It’s the reunion no-one saw coming and was shrouded in more mystery than which shade of Fake Bake Donald Trump slaps on.
And as I join Five at a London hotel at, rather aptly, 5pm, Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon are hours away from announcing their comeback which will see them performing together for the first time in 25 years.
The boys in their Nineties heyday[/caption]
“I’ve wanted to go and hang out with Scott and Sean but we didn’t want anyone to know we were all back in touch,” J tells me.
Scott adds: “J said he’d come over and keep his motorbike helmet on but I said, ‘Mate, it’s too much’.”
Squirrelled away on the 12th floor, the excitement about the 12-date arena tour is palpable.
But, more importantly, the boyband — who have 11 top ten hits including three No1s with Keep On Movin’, Let’s Dance and We Will Rock You — can finally get to a boozer.
“We can go to the pub now,” Richie shouts excitedly.
Scott continues: “You don’t know how hard it’s been. J FaceTimed me yesterday. I was worried because he had a panicked look on his face. He said: ‘Mate, there’s no Guinness at the hotel.’
“I said if it’s not sorted, our tour manager’s going to get us two pints of Guinness.”
‘Put a prayer out’
The banter — from virility, thanks to me suggesting they’d calmed down because their testosterone levels had dropped off a cliff now they are in their forties, to who is most annoying — feels completely natural.
I admit my shock at J’s decision to return to music after he quit the band a la Take That’s Jason Orange.
J explains: “A few years back I went through a personal thing that was quite stressful and it just brought up a load of stuff.
“One of the things that was coming up was Five. It’s the overarching theme of our lives since 1997.
“I was overcome with sadness that I was never going to do this again.
“Around five weeks later Abz messaged and said: ‘I really need to speak with you.’ It was like I had put a prayer out to the world and he answered it.”
Abz continues: “I didn’t know where J was. Is he alive? Has he still got his phone? I just threw out a text and he responded.”
A plan was hatched and weeks later, they secretly met at an Airbnb to discuss a reunion.
A lot has been said and written about the group, who formed after answering an advert in The Stage magazine, and much of it made for upsetting reading for their loyal fans.
The love we’ve got for each other has always been there. Those things don’t seem to matter anymore.
Ritchie talked of physical attacks, Sean’s mental health plummeted and rows broke out due to the intense pressure of living and working together from a young age.
Sean explains: “I was 15 when Five formed. We were children chucked in at the deep end. We all had an ego.
“When we say the stuff that happened in the past seems trivial we don’t mean it dismissively. It really affected our lives.
“But the love we’ve got for each other has always been there. Those things don’t seem to matter anymore.”
J adds: “Were there times I told my family I was p****d off or I was in pain? Yes. And I made comments myself.
“But these guys have been my brothers since 1997. The amount of love that I have for each one of them has never ever changed. It’s too strong a bond to be broken.”
Referring to Abz’s decision to announce on social media he had quit the band without telling them in 2014, Scott laughs: “My opening gambit to Abz when I picked up the phone was, ‘It’s been a long time, that tweet was weird mate.’
“We got lost along the way because we got swept up in this whirlwind. You’re tired, you’re angry.
“But we were friends right at the beginning and now we are back to that place. We’ve all reverted to being children — we’ve got a rather disturbing group chat — and I have always been a really annoying person.
Ritchie says: “As an example of Scott’s annoying side, I was 18 years old and I was hanging on this flight. Scott hit my chair every time I fell asleep.
“I turned around and said: ‘I am going to punch you in the face if you do that one more time.’”
Ahead of the tour starting on October 31 in Brighton, the group is focusing on getting back to their best.
They will perform 12 dates in cities including London, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Birmingham and London with tickets going on sale next Friday at 10am.
“I’m not saying our bodies will be temples but we’re back in the gym,” Richie says.
J adds: “I’ve been walking around my living room going over lyrics but it’s mostly all there.”
Yesterday, as Five finally went public with their reunion, fans across the globe went bananas, with many in South America demanding a world tour.
The group would regularly be mobbed, scratched and groped as they left venues and I fear this time will be no different.
“Sean does jiu-jitsu so he’s the band security,” says Abz, before J chips in: “He’s been a doorman in Leeds for the past ten years.”
‘Anything’s up for grabs’
Shaking his head Sean clarifies: “I can’t even say jiu-jitsu and I promise I have never been a doorman.”
J adds: “Some of the comments from our fans have been quite fruity.”
We want to make sure that we give the fans the best show. Once we get out of the other end of that, anything’s up for grabs.
Fans hoping for new music could be in for a treat too, but they play coy when I probe them on the next step. “We don’t want to focus on anything other than the tour,” Scott says.
“We want to make sure that we give the fans the best show. Once we get out of the other end of that, anything’s up for grabs.”
The next time you’ll catch a glimpse of the lads will be at The Brit Awards tomorrow night.
It will be the first time they’ve been at the ceremony since 2000, where they picked up the pop/R&B act award and performed We Will Rock You with Queen.
“I spent quite a lot of time drinking beer with Robbie Williams so I don’t remember loads of it,” Scott concedes.
“When I went on the stage to get the award and said, ‘Oh my God,’ it was because they were the only words I could say because I was so drunk.
“This time we’ll be there mingling and Jack Whitehall is going to speak to us. He’s a big fan so I think he’ll be too busy fan-boying over us to rib us.”
As I admit the ceremony has become a little tamer since their heyday, the lads assure me they’ll be letting loose like the good old days.
“Get your pen ready, Ellie,” J tells me, adding: “We’ll give you something to write about.”
I don’t doubt that one bit.
FIVE! TOUR DATES
- Brighton Centre, Brighton: Fri, Oct 31
- Bournemouth, BIC: Sat, Nov 1
- Cardiff, Utilita Arena: Sun, Nov 2
- Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena: Tues, Nov 4
- Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena: Weds, Nov 5
- Manchester, AO Arena: Fri, Nov 7
- Leeds, First Direct Arena: Sat, Nov 8
- Birmingham, Utilita Arena: Sun, Nov 9
- London, The O2: Tues, Nov 11
Jack Gaz thrill
Our Jack caught up with Gary Barlow after he performed on Vernon Kay’s brilliant Radio 2 Piano Room.
Gary, who sang new song If There’s Not A Song About It, told Vernon: “We toured for ten months last year, so it was a rotten year for home, so I’m busy scoring points at the moment.”
Lizzo keeps it Real with new single
Lizzo is back today with her first song in two years, Love In Real Life.
The track is also expected to be on her fifth album, due out later this year.
There are loads of other tracks out today too, with Jonas Blue and Izzy Bizu teaming up for Lifeline, and Benson Boone returning with Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else.
Djo has dropped Delete Ya, Estelle’s released Love On Love, and Aloe Blacc has put out album Stand Together.
Earlier this week, Morcheeba released a James Bond-worthy single called We Live And Die, from album Escape The Chaos, which will be out on May 23.
And check out the video for Luke Spiller from The Struts’ new solo single The Ending Is Always The Same, which features Noel Fielding.
He told me: “We had a lot of fun putting this together and I’m honoured to have my comedic hero, Noel Fielding, featuring in this video. We’re just getting started.”
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