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Five (originally spelled 5ive) are a British boy band that was put together in early 1997 by the same team who formed the Spice Girls. They enjoyed fair success worldwide, but particularly in the UK, parts of Europe, Russia, parts of Asia, Brazil, Israel and Australia. They disbanded on 27 September 2001 after selling close to 20 million records, and having 11 top ten UK singles and 4 top ten albums. The five members were Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville, Jason 'J' Brown, Richard 'Abz' Breen and Sean Conlon. Four of the five original members (minus Sean Conlon) reformed the group on 27 September 2006, making an announcement at the Bar Academy Islington in London, England.

In 1997, an advertisement was placed in the UK performing arts newspaper The Stage, asking for young male singers/dancers to audition for a boy band-style group with "attitude and edge". Bob and Chris Herbert, the two men who had earlier created the Spice Girls, thought the time was right for a male group. 3,000 hopefuls auditioned and they were finally narrowed down to only fourteen, five of whom had arranged themselves into a group while waiting for their audition and subsequently were signed with BMG/RCA for a six-album deal.

In November of 1997, the band released their first single in the UK; "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)", which debuted at #10. The song was also released in the US in 1998 but had little success, although it was chosen as the new theme song by the NBA. In 1998 Five released their first major international hit, "When The Lights Go Out" which managed to crack the top 10 in the US and earned Gold status shortly thereafter. Five then went on an eight-day tour to promote the upcoming album, appearing in a concert special for the Disney Channel with Irish girl group B*Witched and at Times Square in New York City and also made an appearance on MTV's TRL. The debut album peaked at #27 in the US, and topped the charts in other countries worldwide, including the UK. "It's The Things You Do" was released in late 1998 in the US,only to receive a lukewarm reception and after the group started a US tour with boy band 'N Sync, they pulled out due to exhaustion and flew back to England to rest and start recording their second album, Invincible. "Everybody Get Up", "Got The Feelin'" and "Until The Time Is Through" were all released throughout 1998, reaching the top 5 in different countries around the world, and Five had well and truly made their mark in the world of Boy Band mania.

In August 1999, the first single of their second album, the catchy dance tune "If Ya Gettin' Down" was released and became a major hit worldwide but yet again failed top go to #1 in their home country, only to be stopped by Ricky Martin. Finally in October 1999, "Keep On Movin'" became their first #1 and became their biggest selling single to date, and the second album peaked at #1 shortly thereafter. "Don't Wanna Let You Go" was released in early March 2000, peaking at #9. On March 3, 2000 Five opened at the BRIT Awards with rock legends Queen performing their next hit "We Will Rock You" (which went on to be their second #1 in the UK in July 2000) and also won their first BRIT Award "Best Pop Act". Five then went on to have a successful world tour in the first half of 2000, touring countries in the UK, Europe, Russia, Australasia and (minus band member Ritchie) South America, after he contracted Chicken Pox and had to be flown back to England.

After finishing the tour, the group then performed at many concerts in the UK, including Party in the Park with Queen and released a re-issue of their album Invincible which included remixed versions of a couple of songs and five live tracks from their tour and bonus track, "Don't Fight It Baby" (which was due for release in July 2000 in the US but was pulled from release after the group was dropped by Arista Records). Five also had problems with their Asian record company and subsequently cancelled their Asian tour.

Suffering from this major blow, the lads headed back to the studio and started writing songs for their next album. They continued to win awards in the UK and Europe, and in December 2000 launched their second big tour, in their home country. In January 2001, Five went to perform at one of the biggest festivals in the world, "Rock In Rio" in Rio de Janeiro and Caracas to an audience of almost half a million people.

In May 2001, after many months of creative writing and "developing their own personal sound" - Kingsize was completed. They then began filming the video for the debut single of the album, "Let's Dance" with only four of the five members after band member Sean fell ill with glandular fever and was replaced with a life-size cardboard cut-out. Rumours started to build that he had in fact left the band but these were quickly quashed. Scott also temporarily left the band for a few weeks when he received news that his then-fiancée Kerry Oaker, who was having troubles with her pregnancy, may have the baby prematurely. Their son, Brennan Rhys, was born on July 11, 2001, five weeks premature. The remaining members J, Abz and Ritchie continued with heavy promotion of their third album and the new single "Let's Dance". Whilst performing at a concert in Belgium in July, Ritch ripped the tendons in his left foot, putting a halt to all promotion and prompting the group to have a few meetings to re-think their options and future. "Let's Dance" was released in mid August 2001 and became their third UK #1, holding the spot for two weeks. Kingsize was released two weeks later and debuted at #3 and later achieved Gold status.

After a month of serious meetings with record management, Five came to the decision that they were "calling it a day" and disbanded on September 27, 2001 via an announcement on MTV Select. On September 28, a day after the announcement, Scott married his childhood sweetheart, Kerry Oaker, which all the lads attended.

In November 2001, "Closer To Me", which featured rare footage of the band, and "Rock The Party", with an animated video, were released as a double-A-side single and a greatest hits album followed.

In the band's short life-span, they experienced success around the world, racking up three number-one singles in the UK and selling an estimate of 15-20 million records worldwide ; which includes 7 million albums worldwide and two million in the United States, and picking up numerous awards along the way.

In November 2001, Five member Abs went to Australia for the major pop festival Rumba! and performed on stage with boy band Blue. About a year after the breakup, he then went on to a fairly successful solo career releasing one album, Abstract Theory in 2003 and having three top 10 singles in the UK.

Ritchie Neville and Sean Conlon also began solo musical careers but stopped almost before they began, although Sean has now signed up with Sony and Ritchie has made occasional appearances as a TV guest star, presenter, actor and reality show celebrity contestant. Scott Robinson joined a local Essex radio station, EssexFM in 2002 for a few months as a radio DJ. He starred in the UK regional theatre musical, "Boogie Nights 2" from late 2004 through most of 2005. Scott also became a father for a second time, with the birth of his second son on September 13, 2006.. J Brown had all but disappeared from public view for nearly 4 years but has recently resurfaced as a writer and producer.

On 17 September 2006 an announcement was made via Five's Official Myspace page that a press conference is to be held at The Scala in central London, England on September 27, 2006 at around 11am GMT. After a venue change due to a shooting at The Scala, the conference was moved to the Bar Academy Islington. It was rumoured that four of the five members will be reuniting (Sean is pursuing a solo career) , which was confirmed at the press conference. Five are currently recording new material for a fourth studio album and have worked with Guy Chambers, Anders Bagge (Sweden) and French DJs Trak Invaders and also plan to tour in 2007. As of January 2007, Five have currently completed half of their album and are now looking to sign up to a record company. The album is expected to be released in the next few months.. On March 8 2007 at midnight, Five premiered one-minute clips of two brand new songs that may be on the new album. The songs, titled '70 Days' and 'Settle Down' can be heard on the band's official webpage and also on their Myspace page.