Formed in May 1997, Five, AKA Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, J Brown, Sean Conlon and Abz Love, released their debut single Slam Dunk (Da Funk) just six months later and found themselves living in a house together as teenagers. The band’s 11 UK Top 10 singles, three Top 5 albums and two arena tours spanned less than a four-year period. That it ended in burnout, depression and fist-fights was hardly surprising given their light-speed ascent. In recent years, there has been a happy ending of sorts with Neville, Robinson and Conlon reuniting as a three-membered Five and releasing a new album last year. But it all started out via five lads standing out from an initial crowd of 3,000 wannabes that featured a pre-fame Russell Brand among their number …
Chris Herbert (manager, Five) The idea [behind Five] was Boyzone were going to bring you a bunch of flowers and Five were going to fuck you against a wall down the side alley. Girls love a bad boy and boys could relate to it. Musically it was going to be harder and tougher.
