As anyone who attended a school disco in 1999 will attest, there ain’t no party like an S Club party. The group behind that song and other glistening pop hits such as Reach, Bring It All Back and Don’t Stop Movin’ will be hoping to prove that their much-quoted catchphrase still holds true 15 years later, as they announced on Wednesday that they’ve officially reformed for a special performance for the BBC’s Children in Need appeal – the first outing for the original lineup since 2002.
After Paul Cattermole quit the group to devote more time to his nu-metal project, the remaining six members trudged on for one last half-hearted album campaign before bowing to the inevitable in 2003. The interim years have seen short-lived solo careers, reality TV racism scandals and a faintly mortifying appearance by a pared-down S Club 3 on Australian TV. While this reunion may represent a last throw of the dice, they may have good reason to feel confident: in recent years the UK public’s appetite for pop nostalgia has been seemingly inexhaustible.
Contrary to the prevailing opinion that most pop is inherently throwaway, acts like Take That, Steps and the Spice Girls have proven the loyalty of their fanbases with successful large-scale comeback tours. In recent months, What I Go To School For hitmakers Busted teamed up with their equally jocular successors McFly to play packed arenas (as McBusted) up and down the country. But at some point in the past decade most of these acts have teetered on the precipice of has-been status. Why such demand for them now?
As with almost every other aspect of the entertainment industry, reality TV has done much to change the way pop music relates to its past. While magazines such as Q and Mojo could stoke the flames of Britpop nostalgia by featuring the Gallagher brothers on their covers for years after Oasis’s split , until fairly recently there were few outlets for the pop stars of the past to maintain any kind of legacy. Take That’s hugely successful second act began with an ITV documentary that unsparingly traced the rise and fall of the group – particularly that of Gary Barlow, the lead singer and principal songwriter overshadowed by his more charismatic ex-bandmate and cast into obscurity.
Other acts from the era soon followed suit. The Spice Girls brought Geri Halliwell back into the fold for the first time since her shock departure at the height of the group’s success in 1998, while Steps took the trend to its logical conclusion by playing out their own reunion in front of the cameras for a warts-and-all series with predictably dramatic results. Thanks to ITV2’s The Big Reunion, even relatively second-tier acts like B*witched and 911 found themselves playing sell-out arena dates long after they’d become more accustomed to PA slots at Butlins.
The opportunity to peer at the ugliness and acrimony hidden behind the perma-grinning pop facade explains why these shows were ratings hits, but not why their viewers were willing to pay out their hard-earned money to see the acts live in concert. The stories were compelling, but the shows also served as a reminder of the hits that defined the youths of many viewers – precisely at the point when they became old enough to appreciate it.
With many of their key hits still staples of wedding discos and gay bars across the UK, S Club 7 should be well placed to ride this wave of goodwill. The fans who bought their records in the late 90s are now late twenty- and early thirtysomethings, the age many start to feel increasingly alienated from the mainstream pop scene. This is not a new phenomenon. Around 10 years ago the Here & Now revival tours – featuring 80s acts such as Bananarama, T’Pau and Five Star – were at the height of popularity. Perhaps in 2024, reformed versions of One Direction, Little Mix and JLS will be airing their dirty laundry and dusting off their moves.
However, if this initial S Club revival is a success, the group may still be advised to proceed with some caution. When it comes to turning a well-received reunion into a full-blown comeback, Take That are very much the exception rather than the rule. After all, seeing your childhood idols reunited is a lot like hooking up with an ex; a comfortingly familiar experience, until they suggest you get back together for good.
