My child was in a S Club Juniors, ask me anything

[BeEagerEagle]

In 2001, my child auditioned for a CBBC show called ‘S Club Search’ and got a place in a child pop group who initially were meant to support S Club 7 on a one time support gig basis. This band was called S Club Juniors, later known as S Club 8.

The band ended up taking off and we basically had to sign or children away to Simon Fuller’s management to release a single. The kids were given tutors and chaperones, and spent most of their time in hotels (the ones London based stayed either their parents) or on the road. After that, they went on tour and I only saw my child once every couple of months. It was brutal but I knew that’s what they wanted to do.

they released two albums and the second one didn’t do that well, Simon Fuller tried them on a TV show called I Dream, however that also tanked. My child will admit that themselves. They all got dropped when aged 14-17. He said they had grown out of their roles a bit.

Now they are in their late thirties and trying to get back into the entertainment industry fully but it’s difficult. They’ve never quite got over their time in the band. They released music but it never really went anywhere. They would never say so, but it doesn’t help them that two of their fellow band members went on to become big stars, both were in a chart topping girl band and now are TV presenters.

their band (minus the two still-successful members) were meant to reunite for a TV show a long while ago, but for various reasons it didn’t happen. When S Club reunited, S Club juniors didn’t get asked to reunite as there was ‘no call’ for it and only a few were up for reuniting. (My child, and another boy and girl member)

they are still acquaintances with S club 7 and went to Paul Cattermoles funeral.

I know my (now adult) child doesn’t regret the choices they made as a child, but feels sad as an adult.

AMA- child (now adult) is also here to answer questions too and is happy to answer questions about specific members and music!

Payments were cut after the conversation with management. My child and I were told they would resume if more opportunities came up, but for now “child should go back to school meanwhile”

They were paid for I dream and got royalties from DVD sales similar to CDs and Spotify now. Despite looking low budget, I dream cost a fortune to film and money + lack of views/ bad album sales was one of the reasons a second series wasn’t commissioned.

There was 4 separate deals. The first record deal was for a single only. That was one step closer. When that did well, another deal was drawn up for three more singles and an album, that album was “together. This did well and a third record deal was for 3 more singles and an album (sundown). This is when the name changed to s club 8. After this, the tv show deal was signed. This came with a deal for one single and an album.

us parents were called in to examine contracts carefully every time and I remember feeling a bit worried when they said they’d be out of the country in Barcelona for months.

There was “supposed” to be another album between “sundown” and “welcome to Avalon heights” but due to the perceived “failure” of sundown according to the label, it ended up not happening. There are probably some demos lost out there at 19 management! The vibe of the album was supposed to be more adult and disco…similar to the remix of don’t tell me you’re sorry.

My child is very careful with not keeping out of date documents around and the old contracts were destroyed many years ago! Sorry!

I find this so fascinating! From being a fan at the time they should have not done I dream they had 1 more left in them definitely rather than the I dream album another S Club 8 album. I also feel they say the album lacked success and I dream did but was it marketed properly like the early stuff? That's interesting to know about the record deals. It's a shame they didn't keep the documents as they might be worth something later down the line as things move along. I dream was the failure I think as sundown is a cracking album. I always wondered aswell when they did the search for the members was it literally just 2 episodes or is there more footage that's not on youtube that was shown on tv? and if so is it on dvd? always wondered how that worked as they barely showed much of the auditions.

Yes I bet you were worried when contracts came up! did you get lawyers to help?

RE S Club search, they were trying not to put auditionees off their stroke or get in the way of management and the choreographer so not much was filmed. Parents were banned from recording any of it too. There is a series called “s club juniors the story” which was filmed after S club search you might like.

sundown as far as we know was marketed in much the same way as the first album (together). S Club 7 + 8 did the United tour together, then the sundown album was released after.

The first time round a year prior, s club juniors supported the carnival tour and then released together after it.

