Popworld - April 2002 Hi Guys! So were you fans of S Club 7 before you joined the Juniors?   STACEY: yeah. My mum and I were going to see them in concert [on the recent tour] for my birthday, but we didn't get tickets, then all this happened! ROCHELLE: I liked their albums. My favourite track is 'Change the World'. FRANKIE: I wasn't a fan of S Club, but I did listen to the music and their albums and stuff. My favourite song is 'Dance, Dance, Dance'. I love that song. CALVIN: I wasn't much of a fan of S Club before - I'm a heavy metal fan - but their music has grown on me since I've been in S Club Juniors! Are you excited about being in the group? ROCHELLE: I'm really looking forward to the TV shows - Frankie, Daisy and I used to do the cheerleading on SM:tv live. JAY: I cant wait for the single to come out. I cant wait to see how it does! Who is your favourite member of S Club 7 STACEY: I like them all now. But before all this it was Bradley. AARON: They've all got their own personalities, but Jo and Bradley are really friendly - they always come up to us and say hello. DAISY: I liked Hannah the best before. JAY: Now we've met them I think they are all really nice! What was it like meeting them for the first time? STACEY: I was like, 'OH MY GOD, I've never never been this close to a band before!' I was very excited - especially when Bradley winked at me! It was great meeting them, because they chose us! ROCHELLE: I was surprised that although they were famous they were still down-to-earth. AARON: Its hard to explain what its like to meet them. Rachel's much smaller in real life! HANNAH: I was really excited. They didn't look the same, and it felt like I was in a dream. You see them on LA7 on TV, then you see them in real life, saying 'hello' to you! Its really weird! I think they look different in real life! We see them in their normal clothes and they're just like us. They dont dress up all the time, just when they're performing. CALVIN: It was a bit strange, cos I'd never met anyone famous before. They're different in real life - they're all really small! When I had my picture taken with Rachel, she had to stand on a copy of the Yellow Pages! She was wearing high-heels, but she was still the same size as me. How was the tour? STACEY: I really enjoyed it. We were only supposed to be playing one show at Wembley, but we ended up doing most of the tour. It was a great opportunity for us! DAISY: Everyone was really encouraging - the crew [support act] 3SL, S Club 7 -and we had a fab time! Are you still at School? STACEY: We go to School when we home, but we have tutors, too. We do all the same things that we do at School, but this way the tutor gets to spend more time with each of us! HANNAH: Its much better that way, 'cos in a class there are usually about 30 people. But there are only eight of us and one tutor - so we get more attention and its easier to work. ROCHELLE: We still get to see our friends when we go home, which is cool. FRANKIE: And if we miss one day, we make the time up another day. We work really hard, 'cos its something new and different to singing, acting or dancing. Finally, are you ready for fame? ROCHELLE: We like to think so - we're ready for anything     Mizz - April 2002   So, how did you get into the band? Aaron: "In the middle of last year there were auditions for S Club Juniors." Daisy: "Then, in November 2001, S Club 7 came to pick the last auditions - they helped to pick us eight." Were any of you in showbiz before? Aaron: "Nah, but I did a couple of educational videos - you know, programmes that show people how to bandage cuts and stuff. I had to pretend to fall and hurt my leg in one. What about School? Jay: "We still have to study. We have three hours a day with tutors. At first it was weird, but we're used to it now." How are you different to S Club7, then? Calvin: "There's eight of us and we're way cooler! We've got the S Club name but we sing our own songs." The boys on the girls: Do you fancy the Junior gals? Jay: "Nah, we tease 'em too much to fancy 'em. Like in the hotel thes morning, there were only two bits of watermelon left for brekkie. Me and Clavin hate watermelon but knew the girls really wanted it, so we nabbed them just to wind 'em up." Aaron: "As you get to know the girls, you find out their bad bits. When you're around 'em 24/7 they do get on your nerves." If you were a girl for a day, what would you do? All boys: "Euugh! Why'd you wanna be a girl for a day?" Calvin: "It'd be so sad, I can do everything I want as a lad." Jay: "And if you're a girl, you've got so many things to do - l ike your hair and make-up. Being a boy I