Songoftheday 5/9/21 - I ain't sorry for the way I feel, I know you think I'm being insincere from the way I'm treating you...

 

 

"When The Lights Go Out" - Five

from the album Five (1998)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (seven weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 22

 

Today's song of the day comes from the British "boy-band" Five (or 5ive), who were put together by manager brothers Chris and Bob Herbert, who had assembled the Spice Girls the year prior. After a mass audition call, where a quintet of singer came together before they were called up, that quintet ended up being the final lineup. Richard "Abz Love" Breen, Jason Brown, Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, and Scott Robinson became "5ive", and the group was signed by future Pop Idol/American Idol svengali Simon Cowell to RCA Records. Their debut single in the UK, "Slam Dunk (Da Funk)", was a mirror image of the Backstreet Boys, which was no surprise, since it was co-written and produced by the Swedish team of Denniz Pop, Max Martin, and Herbie Chrictlow, who were seminal in the Backstreet hits as well. The song reached #10 in the UK, and made the top ten in Belgium. But it would be their second effort that would bring them to the world. "When The Lights Go Out" was produced by the British team of Eliot Kennedy and former Dead or Alive members Mike Percy and Tim Lever, who had written the track. The song has enough sexual insinuation without being direct enough to make the parents keep it from the kiddies to make the chonky chords ingrain themselves on younger brains, and that somehow translated to America as well. The single would be their first and biggest hit by far on these shore, just in the time when the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were just beginning their dominance. As per the boy-band pattern, (almost) all the guys get a turn on "lead", giving the female (and gay male) fans their choice of who to drool over...

 

 "When The Lights Go Out" became a top ten pop hit in America for the group in August of 1998. Internationally, the single was a success as well, reaching the top ten in Australia (#2), the UK (#4), Sweden (#7), Spain (#7), Belgium (#8W/#13F), and got to #30 in Canada. The Five album, released in America on Arista Records, climbed to #27 on the Billboard 200 sales chart, selling over a million copies. 

Three other singles from their debut album reached the top three in their homeland: "Got The Feelin'" (#3) (featuring the one guy who didn't sing on the previous hit), the Joan Jett-sampling "Everybody Get Up" (#2), and "Until The Time Is Through" (#2). But in America, Arista decided to go with a completely different cut for the follow-up single. "It's The Things You Do" was a Max Martin confection, but didn't catch on here, stalling at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Then they tried to go with "Slam Dunk" as the third try, which only got to #86. 

In 1999, Five returned with their sophomore effort, Incvincible. The title proved correct in Britain, where four singles reached the top ten, including "Keep on Movin'" and a remake of Queen's "We Will Rock You" which featured Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen, both of which topped the chart in the UK. However, even though the album was released in the U.S., where it went to #108 on the Billboard 200, nothing hit the singles chart from it.

Two years later, the five-some came back with their third and so far last studio album, Kingsize. While lead single "Let's Dance" scored a third #1 hit in the UK, that would be the only single released, as issues with two of the members caused the promotion of the record to go askew. In fact, the music video for that single had a friggin cardboard cutout of member J Conlon, who had left the group from a nervous breakdown but they were keeping it hidden. After a Greatest Hits set, where Kingsize track "Closer To Me" was released as a single with their final top ten hit at #4 (a perfect streak), the group split up in 2001.

Abz Love, rechristened "Abs", released his first solo album Abstract Theory in 2002. The record spun off three British top ten singles, with "What You Got" reaching #4. They briefly reunited without Conlon in 2006, but after there were no takers for a new album they were preparing, it wasn't until 2013 that Five returned, this time without Brown (who was accused of harrassing Conlon), for the British show The Big Reunion, which featured many acts from the 90s attempting to recapture their former glory. After a year of touring, Abs again left, leaving Five a three-some, who continue to tour under the name. 

(4/10)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the original video for the British release of "When The Lights Go Out", which has a different mix and a rap break from J. Brown...

Next up, the boys appearing on MTV to promote the single...

and lastly, live in concert...

Up tomorrow: Madge goes into warp speed.