S Club 7 are a British, manufactured pop group created in 1999 by Simon Fuller, who had previously managed the hit group Spice Girls. The band split up in 2003.

The Band

As the name suggests, S Club 7 originally had seven members. The seven were:

• Paul Cattermole
• Hannah Spearitt
• Rachel Stevens
• Bradley McIntosh
• Tina Barrett
• Jo O'Meara
• Jon Lee

The band were renamed 'S Club' after Paul Cattermole left the band in early 2002, leaving the previous name painfully inaccurate.

History

Before even releasing a single, the band shot to fame after appearing together as the main characters in a children's television sitcom entitled Miami 7. The seven members played themselves, and ended each episode with one of their own songs. The programme told the story of a band living in Miami trying to become famous, but was entirely fictional. In future series, the programme changed its name as the setting changed, creating surprising and inovative titles such as LA 7 and Hollywood 7. The fourth and final series, the only one not filmed in the USA, was called Viva S Club and was set in Barcelona, Spain.

Their debut single, Bring It All Back, was released towards the end of the first TV series in June 1999. This single was followed by S Club Party, produced by Stargate and released in October of the same year. It reached an admirable position of number 2 in the UK singles chart.

The first album, from which four singles were released, was simply named S Club, and reached a peak chart position of number two after its release in October 1999.The band went on to release four future albums (detailed below), including a greatest hits collection, entitled Best - The Greatest Hits.

The band also starred in a feature-length movie, Seeing Double, in 2003

Discography

• S Club. Debut album, released October 4, 1999. Double platinum, reaching number two in the UK Chart. Four singles were released from the album; Bring It All Back, S Club Party, Two in a Million and You're My Number One.

• 7. Released June 12, 200 in the UK, topping the UK Album Chart. Going triple-platinum, it also supplied three singles, Reach¹, Never Had a Dream Come True and Natural

• Sunshine. With a peak chart position in the UK of number three, the 2001 album had three singles, Don't Stop Movin'², Have You Ever and You.

• Seeing Double was to be the band's last album, marking the decline of both their popularity and the popularity of manufactured popgroups, reaching a peak of only 17 in the UK Album Chart. Two singles, Alive and Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You were released from this album.

• A year after their final album and after they announced their split, a greatest hits album, BEST - The Greatest Hits, was released. In a heart-warming display of the nation's fondness for one of the most successful popgroups of the early 'noughties', the best-of reached an impressive number two in the UK Album Chart.

The Split

After the release of their film, amid rumours of a probable break-up, the band announced that after a final single they would split. This final single, a double A-side featuring Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You and Say Goodbye, peaked the UK singles Chart at number two.