Culture Reporter Jack Murray chats to Scott Robinson of the early noughties boyband Five about fake rivalries, the cyclical nature of the music industry, and a Brazilian “Bop-it!” marathon with Liam Gallagher, ahead of their “Biggest Disco” arena tour’s stop in Glasgow next month.
Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, and Scott Robinson knows this more than most. However, talking about his past in the boyband Five conjures conflicting feelings amidst the massive success of their first iteration between 1997 and 2001, and the massive pressure generated within the fickle early-noughties music industry. After reunions in 2006 and 2013, Robinson and Five now travel as a three-piece, having had time to mature into adults. Back, and in a better place than ever, they’re here to deliver nostalgic hits on tour, all whilst being able to reconcile with the journey so far.
JM: We’re talking at quite a pertinent time for boybands and nostalgia, off the back of the new documentary “Boybands Forever”, which focuses on the struggles of being thrown into the spotlight at a young age. How much agency did you have amidst Five’s “bad boy” image, proscribed by the label?
SR: Getting in a boyband at such a young age was difficult in itself, but the “bad boy” image thing was more a marketing tool. We were trying to be slightly different to all the normal boybands, and I’m not saying that we’re not a boyband, of course we are, but we said we were a boyband with “edge”. I think [the label] got more than they bargained for when they put us together! It was very quickly that they realised we were quite opinionated on how we wanted our music to sound, and how we wanted to go forward.
I was so happy to do the documentary because if it can help one record company executive take a look at himself and say: “look, these kids are young, these kids need help”- My part of the program was to say that I was struggling, and that I didn’t get any help, and the fact that I still think that’s happening to this very day is worrying. I was almost shouting from the rooftops, I didn’t know what it was, I wasn’t saying “I’m struggling with my mental health”. I was saying: “I don’t feel like myself, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m sad all the time, I want to go home”, and no-one would help me.
JM: What do you think was the bigger issue, the pressure of fame or the lack of Support?
SR: I think it was a bit of both, the main problem was not being looked after well enough. The work schedule was far too much, and they tried to crowbar so much in – even more so in the end when they thought we were going to jump ship. I think things are starting to get better in the industry, and the documentary will help. I’ve got an 18-year-old boy, and a 23- year-old boy, and I was 21 when I finished the band. So, I’d done everything between the ages of 17 and 21. My eldest can just about butter toast and I had traveled the world!
JM: Is this where you saw yourself being a few decades down the line?
SR: Oh god, I’d never in my wildest dreams think that I’d be singing “Slam Dunk (Da Funk)” in 2024! When I left the band in 2001, I got married the very next day. In my head that was it, I’d never sing those songs again and I truly believed that. By 2005 / 2006, I was a one man Five, going up and down the country singing the songs. Cut to 2012, when we get a phone call about doing ‘The Big Reunion’, and even when Abz [Love, another Five member] left, we thought: “we won’t be able to do the shows now.” To then still be doing them 11 years later as a three piece. To still have the respect of the crowd with them singing the songs back to us, it feels incredible. And d’you know what? I’m not ready to stop either, so long may it Continue.
JM: Back when everything was originally happening, were you thinking about the Future?
SR: No, one day at a time, and now I’m in a better place, life couldn’t be better. We just enjoy each other’s company and doing the shows.
JM: You mentioned in an interview once about performing with Oasis in front of 450,000 people, sounds like one hell of a story.
SR: It was absolutely incredible! We were doing a festival over in Rio, called Rock in Rio, absolutely amazing show, and we were chilling with Liam [Gallagher] – having a drink [and] playing “Bop It!” in his dressing room. Me, Sean, Rich and Liam, and my wife Kerry. He got it out of his suitcase, the kids game “Bop It!”, and we played it for hours while pissed in Rio.
JM: Bringing things back to the present, the three of you came out with an album rather recently, post-reunion. What was the songwriting process like for that compared to the early noughties?
SR: We did it during covid, so a lot of it was on zoom. We only got together when we were allowed to, recorded it all in our home studios, and did it all ourselves. From the artwork to the producing, to the writing, to everything, was all just Me, Sean [Conlon], and Rich [Neville]. We’re really proud of it and it didn’t break boundaries, but it proved you could do it on a shoestring budget and without even being together. We were missing making music and singing to the crowds due to covid, and we’re really proud of that album. I think it was more enjoyable with no other writers in the room, just us enjoying making the music.
JM: Do you think there’s still a place for new boybands in this day in age?
SR: Yeah, I think so. Music moves in cycles, ten-year cycles, so I’m not sure there’s space right this second but there will be, it’ll find its way back. You have rock, then pop, then indie, and it keeps moving round, there will always be space at the right point for boybands old and new. It’s the same as jeans and flares – works exactly the same!
JM: You’re on the reunion tour now with a few bands you used to rival against in the charts – what’s the backstage atmosphere like?
SR: Oh yeah 100%, a lot of the rivalry from the past is for marketing purposes, fake rivalry. We love a bit of banter with them, we enjoy their company. I’ll often be chilling in Blue’s dressing room chatting with the boys. We’re all mates.
JM: Did you know each other personally when these narratives were being pushed?
SR: Yeah, I mean we were allegedly rivals with Westlife when we were good mates, and it was a lot easier to go: ‘we’re bigger and better than Westlife’ when in reality we were laughing at the media because they were creating stories that weren’t true, we were just reaping the benefits. They’re still my mates to this day.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Thanks to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Hush Hush PR for setting up this opportunity.