 28, 2003 9:48:09 GMT -5
wow cool ;D
now im curious about the pictures... *hints*
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Post by Sc8Nightmare on Sept 28, 2003 10:00:46 GMT -5
wow cool ;D now im curious about the pictures... *hints* lol....sorry i aint got the pics,i could only find that..  |
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Post by Bethany on Sept 28, 2003 10:02:32 GMT -5
lol....sorry i aint got the pics,i could only find that.. *poke* well go find some then |
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Post by Cazza on Sept 28, 2003 10:06:04 GMT -5
maxis got pics
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Post by Bethany on Sept 28, 2003 10:09:46 GMT -5
*wonders where maxi is at*
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Post by Ashley on Sept 28, 2003 10:14:20 GMT -5
is the gaurdin a newspaper when was it out,...will it still be in shops?
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Post by Maxi Muffin on Sept 28, 2003 10:24:45 GMT -5
No ashley it was only out yesturday that was it
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Post by Ashley on Sept 28, 2003 10:25:54 GMT -5
awwwww
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