Interviewing “boy band” Five is a little like being in a conversation with a bunch of excitable sixth-formers on the last day of exams – even though the group’s average age is closer to 50 than 15.
Still, if their hyperactive group phone call is anything to go by, Plymouth music fans are in for fun and frolics when Abz, Scott, Ritchie, Sean and J hit the stage in Central Park on June 12.
Five are headlining Friday night of the three-day Discovery Festival, backed by other boy band era alumni Blue and The Wanted 2.0.
For fans of Five it’s a big deal – this is pretty much the first time all five of Five had been a fivesome since the band originally broke up in 2001.
For the past decade three of them have been performing as Five, but with Abz and J back in the fold it makes for the greatest reunion since William and Kate kissed and made up.
And they are delighted to be a unit once more.
“We’ve been doing this nearly 30 years now, with a few years when a few of us did not see each other, but we are making up for that now,” said J.
Ritchie added: “When we were put together we didn’t know each other, but now it feels like we’re old school friends.”
And Scott pitched in: “Being together for four and a half years and then being apart, it’s amazing to reconnect.
“We’re a band of brothers. We’ve got a second crack of the whip, it’s like a blessing.”
For those of you who missed out on the golden era of the boyband, here’s a potted history of Five.
Abz Love (vocals), Scott Robinson (vocals), Ritchie Neville (vocals), Sean Conlon (vocals) and Jason “J” Brown (vocals) were spliced together in 1997 by Heart Management after they came through auditions.
They went on to enjoy four years of stellar hit-making, selling more than 20 million records starting with the top-10 single Slam Dunk (Da Funk).
Five was an international success too, with When the Lights Go Out peaking at number 10 in the US Billboard Hot 100.
Other hits include Everybody Get Up, If Ya Gettin’ Down and their biggest seller: Keep on Movin’ which hit the UK number one spot in 1999.
The quintet also picked up a slew of awards including a Brit, an MTV Music gong, and various titles at Smash Hits Poll Winners Parties , including Scott’s triple crown of Best Haircut honours 1997 to 1999.
His spiked-up short back and sides is no more, and he underwent a hair transplant in 2024. But then, he is 46 now, as are Abz and Ritche.
Sean is the baby at 44 and J the elder statesman at pushing 50. But when I spoke to all five of Five, all at once, on a conference call, the years just fell away and it’s clear they have as much enthusiasm for performing as they did when they were named best British band and pop act in 2000.
And now they are back and heading to Britain’s Ocean City, where all but J were present when the group last entertained in November 2013 on their Greatest Hits Tour at the Pavilions, now renamed Plymouth Arena.
“Plymouth is a beautiful place,” shouted Sean, or was it Scott? No, it was Sean. “I love walking around it, we did gigs there before.”
Ritchie added: “My niece lives in Plymouth and I’ve been down to see her and hung out on the Hoe. I’ve got friends living in Plymouth, I met them in Tenerife.”
And what can fans expect when the fabulous fivesome walks out on stage in Central Park?
“We’ll be doing Keep on Movin’,” yelled Abz. And the boys agreed the hits would all be present, with possibly a few surprises.
“We are a festival band,” said Ritchie. “We can’t wait to get our teeth into the festivals, there are quite a few this summer.
“It’s going to be high-energy, in your face, and the sun will be shining, it’s going to be a really good show.
“We’re never fully sure what we are going to do, there will probably be surprises, but we will be singing lots of hits and Sean will be doing cartwheels.”
So, who’s going to be there? Fans from the early days, mostly women of a certain age now, or a younger generation?
“It’s a mix of both,” said J. “We have all our old fans, a continuation from when we jumped off in 2001. But there are also girls born in 2003 and raised on our music, so it goes across all generations.”
Sean added: “There were some fans that liked us when they were 10 or 11 and whose parents did not get them a ticket at the time.
“So our tour just before Christmas was the first time they had seen us live, and that’s what I think will happen in Plymouth.”
And Five’s music has, remarkably, stood the test of time rather well. It’s high-energy dance-pop, full of hooks and fun, in counterpoint to the ballad-laden setlists of contemporaries Westlife and Boyzone.
Or, as Sean said: “If you stick it on at a wedding people will groove.”
He added: “When we made the music it was seen as light pop and people didn’t give it the respect it deserves.”
Scott chipped in: “We didn’t give ourselves enough respect. But now we are really proud of all our songs and what we achieved and thankful for the opportunity we have been given.
“And we are enjoying ourselves. The music speaks for itself and it is amazing to do this now.”
Abz concurred: “We’re lucky to come from an era with great pop music. It’s innocent fun, with a few innuendos.
“But it was a great era to come from and the music speaks for itself. We’re going to do a great show. I still think we’re the best band in the world.”
See Five, “the best band in the world” and enjoy their songs at the Discovery Festival on June 12. For tickets: https://discoveryfestival.co.uk/
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