just get up and I'm ready." What's the biggest mystery about girls? Jay: "Thongs! Why do girls need them? The Junior girls wear 'em all the time and I can't work out why. What's wrong with pants?" Aaron: "I don't understand why girls take loads of clothes everywhere with them. I mean, Stacey's never come down to London without a huge suitcase. Is that really necessary?" Calvin: "And why do girls have to tell each other secrets? I can't understand what they're talking about." Ever had a girlfriend? Aaron and Jay: "Nah. Of course we all get our fair share of interest. But Calvin's the girl magnet." Calvin: "Yeah, I love looking out for hot girls! I've had girlfriends cos I just go up to lasses and chat. I used to get really embarrassed doing it, but Jay's good at talking to girls, so he gives me tips." Do you like it when girls ask you out? Calvin: "No, cos they always send two friends over to ask for them. It they're gonna do it, they should ask themselves." Own up - are girls really more mature than boys? Calvin: "Nooo! Well, not the Junior ones anyway." Jay: "Especially when they do stuff like link arms when they walk down the street. Everyone stares - it's so cringey." The girls on the boys... Tell us something we don't know about the Juniors lads... Frankie: "Calvin farts loads. And they reek. We always tell him to go to the toilet, but he never does - yuk!" Hannah: "Jay loves his teddy bear! He left it at the girls' apartment one night and he was almost in tears. He phoned up, begging us to look after it." Rochelle: "Aaron loves tomato sauce. He puts it on everything. Oh, and he sings all the time. We'll be going down the street and he'll start." Who's your biggest crush? Rochelle: "I don't think any of us have had one yet. But Calvin's had enough for all of us!" What do the boys worry about? Daisy: "Their hormones." Hannah: "And how they look. Like, one day Jay got a spot, screamed and ran into the bathroom. But it was so tiny, you couldn't even see it." Frankie: "Calvin worries about his hair. And girls, of course!" What's the best way to get round a lad? Frankie: "Batting your eyelashes. Ask a question and follow it with some lash fluttering. Trust me, it always works!" Which of the boys would you set a mate up with? All: "Calvin!" Stacey: "All of my school friends think he's lovely." Daisy: "...And he's got a nice personality. He can be quite shy but he looks after you." Complete the sentence: "Boys drive me mad cos..." Stacey: "... They try to hide it when they're hurt. Like the other day, Calvin was eating this really hot chilli... Hannah: "He swallowed it to be cool then pretended he was fine - even though he had to drink loads of water after. I wish he'd just admitted that it hurt."     Its Hot - 2002   Aaron I'd spend my perfect summer's day... on the beach in Cornwall, where I'm from. I'd get all my friends together to catch some waves. My best holiday memory is... having fun at Run To The Sun, a big party in my town. Loads of people come down in their Beetle cars and everyone goes out into the street for a giant water fight! People bring water pistols and water bombs and everyone gets soaks! Calvin I'd spend my perfect summer's day... at the beach! I'd chill out and maybe do some body-boarding. I'd take a really hot girl to the beach with me and I'd teach her, too! My best holiday memory is... playing in my aunt's swimming pool. She also had one of those games where you take a run up and throw yourself onto a board and stick to it! It was really fun there during the holidays! Daisy I'd spend my perfect summer's day... playing at a water park with loads of flumes and slides. My best holiday memory is... going bowling with my dad. Everyone else was out, so we just decided to go bowling on the spur of the moment! Frankie I'd spend my perfect summer's day... at Peter Pan's Playground at Southend-on-Sea in Essex. After going on the rides, I'd head for the beach with my school friends, and the rest of S Club Juniors. My best holiday memory is... going to Turkey - we go there every year. It's really hot when we go, and there are some great water parks! Hannah I'd spend my perfect summer's day... having a massive garden party with loads of friends. We'd fill up the paddling pool, and stay outside 'til it got really dark. My best holiday memory is... going to the beach really early in the morning with my family - there was no-one elsethere! We made the first footprints in the sand! But we also got sand in our sandwiches! Jay I'd spend my perfect summer's day... at the funfair. I'd go on all the rides with my mates - especially the dodgems. My best holiday memory