In October, S Club 7 announced they would reunite for Children in Need, healing the 11-year-old heartbreak of thousands of fans.
S Club 7 were a Simon Fuller creation who released five chart-topping singles and a number one album after starring in CBBC series Miami 7 at the turn of the Millennium. But the squeaky clean pop of hits such as Reach and S Club Party wasn’t to last: during their unfortunately titled S Club United tour in 2003 they announced they were splitting up, a fortnight after they denied rumours of a disbandment and months after Paul Cattermole had left the group.
After band members reportedly earned £600,000 each for four years of work that generated more than £50 million for their management, the parents of bandmember Hannah Spearritt reportedly hired lawyers to chase earnings.
Inevitable solo careers and new projects ensued. Cattermole, whose departure had sparked the band’s demise, rejoined his schoolboy Nu Metal band Skua. Jon Lee was cast in the West End’s Les Miserables. Rachel Stevens reunited with Fuller and signed a £1.5 million record deal. Spearritt was immediately cast in the film Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London. Tina Barrett released nothing but a cover of Do Ya Think I’m Sexy with former Atomic Kitten Liz McClarnon and Natasha Bedingfield. Bradley McIntosh repeated history by starring in musical TV show, Totally Boyband, with other ex pop band singers. Jo O’Meara, arguably the most powerful vocalist of the group, didn’t sign a record deal until 2005.
All seven members appeared in tabloid gossip columns until the mid-Noughties, usually on similar subjects: Cattermole’s weight gain and his continued relationship with Spearritt – they were together for six years, something Miami 7’s plotline reflected – Barrett’s brief flings with rockstars and sitcom actors; Lee’s surprising theatrical success.
Stevens was the clear star: by the end of 2004 she had a Top 10 single and managed to be both the face of Marks and Spencer’s Christmas campaign and in Lads Mag centrefolds. By contrast, Barrett achieved column inches only by failing her driving test and McIntosh’s most talked-about gig was at Coventry Social Club, during which £4,000 was raised for Children In Need.
The new year saw more TV and film credits for Stevens, and a second, less successful, album. Cattermole joined a new rock band, Charlie Bullitt, with whom he played small regional festivals. O’Meara’s debut single, What Hurts the Most was released in 2005 but she left her record label soon afterwards. After a role in horror film Seed of Chucky, Spearritt was cast in Snow! The Musical, a West End failure that closed three weeks into its run after attracting tiny audiences.
As part of boy band Upper Street, McIntosh released their only single in 2006. Stevens went into the jungle on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and the S Club reunion rumours started when Cattermole told the press: “I spoke to other members about it and we were all positive about the idea. It could be a possibility.”
In 2007 O’Meara became the third S Club member to appear on reality TV. Celebrity Big Brother was a career-killing move: she became embroiled in the racism row over the treatment of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty by the late Jade Goody. Spearritt, however, had landed her first credible TV role since Miami 7 in ITV sci-fi drama Primeval.
2008 saw Stevens become the most successful contestant on Strictly Come Dancing ever while Cattermole joined O’Meara and McIntosh to create S Club 3. Together the trio toured pubs and nightclubs around the country, making stops at student unions along the way. Rumours swirled that they would get back together on ITV documentary sereis The Big Reunion, but it never happened. O’Meara and Cattermole both filed for bankruptcy within a week of each other in May 2014.
Stevens attempted to revive her musical career in 2011 but a proposed album to encourage healthy eating in toddlers never emerged. In 2012 Barrett released a music video but little else. Spearritt has continued to act – her latest film, Goob, was released in October. Similarly, Lee’s theatrical career has been the most continually successful, with lead roles in West End musicals such as Jersey Boys.
Since the Children in Need announcement, an official S Club 7 Twitter account has been created. All seven members have posted videos, taken on phones, counting down the days before they reunite live in front of a watching nation. Older, less sparkly than in their Miami days, they promise an S Club Party. Time will tell.
