S Club 7 in Toronto

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Monday, October 25, 1999

S Club 7 in Toronto

By Stephanie McGrath -- AllPop

The seven U.K. pop stars stormed MuchMusic on Saturday.

Tina, Jo, Rachel, Hannah, Jon, Paul and Bradley looked a bit sleepy and overwhelmed Saturday afternoon.

They'd just flown in from New York and planned to perform at MuchMusic later in the day.

But jet-lag couldn't keep their enthusiasm down. Hannah and Jon plopped down on a couch and started chatting about TV shows, parental concerns and making it big.

The TV/pop stars are managed by Simon Fuller, the same man who managed the Spice Girls.

Their TV show, S Club 7 in Miami is already a hit in the U.K. and their two singles, "Bring It All Back" and "S Club Party" bounced up the charts in the U.K.

Their success might be based on simplistic plots and music. The show features the band getting into sticky situations and then singing their way out of it. The songs are light, poppy and optimistic.

The optimism and catchy tunes are catching on. The members get recognised on the street and the show is one of the top-rated kids shows in the U.K.

Jon says fame has come so quickly it's been surprising.

"The fans, they're a bit manic, they kind of scream you can't actually hear a lot of what they say," said Jon, the youngest member of the group at 16. "They kind of just go arrrrrrgggghhh! But they're really nice."

Showbiz is nothing new for Jon or for any of the others. He's been on EastEnders and acted in the musical Oliver. The others' backgrounds range from modelling experience to dancing, singing and acting.

But Jon's big break came when he decided to answer an audition call for S Club 7.

"Music was always what I wanted to do. I just went down to the audition and didn't really know much about it."

Both Hannah and Jon said their parents had concerns about them getting into TV and music at such a young age, but they've become very proud of their children.

"When they saw the series and heard the music, they were really cool about it," Jon said.

Ever since the fateful audition day, the seven members have been acting, singing, practising and travelling together, almost all of the time.

Jon said they sometimes bicker and argue.

"(we argue) over really stupid things like someone will say 'oh you look awful,' and then ahhhhhh! But it's just being tired and it's better five minutes later."

But Jon quickly pointed out that he gets along with everyone almost all of the time and that they're all "good friends."

Sometimes, good friends enjoy a good laugh as well as a good argument. Jon remembers some silly times with the group. Once, after too many "fizzy cokes," in Italy, Jon stripped down to his underwear, and then down to nothing, and ran around the hotel.

Jon was hesitant to give away any information about the new episodes of S Club 7. After all, the old episodes only started airing on MuchMusic a few weeks ago. But he did give fans a glimpse into the S news to come.

The new series will be called S Club in L.A.

"It's kind of the same as the first one really," said Jon. "But it's going to be focused on a more individual basis. The second season will be more, like, one episode will be focused on maybe two people. So you'll get to know our characters a bit more."

How did the group escape from the sleazy hotel manager in Miami and get to L.A? Jon gives fans a glimpse into the Miami finale.

"In the last episode we come to a crossroads that says 'To airport,' at which point we'd have to go back to England there's another sign that says 'To Los Angeles' and, we kind of swerve."

S Club 7's new album will have a more individual feel too. They've already started working on the second album and each member is working on some of their own material.

But Jon also said that the second album will maintain the same "vibe," with all the members brining their own strengths to the songs.

And that's what makes the group so appealing. There are so many people, with so many strengths. Jon's a great singer, Bradley is an amazing dancer, Hannah declares she's the "flirt" and a good actor while she says Tina is the "boss". Jo has a strong voice that's heard on S Club Party and Paul seems to be the goof.

Hannah and Jon don't think the group will fade away like just another pop fad. They seem to love what they're doing too much. And they have high hopes for the future.

"Oh my God," said Hannah. "If we took off in America, that would be kind of amazing. And all other countries too. But, America would be, wow."

At the MuchMusic performance later, there were dozens of young teens eager to see the singers. They just might take off in North America after all.

S Club 7's first album "S Club" will be released on Nov. 2.