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!

Given what we now know about how manufactured pop stars (especially young ones) are exploited, and the long term psychological effects it has on many of them, would you still let your child audition if you could go back in time?

Are Rochelle and Frankie still close? They don’t seem to be considering they knew each other before the band

based on their experience? Yes.

I couldn’t really say, Frankie and Rochelle do not speak as much in the group as anyone else.

i do know that Frankie used to be more popular than R (got more media attention in the juniors and at the start of the Saturdays) and I think she got her nose pushed out of joint a bit when R started becoming the better known one.

Frankie is a bit nicer than R, in my opinion. But I have only met both a handful of times since the band ended. Can probably count on one hand.

Why have you created this thread?!

I can believe this!
Frankie was on Olivia Attwood’s podcast recently and spoke about her experience of going from being the golden girl in juniors to then be singing just a couple lines in The Saturdays

A lot of people think because the juniors lip synched so much that Frankie didn’t have a chance to improve/mature her voice. Whereas Vanessa(?) and Una had more experience of live singing.

Frankie was actually sought out to be in the final audition of the Saturdays whereas the rest had to audition through many stages. I think Rochelle ended up recommending her to Polydor.

Why do you know so much about your adult son’s group chat?

I am sorry you're getting a hard time OP. I absolutely loved S Club Juniors and wanted so so badly to be in it.

1.) I know they didn't spend much time with S Club 7, but from the interactions they had, were there any members that were particularly nice or particularly not? At the time I didn't think of them as kids as I was the same age and felt very grown up, but I wanted to be in S Club Juniors so I could befriend Rachel Stevens 😁Obviously in hindsight it makes sense they didn't run in the same circles, but were any of S Club 7 particularly good with the kids?

2.) Were there any crushes between members of the band and if so, was this discouraged? I remember being that age at school and people had different "boyfriends" every 5 minutes. I imagine that 8 kids going through puberty together and living in each others pockets must have been a nightmare both for that and for falling out. As a kid though I really fancied Aaron and was positive that Frankie and Calvin fancied each other. And Hannah and Jay.

3.) A couple of years ago I went back and watched the show where they were discovered and one of the band members was chatting to Aaron and maybe another boy, and asked if there were any girls they liked or something like that. I know Aaron is gay - did they feel back then that they would have been able to come out about their sexuality while in the band?

1. im not sure about this one but everyone said Bradley was nice and a lot of the girl members fancied him!
2. Most said they felt like brothers and sisters. Calvin had a crush on one of the S Club 7 background dancers for a really long time but she was in her twenties. Frankie and Calvin had absolutely no romantic chemistry even as teenagers and were like two siblings annoying each other half the time. Calvin and Daisy apparantly liked each other at one point but neither will comment on it now!
3. Aaron had a long distance girlfriend in his home town during the later stages of the band. He came out when he went to college after the band broke up. Jay came out a lot later. Aaron and this girlfriend are still friends to this day.

How about now, with the advent of social media?

S Club 8 were perhaps a year or 2 older than me. I was a huge SC7 fan and was unbelievably jealous of SC8 at first, but their songs grew on me and I loved the tv show! I really thought they were living my dream at the time, but now can’t imagine my own kids going off to be pop and tv stars far from home.
Would your child say the reality of it was a dream come true? What did they dislike about being in a pop band? If they have kids now or in the future, would they be happy for them to experience what they did?

Most said it seemed a dream come true at first. I remember a few others at the start just saying they wanted to be famous.

I say “at first” because later a lot of them realised that doing CDs and tours was a lot harder than just doing a one off support gigs.

common dislikes were

• having to get up at 4am if they were on morning TV, and not being off duty till lunchtime after a full morning of rehearsing.
• Jealousy between members of who was getting the most lyrics etc
• having to share a bedroom with a stranger if you were in the hotel
• not being able to go home for special occasions and missing family a lot
• funnily enough being unable to audition for other things meanwhile- most of the kids came from a performing background, some had even been in the west end.
• bickering with the chaperones, they were strict and a lot got annoyed with the kids for their behaviour

Missed the boat to ask a question but it seems odd that they only earned enough money to buy a car!

They earned more money but most parents let them spend as and when.

to be fair it was quite a pricey car.

Wanting to have a spring clean, I was sorting through my old stuff in the attic last week, when I find my old Hi-Fi, a Technics 5 deck and naturally, I decide to plug it in for old times sake.

In the cd compartment was a kids party compilation. A few songs in and it gets to the S Club 8 song, the hifi stopped and no longer could read the cd. I’m not sure what the song was called, it had an upbeat intro with some piano notes and sounded catchy.
I can’t stop wondering what is wrong with my HiFi, I’ve cleaned the player lens and tried other cds but to no avail, any ideas?

Presumably they didn't write the songs, so they won't have 'owned' their music.

I only remember Automatic High. I'm surprised to hear the band were around for four years!

Did your child / the other band members ever have any awkward interactions with the public? I remember a lot of people thinking S Club 8 were a gimmick band and a bit cringe at the time. Were the kids aware of this perception and able to shrug it off, or did they get flack for it and struggle with being made fun of?

Did any of the kids struggle with anxiety? Performances can be rehearsed and it sounds like they all would have been used to that, but I imagine interviews might have been more nerve-wracking.

Were the kids shielded from the tabloids? Was there much concern about that?

Does your child think they might have had a better shot at success if there weren't so many members in the band? Do they feel they got lost in the shuffle?

correct

a lot of their songs were also “given” to other musicians at the same time

a band called Preluders did sundown

the bridge from sundown was stolen from a song called step back to love by Sophie monk

Will answer the rest tomorrow night guys

How did it all come to an end? Was there an official sit-down calling it all off, and the kids knew it was over, or did they think they were just taking a break for a while?

Was your child able to have a normal childhood? I was a fan , as someone slightly younger than the band members and a neighbour of one of the band members, while we were both kids.

Did she not have equal status? Looks it on this (their best song imo). Love the choreography and the zebra crossing walk akin to the Beatles.

Fuller is a visionary and he clearly saw something in her.

I LOVED S Club Juniors, had a big crush on Calvin and wished I was Daisy. I'm about the same age as some of them so watched them from the start. Can't think of any questions, sorry to here your DC is feeling a bit lost

I’m finding it interesting, maybe don’t read it if you don’t?