5ive seemed like they were on top of the world, selling over 20 million records worldwide, until they broke up in 2001 – after reuniting for a tour, they reveal how coming back together was “healing” for their mental health
For iconic nineties boyband 5ive, fame came with a price. In a frank admission, the group said their break up was like an “unfinished jagged edge, and revealed how poor mental health tore the band apart. Back in 1997, when Titanic was dominating the box office and the price of a Freddo was still 10p, thousands of boys answered a newspaper ad.
Posted by the same team behind the Spice Girls, the ad was looking for young male dancers and singers to audition for a boyband which would have “attitude and edge”. Five were successful. Those five were Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Sean Conlon, Jason ‘J’ Brown and Richard ‘Abz Love’ Breen. Over the next few years, they would release several big hits, like Keep On Movin and If Ya Gettin Down, and won a Brit Award for the Best Pop Act. But by 2001, they’d split.
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Making a surprise appearance at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball after reuniting for a comeback tour, the members of 5ive took a moment to speak to The Mirror about their tumultuous career.
When asked what the best moment of the last almost 30 years was, Ritchie said: “The last tour that we’ve just done. Making this a beautiful memory. It was healing, without a shadow of a doubt. It was important to come back together because the band ended with in a very fast way. It ended with mental health issues and with overwork.” J added that Ritchie always said the band ended in an “unfinished chapter”.
“It was an unfinished, jagged edge,” Ritchie continued. “And for all of us, it’s always been like that. So now, it’s been nice to turn all of that into a happy memory that we can all go forward in our lives now. That was legitimately brilliant.”
Sean Conlon wholeheartedly agreed, adding that they wanted to make it the “best” show they’d done to date. “And I would say that before we did the tour, we were all saying and trying to portray that this is going to be the best show we’ve ever done. So, to get that feedback, not only from people that like our music, but also from the press – It’s quite rewarding. Because we put a lot of work in for it.”
Throughout the press run for their reunion, every member of 5ive has been unflinchingly honest about their mental health struggles, even taking part in the TV docuseries Boybands Forever, which detailed the harsh reality of being a young male pop icon.
When asked why they wanted to be so open, J said: “If you don’t speak about it, it just remains internalised. And that’s what the whole thing that mental health is. It’s an internal battle, an internal struggle. If you don’t externalise it somehow, you’re just trapped in the very thing, in the very place that is actually causing all of the issues.
For J, doing the tour helped him “externalise” the mental health issues he was still facing. “Not that they’re in us in the same way they were,” he explained. “But there were still shadows of things to do with the old times of the band.”
Scott Robinson argued he wanted to talk about it because there are more ways to do so, highlighting that “men don’t speak” about their internal battles. “The fact that now it’s more out there, and there’s more avenues to speak is important.
“We’ve had counselling and stuff, and with our management, it’s always on tap if you need it. It’s so important to know that you’re not alone. Men don’t speak, but we certainly do, and it’s amazing.”
“It’s natural to feel vulnerable,” Sean Conlan added. “Certainly from a male perspective, I think sometimes we’re afraid to feel certain emotions. We’re afraid to express certain emotions. Especially express vulnerability.
He gestures to the band as he continues to speak. “But we embrace that. It’s okay to speak out. We’re little sensitive souls. You can still be well hard and express your emotions.”
All the boys – or men, really, after 28 years – are fully supportive of each other and have greatly enjoyed reconnecting over the past year. Abz Love was asked what the best part of the tour was and he said: “The offstage antics for me. As much as it’s been fun on stage and performing, getting to know the guys again offstage has been a lot of fun for me.”
Source: Mirror
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