Five
Living in some seclusion (though not in secrecy) in a house just outside
of London are Rich Neville, Scott Robinson, Abs Breen, J Brown and Sean Conlon. This tough crew of streetwise guys is known as 5, a singing and
rapping group determined to change the face of music with loads of rhythm, boundless energy and their mischievous sense of humor.
Over the past year, 5 have been living together in a raucous environment and perfecting their explosive sound. Out of the roughhousing comes an
edge that combines danceable depth and sensitive layers, something like
a friendly riot going on. In England, 5's upbeat approach to life and
making music is well-chronicled. In 1997 they were voted "Best New Band"
by Smash Hits magazine. Their most recent single, "When the Lights Go
Out," entered the UK charts at #4. It follows up "Slam Dunk (Da Funk),"
a hip-hop inspired UK Top 10 hit. The album is co-written and produced
by hot producers Denniz Pop, Cutfather & Joe and Max Martin.
Unlike other young groups, 5 is not solely into singing love ballads or
blowing out their guitar amps on cue. "We're just five guys trying to
make something of ourselves," explains Rich. "We don't want to be
perceived as anything other than a band with wicked songs." They share a
collective enthusiasm for snowboarding, soccer, Play Station video games
and girls.
At age 16 Sean, who hails from Leeds, is the youngest guy in the group.
From a musically inclined family, he started singing at age four, dancing at age nine, cut his first demo at 11 and won Yamaha's Young
Composer of the Year award at age 13 (a competition judged by Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Webber).
Scott is an 18 year-old guy from Essex who made his marks at the prestigious Sylvia Young Stage School and has been singing and dancing
for as long as he can remember. He now concentrates his hyperactive energies on stage with 5.
Rich, also 18, was trained in drama at the exclusive private school he attended in Birmingham. This led to roles in the National Youth Theater,
tempered by stints in a couple of hard rock bands. It's not surprising to hear that his heroes include actor Sean Connery and Pearl Jam's Eddie
Vedder.
Abs is 5's third 18 year-old, an experienced rapper, singer and DJ who was raised in London and attended the Italia Conti Stage School. The
physical challenges presented by the group push all of his buttons, so when he isn't busy DJing jungle music or working out in the gym he's
probably just accepted a dare to go skydiving or bungee jumping.
At age 21, Cheshire's Jay is the oldest, the loudest, the bossiest and the most sensible member of the group. He's an experienced rapper and
singer who performed with rap crews prior to joining 5. Now, he maintains a recording studio in his bedroom so he can work out rhythms
and tracks whenever he's inspired.
"We all love music full stop," says Rich, "but we all have our own individual tastes. Rich sticks with straight-ahead rock like Pearl Jam
and Nirvana, while Scott gravitates towards bands like No Doubt. Abs is into underground dance music, while Jay is all about hip-hop and Sean is
into the soul music of the Isley Brothers and Marvin Gaye.
5's immediate future holds plenty of excitement. Fivemania has arrived in the UK with their album debuting at Number One and three Top 10 hits
- "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)," "When The Lights Go Out" and "Got Da Feelin." They are starting to gain the kind of national prominence that the Spice
Girls have enjoyed here in recent years. In fact, the BBC are completing a 10-part documentary on 5's first year together to be broadcast later
this year. A promotional tour of the U.S. is showing sings of yet another British Invasion as "When The Lights Go Out" quickly climbs the
Hot 100 and the album hits the streets 7/15.
2nd Bio:
-------- Fresh out of the U.K. comes 5, a powerhouse five-some that is
exploding everywhere here in the U.S. Voted Smash Hits "best new band of
1997," Sean, Scott, J, Abs and Rich create an edgy mix of hip-hop/pop
with serious attitude. 5's highly anticipated American debut album out
July 14th, features an all-star producer line-up, including Denniz Pop
and Max Martin. "When The Lights Go Out," the group's first U.S. single
has slammed into #29* on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart this week and
bullets to #29* on the Billboard Monitor Chart. With big stations across
the nation on board, a national promo tour of the U.S. just beginning &
loads of press to come, the future of 5 is here!
Bop Magazine
September, 1998
The latest about the greatest music stars
The fabulous Five--no, not the Spice Girls again, but rather Sean
Conlon, 17, Scott Robinson, 18, Richard Neville, 18, "ABS" Breen, 19,
and "J" Brown, 22, who were brought together by the same people who put
the girls together--were more than sweet when they stopped by Bop HQ to
chat about their just out self-titled debut album. "It's different from
a lot of other albums," confesses Abs, who together with his British
bandmates busted out the super-catchy single "When the Lights Go Out."
"Every track is literally different from the previous one. I mean, you
and I have got albums where you put them in and you always skip a couple
[songs] that you don't like. We want everything to be listened to and
enjoyed." And enjoy we will. Just make sure, Boppers, you have lots of
spare time before you pop it in the player, because once you start, you
just can't stop."
