S Club, Big Brovas

Another day, another '90s reunion. Three of the S Club 7 are coming to Australia to tour the country with hip-hop group Big Brovas in a performance fans have been begging for since the S Club branched off to pursue solo projects in 2003. We spoke with favourites Jo O'Meara and Brad McIntosh about bringing it all back.

So, give Time Out’s readers a refresher course: how did the S Club party all begin?
Jo O’Meara: The band formed in 1999 and we had our first single ‘Bring It All Back’ which went straight in at number one and then it was just a roller coaster from there.
Brad McIntosh: We did tons of stuff for charity [and] we played at the Queen’s palace. We were lucky enough to experience quite a lot of different sides to the pop industry cos’ we had a TV show and movies with a lot of featuring artists. It’s definitely a pleasure to have been in a group with such diversity.

You’re not the only late ’90s/early 2000s group making a comeback. Why are all you guys getting back together?
Brad: I’m not surprised because the music these days is more edgy than it used to be. The lyrical content is a lot more sexual; it’s a lot more grown up. Kids these days don’t really have our kind of songs ­– all about fun and parties. Our thinking wasn’t really getting girls [and] getting it on; even the dancing in the music videos is getting more explicit than it used to be. Back in our day it was a bit more cheesy and I think everybody loves a bit of cheese deep down, especially the kids, they need something to look up to. 
Jo: With the ’90s thing coming back, everything always comes back into fashion at some point. It’s like how you never really throw your flares away cos’ they are going come back at some point.

It was officially announced this past March that you were reuniting to tour the UK – all seven! We’re so excited. But… why?
Brad: Basically when we were in the band, we never really got a chance to get up close and personal with the fans. We only ever got a chance to do big shows and big award ceremonies. Unlike other bands we were left out of all the cut of university tours and gigs.
Jo: For this tour, we’re just doing it as a bit of fun at the minute, it’s the three of us, me, Bradley and Paul.

Look, we really can't wait to hear ‘Bring it All Back’ and ‘Reach for the Stars’, but will the group be performing new material during the tour?
Brad: I’m in the process now of cutting the show together. Paul might do an acoustic song, Jo sometimes does a song that she released, ‘What Hurts the Most’, and I think she will do that. I might do one of my own, cos’ I’ve got loads of music out there. I rap and I sing and I do the whole mix-tape thing. We’re just getting up and singing the songs, having fun. Everybody knows the songs anyways [and] always sings along.

What was the experience like for S Club in comparison to today’s X Factor approach? The TV seems to intensify the whole process.
Brad: I think that doing it on TV is a lot more hyped up, you build up a little bit more to win, where as [if] you go to a little audition, a standing audition, and you don’t get in, it’s like, “Ah well, onto the next one.” It’s no big deal but when the whole thing is on TV and then you’ve got your whole family and neighbourhood rooting for you and then you get knocked down, I guess it can pull at your heart a bit more.
Jo: I think things like the X Factor and The Voice are really good because a lot of talented people out there never really get their chance to ever showcase what they can do. It’s really hard and I think it’s a really good thing that people can get up on stage and on TV cos’ a lot of people who enter these shows go on to fantastic careers because they’re being seen. A long time ago, they’d all be fantastic singers but no one would ever know anything of them. Now they too can sing to show just what kind of talent people really do have.