Five singer Jason Brown has revealed why the Nineties boyband reunited as a five-piece, admitting they turned down multiple offers before agreeing to a massive arena tour.
Reunion After Years Apart
The band, which split in 2001, briefly reunited in 2006 before going separate ways. In 2012, they performed on ITV's The Big Reunion without Jason, who declined due to privacy concerns. He hadn't spoken to his bandmates for years.
However, last year, Brown rejoined Abz Love, Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville, and Sean Conlon for a tour. Speaking to the Mirror at Download Festival, Brown said: "Life, it all just worked out."
Rebuilding Friendships
Brown explained that petty issues had caused distance. "Some of us haven't spoken for many years... We didn't see each other, decided it had been far too long." He had only met one of Sean's children and none of his other bandmates' kids.
"We all got chatting again, and out of talking, realising that the friendship was all still exactly the same... stuff just started unfolding."
Turning Down Offers
Brown revealed: "We started getting offers for things, we turned it down saying we don't really want to do anything. Then we got offered an arena tour and we said 'Ok' to that – that turned from 12 dates to 25 arenas and it's kept snowballing. And now we're at Download."
Scott Robinson said the band is taking things organically, enjoying being offered gigs and deciding which to play. Sean Conlon admitted they are "embracing the moment" and couldn't believe it had been a year since they joined Robbie Williams on stage at Wembley.
Festival Advice
Ritchie Neville joked: "Poo before you arrive." Jay added: "Try and pitch your tent with a bit of shade." Despite Download's rock and metal reputation, Ritchie said: "It wasn't something I personally had on my cards... but here we are." Jason quipped: "I wouldn't have thought we'd ever be invited to play at Download, but here we are and we're doing it."
