5ive

Who doesn’t love a boy band? In fact, an edgy and funky boy band with attitude? Well, 5ive are exactly were and still are that! If you weren’t one for smooth and slow love songs, then it was possible that 5ive were your kinda boy band. These guys are still going strong performing all their catchy dance hits from the 90’s and they will be in Australia in February 2019 on the Poptastic Tour along with S Club 3, Big Brovaz and G.R.L.

Scott Robinson chatted with HiFi Way: The Pop Chronicles about the impending tour and what we can look forward to when the boys hit Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide Monday March 11.

Are you looking forward to touring Australia in February?
Yeah, we’re really looking forward to it. It’s been a while since we’ve been over and we always get a really good reception there. Obviously, we don’t get to play in Australia that often so it will be a nice change from the UK and Europe. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to it and expecting some really good shows.

Will you have some time to see some of the sights in Australia?
Unfortunately not. I have seen a lot of Australia back in the days from when I was there before but we’ve chosen not to do the touristy thing this time as we all have families back home. We want to do the shows and see all the fans and show them what we do but we also have families to get home to.

How do you find juggling family life with band life? You have a large family – four kids, right?
Yes, I do. When it’s here in the UK I’m only away maybe one night so my wife Kerry and the kids can even come along to some of the shows if they are on a weekend. It’s obviously a little tougher when it’s far like Australia but what’s wonderful about technology like Skype or Facetime we can talk often. They really help but what doesn’t help is when I’m going to bed, they are up and vice versa. It’s a bit tricky with the time difference but we get through. Sometimes you have to be away from them a bit but we are also doing it for the family.

How do you find when the kids do see you on stage? Do they look at you any differently or are you still Dad?
I think I’m still Dad but the first time they’ve seen me it has spun them out a little bit. My eldest son is nearly eighteen and so he’s been through it. He couldn’t work it out why people were coming up to him at school and saying, “Your Dad’s in a band and he sings famous songs.” I hadn’t told him and he came home and said “Dad have you got something to tell me? I’ve been hearing you’re in a famous band.” So, I went to YouTube and showed him some old videos and stuff and then he came to watch me at the big reunion. He must have been twelve at the time and he absolutely loved it and now my other son who is twelve now he loves watching me perform the songs. The twins who are four and even now they sing the songs and they love watching Daddy on the stage and they say “Are we going to watch 5ive today Daddy?” And I tell them “No you can’t come today” and they get disappointed.

5ive were always seen as the edgier boy band. Do you still have that edgy vibe or has family life mellowed you all?
I think the music has always been edgy therefore we still sing those songs so we still have that edginess about us but I mean to be fair the boys might’ve been edgy, but I was always in the room chilling playing play station. I liked to have a few drinks and a bit of a wind down but you know the songs are definitely still up there and still a little bit in your face.

5ive have had their ups and downs throughout the years and most of you are still together in the band. How do you keep the chemistry alive after all these years?
You know what? We are just really good friends now. I mean like back in the day there was in band fighting and stuff and we weren’t particularly getting along that well all the time. We clashed because we were a bit younger and I can honestly say now, hand on heart that there’s no arguing. We are just three really close friends just working together and enjoying each other’s company. We are all doing it for the same reasons as we all have families now. We all talk about our families while we are away, and we appreciate the time we are together instead of it as work and “why are we doing this?” There’s nothing like that now. If I can’t make a gig because its my sons or daughters’ birthday, they fully understand that now like I do with them. Being in 5ive now is a joy. I actually love it.

What is the best memory you have in being in 5ive?
I think we are making the best memories now. But you know from back in the day winning the awards is probably up there and performing to massive crowds around the world. That’s something I’ve always enjoyed. Singing onstage to thousands and thousands of people you can’t beat it so yeah, the fans, the awards and the performing.

Do you find performing different compared to when you were younger? Do you enjoy it more now that you are older and wiser?
I think I prefer it now because I appreciate it now. We know what we are doing now and we appreciate that we are still getting bookings all around the world and we love it. We take it very seriously and we are very professional and enjoy performing to people who still want to us sing. We wouldn’t be doing to if we were getting the odd booking here and there. People come to the show and see the three of us but when they leave, they say “Gee they are really good.” We get a lot of bookings so somethings working!

So, are the shows as lively and energetic as they used to be?
Yeah, yeah, the same dance routines are still there. We still run around like lunatics (laughs) and singing all the parts. Actually, for me it’s more now. I’ve taken on the rapping part as well as singing. So obviously in the band back in the day I would’ve been one of the singers where as now I am one of the singers, I dance AND I’m the rapper! For me, I have to be pretty fit otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do three parts.

So, when you say you are now doing the rapping part, do you find rapping harder than singing?
It’s just different. It’s different with the breathing. With singing you can take long breaths but with rapping you have to take quick breaths in between rapping if that makes sense. You have to find your breath in between whilst your rapping. It’s just a very different way of breathing whilst doing it. But I enjoy it maybe marginally more than singing in a way and I’m a singer. I’ve never done it before so its quite fresh and new and when I first started, I was learning on the job. So yeah, I’m enjoying it and I’m getting quite a good response from it. Even though I’m singing the same raps that they were I’m trying to put my own spin on it. I’m not trying to imitate Jay or Abs in the rap. I’m trying to put my own sort of tone. It seems to be working.

Which song of 5ive’s do you enjoy performing live?
I really like If You Getting Down. It’s a really good song to sing and rap but Keep On Moving is probably the one. You know it’s got a bit of everything – there’s rap, great verses and a fantastic chorus and all the fans seem to love this one. It’s a crowd stopper and everyone knows all the words. They all sing it. So, we don’t even need to bother. We just stick the mic out and they sing it. So if we are tired at the end of the set you can be lazy and hold out the mic and they sing it (laughs).

How do you feel hearing the crowd sing the lyrics back to you and louder than yourselves?
That’s just the best. It’s the best part when you are being sung to when you’re on stage. Its quite powerful. So yeah that’s one of the best moments on stage when you’ve got a big crowd singing back to you or even a small intimate crowd. It’s just really nice.

So, are there any opportunities for new music from 5ive?
We did think about doing new music but we would be doing it for ourselves. Although the fans say “Oh when are we going to hear new music from you?” I don’t think they know that they really don’t want it because I watch bands when they come back and when they release a new song it doesn’t really do anything. People want to hear the old songs. They are more excited about the old songs. It’s like “Oh right this is the new one. You don’t know it. You can’t sing along. You just got to stand there and hear it.” Every time you do that song the audience is going to have a natural lull. The vibe we be going to go down. Where as what we want is to keep people just singing a long and we want them just as knackered as we are by the end of it. And for that reason, it makes more sense to give them what they want which is to give them Keep On Moving, We Will Rock You and all those songs and that’s literally what we are going to sing for them. Even if we throw in an album track people are like “Oh I sort of know this one” We wanna give them hit after hit and we are very lucky because we have a lot of hits. We can give them a really exciting show and know that they are going to leave going “Wow that was so many good songs!”

Interview by Anastasia Lambis

Catch 5ive with S Club 3, Big Brovaz and G.R.L on their Poptastic Tour, tickets from Metropolis Touring…