They performed on the same Tv shows for both albums, Saturday morning shows etc. they also appeared in the s club magazine after s club 7 had split so there was arguably more publicity the second time round for sundown.

As a parent I also preferred the second album, but management seemed to think people missed the children singing and the bubblegum pop. Sundown was aimed to be more R+B, cooler, less childish. The name change was also due to wanting to have a more adult vibe.

19 management could “provide” lawyers which a lot of the parents on lower incomes were forced to take. One member of the band had/has quite well off parents who hired their own lawyer. They were actually a lot better and i wished we could’ve afforded to do that but he did give the rest of us parents some advice pro bono which helped.

Ohhh what kind of advice did you ever need?

We were advised to make sure that we had exit terms on our side in case our child wanted to leave. We also were advised to and ended up asking for more chaperones than was legally required which was finally granted. The parents who had to deal with their children moving out their home wanted a right to help choose where they were going to be living.

Originally there was meant to be a tour bus that the kids were supposed to sleep on too, to save money, not all of us parents were happy about that for various reasons and fought against it.

interestingly management always offered a fair wage from the single onwards so money was something we never fought over. They were also very strict about stuff about the children being published. The press had to obtain special permission.

Did any oops moments happen on stage or during performances? Was stuff re-recorded on TV or did they just have to roll with the mistakes? Did they get in trouble for mistakes?

Stuff was very rarely re recorded if it was pre recorded. The only instance of that happening I can think of is when a member started her first period on stage (yes, she is fine that this is being said). They waited until she had calmed down and re recorded. They kept identical backup outfits backstage during every performance.

My child can think of two mistakes on live TV that happened. They were on CBBC Xchange performing “don’t tell me you’re sorry” - one member tripped, and it was a struggle for them and another member to not laugh. Another member you could see telling a member to “move (nameofmembee)!” Because they were in the way during the routine / missed their spot.

there was not a telling off after as mistakes happen with live TV. During rehearsals (because even live TV is rehearsed somewhat) if Nikki was there she would pick them up on stuff. The choreographer would also be there to adjust the dance routine to fit the usually small stage but he was more gentle about mistakes.

RE the auditions, you say there were several rounds. What did they entail

I also noticed you said that many parents were annoyed that they chose kids with experience. Was this not inevitable?

do you think they chose children for their looks as well as their talent?

How come in the beginning they had so much vocal training if they were going to mime? I remember seeing them sing some juniors song with no music practicing that isn't on any albums? something something juniors are here to stay.
How much vocal training did they actually have? I know it must have been needed to record in the studios but I'm curious how much they kept up with the singing. Did they sing any time live other then the TOTP performance? Like any intros on tour or anything? Also did they turn their mics on and off between songs they could talk on tour? So many questions thank you for answering us curious fans.
Just reading with somebody asking about mishaps I remember seeing frankie fall on the floor somewhere was that live? Also how much notice did they have to learn remixes of dances or the dances in general? I remember seeing random medley stuff was it not confusing learning all different types of routine? When they went to film automatic high did they go for just a video or did they get a holiday paid for too before the video?
As a parent what was your biggest worry of them being in the band?

Also to add to that were they harsh on the kids at any point? I had to reminisce and watch some old stuff and I see I think one of the vocal coaches telling aaron to bring it down "thing poppy not stagey" or something but it was said quite abruptly or is that normal and did the kids not mind the critisim? did anything ever make them cry?

We were told to fill in a form with a song by S Club and a B choice of any other song and bring it on the day to our “local” audition. My child had to tell the producers a bit about themselves, then sing a verse and chorus. We then had to go home and wait for a letter. It was about 3 hours waiting for a 5 minute audition if that. The letter came with a sticker with a number on it and my child was told to wear that to the next audition stage.

Next stage was a workshop type audition where the choreographer showed them a dance routine, they had to learn this and then sing a line each from an SC7 song. As there were probably around 2-3 hundred children that had received callback letters, the workshop audition was split into 6 days (one group a day) and there was about fifty kids at my child’s. The judging here was done by more producers and the choreographer.

