Five's Sean Conlon

The 90s are back. From the curtain haircut to boybands, it is as if the era of plastic pop and British indie never went away. Steps are once again riding high in the charts and the Backstreet Boys are dominating TikTok. Having initially reformed for the Big Reunion nearly a decade ago, Five are finally ready to release new music. Now a three-piece, they have teased their fans with singles throughout 2021, but January 2022 is the big year. Former The Voice contestant, Sean Conlon, tells us more...

Hi Sean, first of all, how are you?

I am very well thank you. Thankful to be back gigging with guys and releasing new music after lockdown etc.

It's hard to believe Five are finally releasing a new studio album.Tell us how it came about?

We never had the time before as we had so many shows. We also had a bit of fear, as there are three of us in the band now and we weren’t sure if it would be accepted. We are lucky to have had massive hits in the past, but that also brings a pressure as new music would always be compared to what we did before. The Covid situation changed our perspective and made us decide to just do it for the love of it and because it felt right.

It's been 20 years since your last studio album - what can your audience expect?

A little bit of what we were mixed with some songs being a little more mature.

The album is called Time... Is that just because you finally had time to create an album?

It’s named that because after all the fear and self doubt, all three of us just felt it was the right time to do new music. Time is precious and we decided we needed to follow our hearts no matter what.

Equally unbelievable is that nearly a decade has passed since you reunited on The Big Reunion. You are now a three-piece - did you ever consider relaunching under a new band name?

No we didn’t. We are original members of the band. The other two guys didn’t want to continue and we respect their choice. We will never forget how J and Abz contributed to our past success. That is part of our story.

The material released to date from the album has echoes of your earlier releases, but also feels very current. Was that a conscious
decision?

Yes and no. We never wanted to just try repeat what we were as those songs could never be beaten. So we wanted to hint to the past whilst being true to who we are now. But most of the sound and the songs themselves were just what came out of us naturally.

The industry has changed radically since your global domination, what expectations do you have for the album release?

We are realistic, we were a 90’s band and we are releasing music in 2021, so we don’t expect the global domination of before. However, we are blown away by the response the Five fans have given us to the new music so far. It was a relief to play them live and see that they were excited to hear them.

Do you think social media and streaming have been beneficial to the industry?

Yes there is nothing between artists and their fans now. We can speak and communicate directly with each other. It wasn’t like that in the 90’s.

You have of course dabbled with reality TV and talent shows, are you glad to now just focus on the music?

For me personally I am in my element when we are focusing on the music. But I understand we are an entertainment band so TV is also important.

Have you ever considered sitting on a TV judging panel?

Definitely not, I don’t consider myself in a position to judge anybody, I am still learning.

Lastly, if you were to, what one piece of advice would you offer?

Just be yourself no matter what. As in the end that is all you can be.

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Five release 'Time', their first album in 20 years on 28th January. Available to pre order from 3rd December