| S Club 8 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | S Club Juniors |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 2001–2005 |
| Labels | Polydor Records |
| Associated acts | S Club The Saturdays |
| Past members | |
| Jay Asforis Daisy Evans Calvin Goldspink Stacey McClean Aaron Renfree Hannah Richings Frankie Sandford Rochelle Wiseman |
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S Club 8, previously known as S Club Juniors, was a spin-off of the UK pop group S Club 7. The group's members, Jay Asforis, Daisy Evans, Calvin Goldspink, Stacey McClean, Aaron Renfree, Hannah Richings, Rochelle Wiseman and Frankie Sandford, were all in their early teens or younger when they were chosen from thousands of hopefuls on the S Club Search (2001) television series.
The group was originally intended only as a support act at Wembley Arena on S Club 7's S Club Carnival Tour. The group also had its own documentary series, S Club Juniors: The Story.
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S Club Juniors were formed in 2001 through a reality television show. The auditions were aired on CBBC. S Club Juniors' appearances was considered a success and consequently 19 Entertainment, the management company that had created S Club 7 and auditioned S Club Juniors, decided they should perform as a support act at all of the venues on the tour.
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". The single was promoted by the TV series S Club Junior: The Story and was 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 second single was named "Automatic High", 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.
Their third single "New Direction" released on 7 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 film Love Actually but didn't feature on the Love Actually soundtrack
The Juniors began work on their second album in January 2003 but Polydor wanted a complete change after high expectations for their debut album, a format with Simon Fuller wanted a massive improvement and there were even plans to axe members after negative reviews.
The band joined S Club on their S Club United tour in April 2003 where the announcement came of a name changed to S Club 8 and an upbeat fifth single, "Fool No More". The single released on 30 June 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 to dismal reviews. It reached number 13 in the UK charts falling to 40 in the second week. It sold 60,000 copies in the UK and 315,859 worldwide. A sixth single, "Don't Tell Me You're Sorry", was released in the UK on 29 December 2003 and reached number 11 in the UK, becoming their first single to chart outside the top ten.
S Club 8 went on to do I Dream for 19 Entertainment because they had already agreed to do it.
Unlike the S Club 7 shows which focused upon the band's fictional exploits, I Dream saw S Club 8 as members of a larger ensemble cast. I Dream revolved around the summer school Avalon Heights, run by Professor Toone (played by Christopher Lloyd), where the characters tried to improve on their talents in the performing arts. The show featured many songs and dances: normally two songs per episode.
| Additional Cast | |
|---|---|
| Matt Di Angelo | Felix |
| Rachel Hyde-Harvey | Amy |
| Helen Kurup | Khush |
| Lorna Want | Natalie |
| George Wood | Ollie |
On 15 November 2004, the show's theme tune "Dreaming" was released as a single, sung by members Frankie and Calvin. The single flopped, charting 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.[1]
S Club 8 split up in early 2005.
Calvin Goldspink (born 24 January 1989). At the age of 12, Goldspink auditioned for S Club Juniors. He later went on to appear in one season of Life is Wild for the CW network in 2007. As of 2010 he is working on an album which is most probably due to come out in 2011. He has split his time between Los Angeles and the UK since 2007. He has also spent time recording in various cities such as Amsterdam, Los Angeles, New York City and London. His album is thought to be released in the UK, Japan and USA. In October 2010 Calvin re-signed to Polydor Records this time as a solo artist. He is also managed by Black Gold management.[2]
Daisy Rebecca Evans (born 30 November 1989). Since early 2007, Daisy has been a member of new 5 piece band, From Above. They have toured the UK, performing in more than 60 clubs, and have reportedly been linked with some important people in the music industry. Since the start of October 2007, Ms Evans' latest project in From Above has been embroiled in a cloud of confusion, due to several line-up changes. The group has scrapped previous material and has opted for a different musical direction. From Above confirmed on their MySpace in September 2008 that they have been signed by Matthew Knowles and Music World Records. The girls moved to the United States earlier this year to work on their debut album
Jay Perry Asforis (born 30 October 1989) did not appear at the S Club Juniors auditions, instead sending a video tape of himself to S Club 7 who allowed him through to the final auditions. He trained at The Susi Earnshaw Theatre School and attended Roding Valley High School. In 1999-2000 Jay made his West End debut in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Whistle Down the Wind' ' at the Aldwych Theatre alongside Hollyoaks actress Hannah Tointon and Brittania High actor Matthew James Thomas. .[3]
Stacey McClean (born 17 February 1989) is from Blackpool, Lancashire. She appeared on series 6 of The X Factor in 2009 and made it to the Top 6 Girls.