A handful of kids from each group got called up and told they’d made it to the final. The final had about 60 kids in total. Nikki and S Club 7 helped judge. The final was the shortest audition stage but was still about 3 hours. The kids had to stand in rows and sing a couple of lines from two s club songs. One more uptempo and one slower. They had to learn another more complicated dance than in the earlier rounds.

an A and B team got chosen (14 kids in total out of the 60) and then they had to sing a line again and do the dance again.

the “a” team (s club juniors lineup) was chosen and read out. Everyone else sat there was the B team. The day after, two from the B team got brought forward.

IMO it was actually a bit rubbish for the B team, because they had to sign a contract that they may be called forward at any given time to join if one of the others dropped out for whatever reason. Talk about leaving kids on tenterhooks!

i know that one of the eventual members couldn’t make the first audition so sent a video tape in of themselves. Rather than inviting him to the second audition stages, they put him straight through to the finals. They must have seen something special in him but I do remember a lot of the others in the final being like “that’s not fair!”.

@marysuttonnikki chapman, as well as the grants were for sure perfectionists. Aaron and a lot of the others had done stuff on stage before s club jrs (one was on the west end) and had to be told to rein it in. I remember being told a couple got told off for not smiling enough. I think Nikki was so used to working with adult pop stars she didn’t know how to dial it down for children who would naturally be homesick/ unpractised in being pop stars.

Usually the second they came off stage there would be a barrage of critique to begin with anyway which bless them they always took on board without complaint. The choreographer was a bit nicer and more patient with the group. There was far less critique as they got older and used to the dance routines.

the only upset I can recall is when two of the members started getting pushed to the front more and the rest were kind of forgotten. I also remember the group members who didn’t get any lines in one step closer (a song that was meant to introduce all of them if you remember seeing the music video) were a bit upset behind the scenes.@@

I have replied below I forgot to quote

I'm not sure if you saw this one or it'll get lost everythings in such a random order!

So sorry I just saw it. The vocal training helped for recording the singles and album and it was essential to keep their voices in “shape” and practice. Juniors here to stay was a vocal warmup to try and teach them how to harmonise properly as many struggled with harmonising.

Because the dance routines were so energetic it was difficult to sing and dance live at the same time for them, especially as there was so many of them. They tried to make an attempt at it for the top of the pops performance using a pared down/more relaxed dance routine but the vocal coaches and Nikki weren’t that happy with it, so they went back to the original formula of miming and energetic dances.

they never sung live apart from on top of the pops, but they kept up with vocal training throughout.

They usually had around an hour per day vocal training. They were disciplined kids and often practiced in the hotel/ at home too. They got trained in a group of 8, then in groups of 2/3.

Child doesn’t remember Frankie falling you will have to remind us when that was. However they remember Daisy tripping.

The mics (ones they wore on head) were fake during their TV performances bar the ones held on top of the pops. During the tour they wore real mics however they generally remained switched off behind the scenes. the technician could switch them on from a machine if the juniors were talking.

My child says learning dance routines was very hard, but they were broken down into several steps and practiced over days rather than bombarding then with the whole routine at once. Most of the kids were very good dancers before the show begun, only two struggled with dancing but were given extra help.

Automatic high was a short trip, it didn’t involve a holiday. It was basically a shoot over 2 days, then back home. Parents didn’t go. Just the chaperones.

Truthfully my biggest worry was grooming behind the scenes (not that this ever happened so it was irrational) but I also worried about my child becoming too big for their boots, forgetting about their school friends, looking down on us.

I feel bad for posting this (sorry frankie if you see it) but here it is

if the link doesn't work it's called frankie falls (sundown) was this performance live?