is... going to see my nan in America. She lives in Florida, where Disney World is, so it's pretty handy when we visit! Last year we went to a water park. It was really hot over there, too. Rochelle I'd spend my perfect summer's day... getting together with my friends and family and going to a playground. After that, I'd like to go for a massage and get my nails done! My best holiday memory is... having a grass fight. It sounds silly, but we stuffed grass down each other's tops and it was so funny! Stacey I'd spend my perfect summer's day... at Blackpool Pleasure Beach with my mum, dad and brother. There are thousands of rides - you couldn't go on them all, even if you had a whole week! My best holiday memory is... having a massive water fight in my back garden! All the children from the street came round, and by the end of the day, the garden was really wet!     Top of the Pops - 2002   Alright, Clubbers, does it feel like you're living the high life yet? Calvin: Yeah I think we are at the moment. We're just having the best time ever as loads of new and exciting stuff is happening to us. Jay: We just recorded our second video in Malaga and it was really special. We were only there for four days, but it was just brilliant. Rochelle: We're getting treated like royalty - but we don't see ourselves like that at all. Frankie: It's not all glamorous, though - everything isn't done for you. We're still normal, we just have a few extra things - like we get driven places and stay in hotels. Daisy: We do different stuff from most kids... Stacey: But we've still got to tidy up and do chores. Me and Hannah are always having a go at Calvin cos he never does anything. Hannah: It is good being a pop star - everyone is so kind to us. It's lovely. Aaron: We're just really enjoying what we're doing at the moment and having a good time. What's the glammest thing you've done so far? Daisy: Going to the Queen's house! Frankie: We came of the stage at Blue Peter Jubilee celebrations in Birmingham and got straight in a limo, which drove us to a 12-seater helicopter, which flew us to London, where we got a people carrier with a police escort to Buckingham Palace! Rochelle: And it's great getting your hair and make-up done by professionals every day. Has all this mollycoddling created any junior divas? Hannah: We're just normal, really. None of us are really like that. Frankie: I think Daisy's bad for that. She's like, "Where's the camera?" Daisy: No I'm not! Frankie: Wherever there are fans she'll just sit there staring, waiting for them to say something. Daisy: I don't! I don't! Stacey: We went on an open-top bus in London and we were shouting for people to cheer up and Daisy was like, "Hellooo! We're S Club Juniors." It was really funny. Daisy: That wasn't me! Now now! Do you like being famous? Aaron: Nah, we hate it. Ha-ha! Frankie: We don't really think about it. Whenever people say, "Whoa! you're famous now!" we're like, "Er, no, we're not." Stacey: So when you meet a mate, they say, "How much are you bringing out to town? Two thousand, a million?" We're not loaded - we don't care about the money. What famous peep have you schmoozed with? Rochelle: Blue, Westlife, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Ronan and Sugababes. We just bump into people at recording studios and TV shows. Stacey: The most famous person we've met is Victoria Beckham. Aaron: We got on well with Will and Gareth. Darius was dead funny too. We only met him for ten minutes, but he was a really nice bloke. Jay: We met Emma Bunton - she was really shot! She was wearin big heels, but she was still smaller than me and Aaron. We know you're not all angels, so when was the last time you were out of order? Calvin: Me and Jay went on holidays to Tenerife ad threw all the mums and the girls into the pool and they were like, "Right, it's not funny any more - we're freezing!" But then these boys the girls had made friends with took me and Jay by our arms and legs and chucked us into the pool. Daisy: Recently we were left with the chaperone and cameraman on out tour bus while everyone else went to the shops. For a joke we tied our chaperone up - she said we could - and all eight of us crammed into the toilet. When they came back, they we're like, "Oh, no!" Rochelle: And we came bursting out of the toilet, and went, "Aaargh!" They were in tears, as they thought we'd tied up the chaperone and run away. What pushes your buttons? Daisy: Pink! Calvin: We all like playing computer games. I like rock music like Sum 41 and Linkin Park, too. Rochelle: Clothes, shopping and spending time with our families. Frankie: Shopping with my mum - then I don't have to pay for anything, ha-ha! Apart from being a Clubber, what's your biggest ambition? Stacey: I want to be the voice of a Disney character. Ever since I saw The Little Mermaid, I've wanted to be like Ariel. Daisy: I want to be a hair stylist and make-up artist. Hannah: When I'm older, I'd quite like to be a nursery-school teacher - I love children. How will you know when you've reached the top pop floor? Daisy: When we have a No 1 songle. Calvin: A Brit award would be good. Jay: With the next tour, we're gonna feel absolutely on top of the world because people will have paid to see us. Aaron: It will be when we do a movie like the Spice Girls did and like S Club are doing. Rochelle: And have our own TV programme! Frankie: Or when we start having our own merchandise - like pecil cases and dolls. Hannah: I think it will be when everybody recognises us. That's starting to happen already, actually. When we did Top Of The Pops, loads of people recognised us. Stacey: We've made it already, in a way, otherwise we wouldn't be doing this!   This isnt an interview as such but it is an article about the scj, which also happens to be untrue The kids are all right Pushy parents, no friends, leering adults - the world of the child pop star can be a living hell. So what chance do S Club Juniors have? Peter Robinson went behind the scenes to find out Saturday October 26, 2002 The Guardian In April, the greatness of S Club Juniors' debut single One Step Closer was overshadowed not just by the Sugababes, who pipped the octet to No 1, but by a wave of Daily Mail-style outrage. Though most of the 11- to 14-year-olds were already veterans of stage and screen, the critics, in between puff pieces for the next Harry Potter movie, roared that they'd been plucked from happy homes to be exploited for the benefit of Simon Fuller's satanic S Club brand - robbed of their childhood, paraded for the benefit of Jonathan King and forced to sing rubbish pop music. The first blow for the cynics came when it turned out that last month's single, New Direction, their third, was very rubbish indeed. But do the other points still stand? If one were, hypothetically, to spend two days with the band, would one really witness eight lonely children wedged up the pop chimney? Wednesday, October 2 10am We arrive at the Juniors' north London abode. This is where Calvin, Stacey, Aaron and Hannah live with the band's two full-time chaperones, Pat and Mary, and where the other, local Juniors stay when there's an early start. Pat and Mary also keep note of the time - the Juniors can't work over four hours a day without permission from each member's local council, and this all has to be juggled with 15 school hours per week. Which is where they are now, behind closed doors with their personal tutor, Jo. 11.30 The tutoring finishes and eight hellos are chirped. Rochelle's is slightly less happy - she's sporting an eye patch, having had a lump removed. "Rochelle mings!" Aaron sensitively exclaims. 12.20 Stacey is sent to tidy her room. When we inspect her progress she's jumping around on the bed with Hannah. 1pm The Juniors are on their way to TV Centre to appear on CBBC's Xchange. "Do you have a CD player?" Calvin innocently asks the driver. As he hands over his Stamford Amp single, chaperone Mary lets out a world-weary sigh. It's been the soundtrack of the house for the past week. 1.05 Calvin and Aaron have agreed that the Stamford Amp b-side isn't up to much and demand track one again. Calvin perks up when Mary reveals builders near the house "have left another pallet in the skip". He's desperate for a coffee table in the living room, and a stack of pallets may fit the bill. 3.05 We arrive at TV Centre. Aaron, high on the excitement of spotting Jennifer Saunders, runs off in the direction of an ice-cream stall. 3.15 Make-up. Jay is sprawled on the sofa kicking his legs on the air, trilling "Rochelle mings! Rochelle mings," as Mary attempts to regain order. She turns to us. "I'll tell you what, when you're with them day after day... " Aaron lands on her stomach. "OOF!" 3.18 "We were on the news last night!" Aaron suddenly recalls. "They said we stole Hear'say's fans!" He lets out a demonic cackle. 3.20 Aaron emerges from a water fight with his trousers soaked, permitting Frankie to announce, in time-honoured fashion: "Look, everyone, Aaron's wet himself." 4.12 "Owww!!" howls Mary. "My boobs!" Calvin is hanging from her neck as Jay launches himself, from a chair, onto her shoulders. 4.45 Xchange rehearsals. Frankie is gargling with water, Stacey is throwing handkerchiefs around and Daisy is a human bingo machine. The boys are reviewing the video games, which seems rather more dignified. 