Why S Club 7 is secretly the best band of all time
The late '90s/early 2000s was a confusing
time for all of us; people were going from
thinking the world was going to end from
Y2K to dealing with the shame and regret of
now having all this extra canned corn and
Twinkies to deal with. The youth of the
world were looking for a new voice to guide
— no, to lead — them into the next millennium.
O ut of the mysterious foreign land of great Old England emerged S Club 7, the shimmering beacon of light who changed the history of pop music forever. Now you might think of S Club as just another generic, factory- made, bubblegum pop group. Well, you're damn wrong; they were revolutionary. For example...
They Have Seven Members
Since the Jackson 5 danced onto the scene, there has been a proven formula that guarantees success. No, it's not having a manager father who beats up the band members, it's having five members.
S Club 7 said screw that proven and successful formula, let's be a little different.
For starters, they are a club, and not the kind that meets once a month to share their love for Steven Seagal's ponytail or sandwiches that are cut into quarters. No, they are the type of club that makes awesome pop music.
Almost every pop group works like this: there's the tough one, the shy one, the young one, the ethnic one, and the heartthrob. When you have two extra members, what personalities do you assign them? The ginger one and the one who kind of looks like your uncle?
Just take these lyrics from the classic hit “S Club Party”:
“Tina's doing her dance/Jon's looking for romance/Paul's getting down on the floor/Hannah's screaming out for more/Bradley doing the swing/Rachel's doing her thing/And Jo she's got the flow.”
They literally just took an entire verse to describe what seven individuals are doing.
The Band Was Formed Out Of Pure Spite
Manager Simon Fuller was fired from the Spice Girls in 1998 over several creative differences. With Fuller losing his cash cow and facing humiliation, he quickly went to the drawing board (singing board?), admitting in an interview he started working on the idea of S Club 7 the day after he was sacked from the Spice Girls. I've experienced longer mourning periods when I lose a grape under the fridge.
I'm sure the brainstorming session went a little something like this:
Fuller: “Those damn Spice Girls! I'll show them! Okay, okay get it together here, Simon, got to keep my composure. I know — I'll start a new band, no, wait... a club! There aren't any of those out yet. Okay what to call it... Simon's Club? S Club! Okay, so now how many members should I have? Five? Six?
Intern: “How about seven, sir?”
Fuller: “Yes! Best idea I have ever had, now go out there and find me seven semi-talented, attractive 22- to 25-year-olds who can sing decently and dance without tripping over their own asses, pronto! Muhahaha, we'll see who has the last laugh, won't we, Spice Girls?”
They Had Their Own Television Show!
That's right, S Club had a TV show. What have you accomplished with your life?
This tween scream soap opera S Club 7 in Miami revolved around the up-and-coming band, following their trip from England to America and their struggles of trying to adjust this new land and make it in the music industry. Classic episodes revolved around the group working in a run-down hotel, getting into hijinks, competing in volleyball tournaments, and going back in time on a magic yacht. Does it get any better than that?
The show was obviously an instant hit watched by 90 million viewers in over 100 different countries. Miami's popularity spawned three more seasons: S Club 7 in L.A., S Club 7 in Hollywood and Viva S Club, proving that as long as you put attractive enough people in front of a camera, people won't give a shit about small things like plot or dialogue.
Sadly, the S Club broke up in 2003, but three members are still touring college campuses and bars, trying to relive the glory days well into their 40s.
I hope this trip through Nostalgiaville has made you finally realize how much more recognition S Club deserves. Some say there ain't no party like an S Club party; some say that S Club never stopped, never gave up, held their heads high and reached for the top; others say they reached for the stars.
One thing we can say about the Club is they won't soon be forgotten.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
O ut of the mysterious foreign land of great Old England emerged S Club 7, the shimmering beacon of light who changed the history of pop music forever. Now you might think of S Club as just another generic, factory- made, bubblegum pop group. Well, you're damn wrong; they were revolutionary. For example...
They Have Seven Members
Since the Jackson 5 danced onto the scene, there has been a proven formula that guarantees success. No, it's not having a manager father who beats up the band members, it's having five members.
S Club 7 said screw that proven and successful formula, let's be a little different.
For starters, they are a club, and not the kind that meets once a month to share their love for Steven Seagal's ponytail or sandwiches that are cut into quarters. No, they are the type of club that makes awesome pop music.
Almost every pop group works like this: there's the tough one, the shy one, the young one, the ethnic one, and the heartthrob. When you have two extra members, what personalities do you assign them? The ginger one and the one who kind of looks like your uncle?
Just take these lyrics from the classic hit “S Club Party”:
“Tina's doing her dance/Jon's looking for romance/Paul's getting down on the floor/Hannah's screaming out for more/Bradley doing the swing/Rachel's doing her thing/And Jo she's got the flow.”
They literally just took an entire verse to describe what seven individuals are doing.
The Band Was Formed Out Of Pure Spite
Manager Simon Fuller was fired from the Spice Girls in 1998 over several creative differences. With Fuller losing his cash cow and facing humiliation, he quickly went to the drawing board (singing board?), admitting in an interview he started working on the idea of S Club 7 the day after he was sacked from the Spice Girls. I've experienced longer mourning periods when I lose a grape under the fridge.
I'm sure the brainstorming session went a little something like this:
Fuller: “Those damn Spice Girls! I'll show them! Okay, okay get it together here, Simon, got to keep my composure. I know — I'll start a new band, no, wait... a club! There aren't any of those out yet. Okay what to call it... Simon's Club? S Club! Okay, so now how many members should I have? Five? Six?
Intern: “How about seven, sir?”
Fuller: “Yes! Best idea I have ever had, now go out there and find me seven semi-talented, attractive 22- to 25-year-olds who can sing decently and dance without tripping over their own asses, pronto! Muhahaha, we'll see who has the last laugh, won't we, Spice Girls?”
They Had Their Own Television Show!
That's right, S Club had a TV show. What have you accomplished with your life?
This tween scream soap opera S Club 7 in Miami revolved around the up-and-coming band, following their trip from England to America and their struggles of trying to adjust this new land and make it in the music industry. Classic episodes revolved around the group working in a run-down hotel, getting into hijinks, competing in volleyball tournaments, and going back in time on a magic yacht. Does it get any better than that?
The show was obviously an instant hit watched by 90 million viewers in over 100 different countries. Miami's popularity spawned three more seasons: S Club 7 in L.A., S Club 7 in Hollywood and Viva S Club, proving that as long as you put attractive enough people in front of a camera, people won't give a shit about small things like plot or dialogue.
Sadly, the S Club broke up in 2003, but three members are still touring college campuses and bars, trying to relive the glory days well into their 40s.
I hope this trip through Nostalgiaville has made you finally realize how much more recognition S Club deserves. Some say there ain't no party like an S Club party; some say that S Club never stopped, never gave up, held their heads high and reached for the top; others say they reached for the stars.
One thing we can say about the Club is they won't soon be forgotten.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