I remember seeing the parts of the tour and they spoke in between songs to introduce them same as when they did the school tour was this pre recorded or did they turn the mics on and risk it? It's so interesting to know the answers to things you always wondered back then.
I can see why you were worried about all that as a parent it must have been terrifying having them away from you not knowing what was going on half the time.

You've said about members being upset did any members ever experience any bitterness or jealousy from friends or family? Or members of the public?
I remember watching the school tour in something did they do everybodys school? I don't remember seeing them all if so was everybody supportive including the teachers? Some people get weird when others are successful don't they! Did any members every get any fans turning up to their personal houses? or the junior house?
Also where were the junior houses they stayed in? can any member remember? I always used to try and figure it out as a kid but never could!

A question most of us junior fans want to know is how long did it take them to learn that one move in one direction with all the arms and how did they learn it?? did they all have to count in to get it right hahahaha? Like how did they do that??

it's at 1:53

Ha ha. We have just watched that. So my child says Frankie was a true professional and just got up but that the rest of them did struggle with laughing. Genuine mistakes like that they didn’t told off for, but the other members not keeping a straight face could cause trouble as they could help it iyswim. The school tours the mikes were fake- the school halls were so small that they didn’t really need mics. During the tour when they spoke someone behind the scenes (side of the stage) was there to switch the mic off and on when needed

Jay struggled with a few friends being jealous of his success in SCJ and they fell out. Hannah’s sister wasn’t jealous but struggled emotionally as it was her idea to go to auditions and Hannah only joined her as a tag along as her mum couldn’t find her a childminder.

RE weird fans, it didn’t happen as kids probably as they were so well chaperoned and protected, but there is a super fan who has attempted to contact my child and (possibly) other members on their private social media in the last few years. They’ve spoke to the members before in a professional capacity on podcasts and I think they struggle to tread the line between that and thinking they are real life friends. I know my child hasn’t wanted to reply to them as once you reply it’s like opening a can of worms. They just keep all their social media DM’s from those who aren’t friends turned off completely now.

The hotel and house were in mayfair. The hotel was the Marriott Grosvenor House.

the move in one direction wasn’t too hard to do, have you seen the video with the competition winner? They all had to count in separately.

I'll have to give that a watch!! that dance move always blew my mind as a kid hahaha! Didn't all the members reunite for aarons birthday? If so how did it go? did everyone get along? Did they all hang out in a group? Was there any arguments? and are any of the members still close as in see each other in person or talk?

That about Jay is really sad! The fan thing is a bit strange contacting people on social media. I remember hearing on an interview Stacey said she loves fans and I think one stayed at her house or something? I guess it depends what's in the message though! Do all members have active social media? I can find a few but can't find much on daisy hannah or calvin I was interested what they're all up to these days.

Just watched it hahahaha! you'll have to get your child to put together some old links that are hard to find as I've never seen that or found it! When did your child last get reconised in person or asked for an autograph? My questions are endless I'm so sorry hahaha!

yes that’s right my child says that’s the last time they all reunited. They’ve sometimes reunited in twos and threes since for other occasions like weddings but that’s the last time all 8 were together. Gosh that seems so long ago.

The party was a huge group of 50+ people (s club, Aaron’s younger family members, Aaron’s friends from college) What was really nice was after the pub they went back to the hotel they stayed in during the band, so that was a fun throwback.

In terms of how they got on, fine really. There were no arguments or anything. Aaron had invited 50+ people so it wasn’t really an SC8 reunion per se. None of us parents were there, it was very much for the youngsters.

Two bandmembers did a speech for Aaron. Another member of the band (female) got off with Matt Cardle at the end of the night and still laughs about it to this day.

The only two that don’t get on really are two of the boys. It’s nothing crazy though, just a general acceptance that there’s not really a friendship there anymore.

All the members have FB however some are under false names to avoid being contacted.

They don’t really get recognised in person at all for sc8 anymore. They sometimes get recognised for their “other” work and asked for autographs. Just asked them now and they said the last time a person approached them about the juniors was around five years ago.