They were the lad equivalent of the Spice Girls before splitting. But the Five are back and, as Tim Hughes finds out, are loving every minute THEY were the ultimate boy band. The lad version of the Spice Girls, Five had worldwide success, sold 20 million albums and were greeted by screaming admirers wherever they went.

Then, after three years of chart-hogging success, and to the dismay of fans, they split.

Despite a doomed attempt to revive the group seven years ago, Five’s time seemed to be up - and, amid more angst and hand-wringing by their now slightly more mature adoring female fans, Sean Conlon, Abz Love, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and J Brown called it a day. That was that until now.

To everyone’s surprise – not least the boys – Five (or 5ive, to be accurate) were resurrected, by a TV series no less, and are back together, singing the hits and taking to the road for a series of sold-out shows.

The only difference, other than a few minor signs of aging (band and fans alike) is that now there are only four of them – Brown choosing to leave the others to it.

I caught up with Ritchie to find out how it feels to be back in the band 15 years after the release of their multi-platinum selling chart-topping debut album. I also asked him whether the band shouldn’t, more accurately, be called Four – or ‘4our’?

“Hah! No!” he laughed. “We did talk about that, in a jokey banter kind of way, but thought it would be a rubbish idea. Five are a brand and people know what they are getting, and most people have accepted it. We’ve still got the same energy and the same vibe.”

And, they’ve still got the same songs – among them three number ones – Keep On Movin, We Will Rock You and Let’s Dance – and eight other top 10 singles (including Got the Feelin, Everybody Get Up, If Ya Gettin’ Down and Until the Time is Through). “We are doing all the old songs,” he says. “That’s what people want to hear.

“I’m up for making new music but everyone has got to be on the same page. It’s all about reconnecting with the audience and enjoying the old stuff.”

Ritchie doesn’t come across as boy band star. Softly spoken with a gentle Birmingham accent, he is witty, eloquent and disarmingly honest about his part in pop history. It is, he admits, a chance to have a bit of fun. He also seems delighted to be getting stuck into a 14 date tour after a period in the musical wilderness which saw him live in West Oxfordshire for five years.

“I lived in Charlbury with my girlfriend,” he says. “I love Oxfordshire. It’s one of my favourite places. I used to drive down to Cowley road and I did kung fu. I have the fondest memories of it and I’d love to move back.”

That he is now back in the limelight is all down to the Big Reunion tour and the accompanying ITV2 series, which has also revived the careers of Blue, 911, Atomic Kitten, B*Witched, Honeyz and Liberty X.

It sounds, I suggest, like an exercise in revisiting the past by reliving the hits of their fans’ youth?

“Nostalgia is definitely a big element,” he agrees. “When you listen to a song from when you were younger, it takes you back.”

Five were recruited in 1997 as the result of an advert in The Stage by Spice Girl founders Bob and Chris Herbert, asking for male singers and dancers for a boy band equivalent of the hit ‘girl power’ group. Candidates were whittled down in auditions from more than 3,000 hopefuls – among them, allegedly, one Russell Brand. They were signed by Simon Cowell.

Ritchie has no qualms about being a member of a wholly manufactured band. On the contrary, he insists, that is what makes them so appealing.

“We all had very different characteristics and didn’t all look the same. That was the formula and it worked.”

And how did they get on with Cowell, in those pre-X Factor days? “For me music was always my love, while he was business-minded. I didn’t appreciate it at the time but it was good to learn from people like him. We were babies at the time, weren’t we!”

During the band’s four-year heyday, the boys’ lives changed beyond recognition. Ritchie, whose exes include Billy Piper, admits it was hard to keep a level head. “It was crazy!” he recalls.

He has publicly admitted that he has no idea how many women he slept with during those hedonistic days of groupies and hotel room-trashing. He sparkles recalling the celebrity high life.

“There were great moments,” he says wistfully. “One of the best was when we stopped Time Square in New York – or playing Argentina and coming out and seeing streets full of people. It was like something from Evita. They are the moments that make you go ‘Woah!’. We were living in a bubble.

“I think we’ve done alright though, and it’s great that people appreciate what we’ve done. It wasn’t about fame. I just loved the creative process of making and performing music.”

So, are most of the fans still female? “There are quite a few women,” he laughs. “But there are also men who think we are good. I was even stalked at one point, but it wasn’t too sinister.”

And have they considered recruiting a replacement to bring them up to strength? “I was never into the idea,” he says. “We looked at some people, but it didn’t feel right. We’ve all got a shared bond and it was never going to work.”

  • Five play the New Theatre, Oxford next Thursday. Tickets cost from £32.40-£42.40  plus £4 fee from atgtickets.com

WIN!

Five fans! Fancy meeting the boys? We have one pair of meet and greet tickets for Five’s show at the New Theatre on Thursday along with four pairs of normal tickets of runners up.

For a chance to win, simply tell us the name of Five’s first album.

Answers by post to Five Competition, The Guide, Newsquest Oxfordshire, Newspaper House, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0EJ

or by email to tim.hughes@ oxfordmail.co.uk

Don’t forget to include your name, address and daytime contact telephone number.

All answers must be received by midnight on Monday December 2. Usual rules apply. If the show is cancelled, no other prize will be offered. The Editor’s decision is final.