One Christmas morning, when I was nine years old, my parents blessed me with Five’s 2001 album Kingsize. The gift kicked off a love affair with British boy bands, but it also ignited a love of cheesy pop that I maintain to this day. However, it’s been 19 long years since then which got me thinking: where are those loveable fresh-faced Five boys now?
Five, also commonly referred to a ‘5ive,’ were a boy band from London that formed in 1997 by the same team who managed the Spice Girls before they hit the big time.
As the name suggests, Five was made up of five members: Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Abz Love and Jason ‘J’ Brown. With iconic bangers including ‘Slam Dunk (Da Funk,’ ‘Got the Feelin,’’ ‘Everybody Get Up,’ ‘If Ya Gettin’ Down,’ ‘Keep On Movin’ and ‘Let’s Dance,’ Five were a force to be reckoned with in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.
However, Five were around for a good time, not a long time, and split up in 2001 after selling 10 million copies of their records worldwide.
Despite reforming twice after Conlon left the band, and came back again, Five were unable to gain the momentum they once flaunted alongside fellow British supergroups like Blue, Atomic Kitten and B*Witched.
So, what is the boy band Five up to now?
Scott Robinson
These days Scott Robinson works as a radio presenter, scored a lead role in the UK musical Boogie Nights 2 and has even made a few reality TV show appearances. According to The Hits, Robinson married his long-term girlfriend Kerry Oaker just one day after Five split up in 2001. The pair are still married and are parents to four children.
Ritchie Neville
Like Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville has also maintained a career in the limelight, as a presenter, actor and reality show contestant. In 2008, Neville met Aussie model Emily Scott while on Cirque De Celebrite. The pair got married and moved to Sydney, but split just four months later when she took an AVO out against him. In 2013, Neville started dating Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton and a year later they became parents to a baby girl. Unfortunately, they ended their relationship in 2016. These days, Neville works as a sommelier and restaurateur.
Sean Conlon
As mentioned previously, Sean Conlon was the first member to leave Five. He signed a solo recording deal, but sadly, it didn’t prove successful. In 2012, Conlon even auditioned on season one of The Voice UK, but didn’t make it through. Conlon is married to an anonymous woman, with whom he shares a daughter.
Abz Love
Abz Love, whose real name is Richard Abidin Breen, enjoyed a successful solo career after parting ways with Five in the early ‘00s and was even signed to Sony BMG by Simon Cowell. In 2013, Love appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and was the runner-up behind Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby. These days, Love is touring his rap music with the Boyz On Block.
Jason ‘J’ Brown
Jason ‘J’ Brown, who was the rapper in Five kept a relatively low profile after the band’s 2001 split. He appeared on the seventh season of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and finished in third place, and also became involved in writing and producing for other musicians. In 2013, Brown refused to join the rest of Five on the reality TV series The Big Reunion and admitted to previously suffering from chronic insomnia, depression, and a suicide attempt. He said he wouldn’t reunite with Five, but added he was “happier now than I’ve ever been.”
While it sounds like Five struggled to bring back the magic of the ’90s and ’00s, it looks like many of them still stay in contact, if the band’s official Instagram account is anything to go by. Now I can rest easy.