5.00 We're backstage at Xchange. "Shit," mutters Rochelle - the much-fancied Blazin' Squad are heading her way and she's lumbered with an embarrassing eye patch. "What happened to your eye?" asks a Squaddie. "I had to have a lump removed," replies a mortified Rochelle. The silence is pierced when one of the boys unhelpfully reveals that his kid brother likes S Club Juniors. 5.50 Xchange is live on air. As the Juniors wait in the wings, someone farts. "Smell Stacey's bum!" yells Frankie. "Go on then!" challenges a furious Stacey. "Smell my bum!" The culprit is never located. 6.30 Xchange is over and S Club Juniors are recording the link for a Saturday Show competition. "Do I have to do the dance at the end?" moans Calvin. "And I don't want to do the spin." Aaron breaks the tension by showing off his freaky elbow, and day one of our S Club Juniors experience is over. Thursday, October 3 7.30am A Soho entryphone crackles with screeches and whoops. Our hosts for the day have taken control of the Popworld intercom. In the green room, we find Jay sporting a rubber monkey mask and Calvin, headphones in place, nodding silently on a chair. He's still listening to Stamford Amp. The plan is to record a performance of New Direction for Popworld before scooting off to the studio to catch up on tutoring and record Sleigh Ride as a festive b-side. 7.40 Aaron debates the injustice of not being invited to the MOBOs. "Atomic Kitten?" he wails, waving a tabloid. "What were they doing there?" Assurance of an invite to the Disney Awards doesn't help. 8.30 Amy, their stylist, explains the problems of dressing the Juniors. Far from stripping the kids for the dirty mac brigade, her biggest task is covering them up. "We have no midriffs or low-cut tops," she says, "even though it's what they actually want to wear." On cue, Jay unveils his new T-shirt. The slogan, "Satisfaction guaranteed", prompts squeals of approval from the others. 9.10 The boys are holding court by the gents. "Someone," splutters Calvin, "has done a really big smell!" 9.50 The S Club entourage is being introduced to the camera crew. "I'm the PR," says the PR. "Well done," says a jaded cameraman. 10.00 New Direction run-through for Popworld. Aaron smiles broadly, Jay looks a bit baffled, Calvin just looks bored. Aaron slips over mid-routine and the Juniors' collective laughter sounds like gerbils in a tumble dryer. 10.15 Stacey is challenged by one of the production crew to lick a discoloured banana, for a quid. 10.16 Stacey deposits a shiny £1 in her pocket as the band record a good luck message for the kids' Stars In Their Eyes final. 2pm We're at The Depot, where production aces Jewels & Stone are perfecting the Juniors' version of Sleigh Ride. Between sessions in the vocal booth (the lyric sheet reads simply, "Ring-a-ling-a-ling-a-ding-dong-ding") the band endure a group RE session with tutor Jo. Festive clangs from the next room prove to be distracting. Jo: "You're not working your best today." Jay: (Brandishing his homework) "Jay is working his best!" Jo: "Jay, do not answer me back. Stacey, where do your religious beliefs come from?" Stacey: "Blackpool." Rochelle: "My religion is called Discothequism and the god of that religion is... me!" Daisy: "Hannah's just put paper in my drink!" Jo: "Aaron, what have you called your religion?" Aaron: "Nothing." Jo: "It has to have a name." Aaron: "But it's the religion of nothing, so it's called Nothing." Jo: "Can you think of anything better, Aaron?" Aaron: (After long pause) "Nothingism?" 3.20 The hymn for Jay's religion will be Half A Heart by H & Claire. "The remix," he clarifies. He finds a picture of a pirate on his worksheet. "Look!" he howls, "it's Rochelle!" Rochelle kicks a giggling Calvin under the table. 4.00 Time for a PSE lesson. This week: how to deal with your mum when you've had a bad report. "Tie her up!" squeals Stacey. 4.12 Jay returns after a lengthy absence. "Why have you been so long?" asks Jo. "Because," Jay states triumphantly, "I went for a poo." On which note, we leave a band who, behind the high spirits, farting, ringtones and water fights, really aren't the bratty stagekids you'll see on TV. They're less naive than many musicians twice their age and, if anything, the more articulate members seem to dumb down for the cameras. "People say we're losing our childhood," Aaron reckons, "but all I do when I'm at home is muck around and play with my friends, and that's what I do in S Club Juniors." Or, as Jay puts it: "People don't need to worry - we're teenagers! We're not SEVEN!"