S Club 8
| S Club Juniors | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | S Club Juniors (2001–03) S Club 8 (2003–04) |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 2001–04 |
| Labels | Polydor Records |
| Associated acts | S Club 7, The Saturdays, From Above |
| Past members | Aaron Renfree Stacey McClean Jay Asforis Daisy Evans Calvin Goldspink Rochelle Wiseman Hannah Richings Frankie Sandford |
S Club 8 (formerly S Club Juniors), were a spin off of the British pop group S Club 7. The group's members, Frankie Sandford, Ashley Adams, Daisy Evans, Calvin Goldspink, Stacey McClean, Aaron Renfree, Hannah Richings, and Rochelle Wiseman were all in their early teens or younger when they were chosen from thousands of hopefuls on the television series S Club Search in 2001.
The group was originally intended only as a support act at Wembley Arena on S Club 7's S Club Carnival Tour. The group also had its own documentary series, S Club Juniors: The Story.
S Club Juniors was formed in 2001 through a reality television show. The auditions were aired on CBBC. S Club Juniors' appearances was considered a success and consequently 19 Entertainment, the management company that had created S Club 7 and auditioned S Club Juniors, decided they should perform as a support act at all of the venues on the tour. The juniors made their first television appearance on Children in Need on 16 November 2001. By the end of the tour, S Club Juniors had created a following and, with the encouragement of 19, Polydor Records signed the group. Their first single was called "One Step Closer". It was promoted by the TV series S Club Junior: The Story and released in the UK on 22 April 2002 in a chart battle with the Sugababes who released their comeback single the same day. Although the Juniors remained number one in the midweek charts, the single dipped over the weekend and managed to sell 73,000 copies, compared to the Sugababes' 85,000. The Juniors stayed at number two for a second week selling a further 60,000 copies, compared to Holly Valance's 143,000. In excess of 250,000 copies were sold in the UK in total and they stayed in the UK top 75 for 11 weeks.
The group began working on their studio album in June 2002. A second single was named "Automatic High", filmed in Spain, while S Club 7 began their fourth TV series. Released on 22 July 2002, the single reached number two in the UK charts selling 52,000 copies, and spent eight weeks inside the UK top 75 and sold in excess of 110,000 copies in the UK. The third single, "New Direction" released on 10 October reached number two in the UK charts selling 55,000 copies in the first week. It became their third consecutive top ten hit, selling 130,000 copies in six weeks. The Juniors released their debut album Together on 21 October reaching number five in its first week of sale and selling 40,000 copies. Their fourth single, "Puppy Love/Sleigh Ride", was released on 9 December 2002. The single debuted at number six in the UK charts, and sold 85,000 copies in the UK, spending eight weeks inside the UK Top 40. The song was also used in the film Love Actually.
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