From BB Magazine: August 1998
The Singular Jive of FIVE
Hot off the top of international music charts, Five are making their
mark in the United States with their funky new single "When The Lights
Go Out." What's the story behind these babelicious British popsters?
We've got the 411 for you!
When Richard "Abs" Breen, Jason "J" Brown, Sean Conlon, Richard Neville
and Scot Robinson of the London, England-based group Five popped by BB
HQ, it didn't take long for us to figure out the secret to their
worldwide success. Not only are these guys bandmates, they're also best
buds.
Lots of groups have been torn apart by members who can't get along and
spend all their time bickering and dissing each other. Luckily, Five,
whose debut pop album (which is still untitled as of press time) hits
record stores this month, don't have these kinds of problems. "We're
literally five best friends," 22-year old J tells us.
However, J and his bandmates were total strangers a little more than a
year ago when they answered a newspaper as for singers for a new music
group. When the guys found out that they nailed their auditions and made
it into the group, they had no idea what to expect from their brand-new
bandmates. Would they get along great or would they rub each other the
wrong way? Would they have lots of things in common or would they all be
total opposites? "I had no idea," 17-year old singer Sean confesses.
As it turned out, there were some pretty big differences among the guys.
For instance, Sean tells us he's a "quite relaxed" kinda guy who likes
to kick back to soul music from Marvin Gaye. Scott, who describes
himself as the "class clown" of the group, likes ska-pop stylings of No
Doubt. Abs tells us he's a daredevil who's way into "bungee jumping and
skydiving" and loves to groove to Brian McKnight's R&B tunes. Richard, a
sensitive type who admits that he cries when watching "sappy movies like
Titanic," likes to jam to the rock band Pearl Jam. And J, a party boy
who "lives for the night life," is a big fan of former rap artist Tupac
Shakur.
In spite of all their differences, as soon as the guys loosened up and
got to chatting with each other, J says "We hit it off straight away."
Adds 18-year-old Scott, "We all just gelled together."
In fact, the guys gelled so well that shortly after the group was
formed, they moved into the same house in Surrey, England. Sharing a pad
not only made it easier for the guys to start writing songs and
practicing singing, it also gave them the opportunity to do some serious
guy bonding. So far, that bonding has been pretty positive experience of
Five - it's made them tighter than ever. "We know each other totally
now," says 18-year-old Richard. "We're so close. We're not just
bandmates. If the band split up today, we know we'd all keep in touch."
Of course, that's not to say that everything is perfect in their pad. As
Richard explains, "We're together 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so,
of course, we have our arguments. But it's usually about why you left
your dirty socks in the living room." But Five never let these little
disputes turn into long-term fights that could totally ruin their
friendship. "At the end of the day, we always know we're still friends,"
says Abs (who turns 19 on June 29, by the way). Sounds like a fab
formula for success to us!
From: Billboard Magazine:
"A quintet of cuties who swagger with undeniably sharp vocal precision
and an appealing degree of soul. "When The Lights Go Out" chugs with a
faux-funk authority and a crackling pop chorus, You will be irreversibly
hooked on this tasty guilty pleasure long before the track reaches its
conclusion. Five are the first real reason the Backstreet Boys have to
look over their shoulders in a serious sweat."
IT'S ABOUT TO BREAK
Fresh out of the U.K. comes 5, a powerhouse five-some that is set to
explode here in the U.S. Voted Smash Hits "best new band of 1997," Sean
(16), Scott (17), J (21), Abs (18) and Rich (17) create an edgy mix of
soul, rap and pop with serious attitude. 5's highly anticipated American
debut album features an all-star producer lineup, including Denniz Pop
and Max Martin. "When The Lights Go Out," the group's first U.S. single,
debuted on the U.K. charts at #4 - and is blowing up at radio nationwide
and in only two weeks has bulleted from #81-59 on the top singles sales
charts & bullets to #57 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. With big
stations like KIIS LA, KDWB, WFLZ & KZQZ in the pocket this week, a
promo tour of the U.S. this Summer along with loads of press, the future
of 5 is upon us.
From: Teen Beat; August 1998
"Up 'n' Comers" section
Five Is Alive British music managers Bob and Chris Herbert did such a
good job with their first group, Spice Girls they decided to repeat the
formula again, this time with boys! Looking to put together "a band with
attitude and edge," they auditioned 3,000 guys and came up with Leeds
lad Sean Colon, 16 a musical whiz kid; Essex-born Scott Robinson 17, who
studied acting at the same school as Baby Spice; Richard Neville, 18, of
Birmingham, a blue-eyed, puppy-dog type; Hackney hunk "Abs" Breen, 18, a
rapper who's romantic at heart; and "J" Brown, of Warrington, 21, a
Gemini with a wild streak. Like the Spice Girls, Five moved into their
own house together in Surrey to get their musical act together, and now
they're ready to unleash their debut single "Slam Dunk Da Funk" on the
world! "We're a lad band, not a boy band, says "baby Five," Sean. "We
like to party and go out with girls!"
Discography:
- Invincible
- Five
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