Aaron Paul Renfree (born 19 December 1987) like Hannah, was not origninally selected to be a part of S Club Juniors but, like Hannah, joined two days later. He was the oldest member of S Club 8. He starred in I Dream but did not appear in every episode due to studying for his GCSEs at the time of filming. After S Club 8 split in 2004, he joined dancing company TK Spin, who work at Pineapple Dance Studios in London. He left the company a year later.[4]
He went on to Laine Theatre Arts where he trained for 3 years for a National Diploma in Musical Theatre Acting. In 2007, Renfree starred in Flashdance: The Musical, which ran for a year. As of 2009, he is part of the West End Production of We Will Rock You: The Musical he is currently a Swing.
Aaron was assistant choreographer and show director for the X Factor Live Tour 2009 and 2010 and also did some choreography for recording artist Little Boots. He has recently joined up with former S Club Junior members Frankie Sandford and Rochelle Wiseman, as a back up dancer for The Saturdays in multiple live shows.
Hannah Lorraine Richings (born 30 November 1990) was not origninally selected to be a part of S Club Juniors but, like Aaron, she joined two days later. She was the youngest member of S Club 8, and also a cast member on I Dream. She was never given a distinct solo during her time in the group, but had solo parts in two unperformed songs which were recorded as b-sides for the singles Sundown and Automatic High (Richings performed on "Wherever Your Heart Beats" and "We Got You" respectively). She also had a solo in the song, "Here We Go", which was not released commercially but appeared on a free CD with a summer S Club Juniors magazine special. Richings participated in Miss Teen Queen UK in early 2007. Despite being the youngest member of the group, Hannah was the first to have a baby, she gave birth to a baby boy called Finley Jay Blackford on 8 October 2010.
Frankie Sandford (born 14 January 1989) was the second oldest member of S Club 8 and was one of the group's more prominent singers. She attended Hall Mead School, in Upminster, and already knew fellow band member Rochelle, a few years before they both got in S Club Juniors.
In 2007 Sandford added two tracks to a MySpace music page, called Bored and Swallow. Later on that year she auditioned for and was accepted into The Saturdays, along with S Club Juniors bandmate Rochelle, and they toured with Girls Aloud in May 2008 as the support act for the Tangled Up Tour. The group's first single, "If This Is Love", was released on 28 July 2008 and reached number eight in the UK. They also released "Up", "Issues", "Just Can't Get Enough" for Comic Relief and "Work". They have so far released 3 albums to critical and commercial success.
On 9 October 2008, Frankie appeared as a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on Phill Jupitus' team.[5]
In 2010, Frankie appeared as a featured artist in the Kids in Glass Houses' song "Undercover Lover" from their album, Dirt.
Rochelle Wiseman (born 21 March 1989) was a member of S Club 8 and a cast member on I Dream. She is part Sierra Leonean. She attended Coopers Company and Coborn School in Upminster, and already knew fellow band member Frankie, a few years before they both got in S Club Juniors. During her time in the group, 2005, she had a stint as presenter on the BBC children's programme Smile. She is also part of pop-group the Saturdays along with fellow band member, Frankie Sandford.
In February 2007, Wiseman appeared briefly on the BBC Two quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks as part of the show's regular Identity Parade feature, where contestants guess which person out of a lineup of five was featured in an old music video played only to the audience and viewers. The team, consisting of Bill Bailey, Russell Howard and Romeo Stodart (from the band The Magic Numbers), correctly picked Wiseman from the lineup. On 22 October 2009, Rochelle appeared as a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on Phill Jupitus' team.[5]
Wiseman modelled for Love Me Love My Clothes (LMLC) and also took part in the Miss England contest, finishing in third place. In late October 2006 Wiseman was a member of a group called The TigerLilys, who had a MySpace page displaying two tracks. The group disbanded without being signed by a label or releasing any material commercially. Wiseman is now a member of girl group The Saturdays. With these she has achieved 10 UK top ten singles and 3 UK top 10 albums.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | S Club Search | themselves | Reality series |
| 2002 | S Club Juniors: The Story | themselves | Reality series |
| 2002 | Viva S Club | Crowd of fans | one episode |
| 2004 | I Dream | themselves | Filmed in Spain |
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