Five (group)

Five (stylised as 5ive) are an English boy band formed in 1997 consisting of members Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, and Scott Robinson. The group debuted as a five-piece consisting of Robinson, Neville, Conlon, as well as previous members Abz Love and Jason "J" Brown. Five released several hit singles around the turn of the 21st century, particularly in their native United Kingdom. The group has sold over 20 million records worldwide.^[1]

Five were formed by Heart Management, who held auditions to create a boy band. The group were subsequently signed by Simon Cowell and BMG/RCA. In November 1997, Five released their debut single "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)", which peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. Their subsequent single, "When the Lights Go Out", became an international hit, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, 4 in the UK, and within the top ten of six further countries. Their debut album, Five (1998), sold over 4 million copies worldwide and produced 3 additional UK top 3 singles: "Got the Feelin'", "Everybody Get Up", and "It's the Things You Do".

Their second album, Invincible (1999), sold over 1 million copies worldwide and contains the number 2 UK hit "If Ya Gettin' Down" as well as the number ones and "We Will Rock You" and "Keep On Movin'", the latter of which became their biggest selling single. Five released their third album, Kingsize (2001), amid tensions within the group. Sean Conlon did not appear in the music video for the album's first single, "Let's Dance". Nevertheless, the band attributed his lack of participation in the video and promotional activities to illness, and the song became a number one hit. Conlon's departure from the group was formally announced in September 2001, two weeks after the release of Kingsize. Later that year, the group released Greatest Hits (2001) and split thereafter.

The group briefly reformed without Conlon in September 2006, but soon disbanded. In 2012, the group announced that they were planning another reunion, this time with Conlon on board but without Brown. The group continued with only four members, but decided to keep the name Five. Alongside other musical groups, Five were featured in the ITV2 documentary series The Big Reunion (2013).^[2] This was followed by the collaborative Big Reunion tour that May. In August 2014, Love announced his departure from the band, leaving Conlon, Neville, and Robinson to continue as a trio. Five's fourth album, Time was released on 28 January 2022.