This was a memorable moment... S Club were interviewed by Claudia Winkleman(!!) in 2003, and she asked them about the rumours that they weren't paid well. Jo was attempting to diplomatically answer the question, when a PR woman stormed in and forced the interview to end and said that were leaving! :o

 

 

What are your opinions on this shocking moment? Was the PR person right to intervene because of the question Claudia asked, or was it unprofessional for her to lose her cool and potentially embarrass S Club in an interview that ended up airing anyway?

 

I lean towards unprofessional... S Club were handling themselves fine, with Hannah and Bradley jokingly brushing it off and Jo answering the question - it seemed like they would have got through it without a drama had it not been for the PR's outburst.

 

Apparently this happened on 22nd May 2003, which was 4 days before the Say Goodbye/Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You single was released. I suppose any promo is good promo!

 

The funny thing is that the discrepancy between what the group generated money-wise, compared to what they were personally paid, was actually true and after the group was over certain members did confirm it. Hannah stated that she earned an average of £150,000 per year over their 4 years of activity. Of course that's decent money compared to what a lot of people earn, but it would undoubtedly have been a very small percentage of what the group earned for their label and management... it must have been a pretty bad contract. For the success they achieved, they should have become multi-millionaires!

Looked to me like the PR woman was saving the record label's bacon. S Club were terribly underpaid

omg I LOVE PR moments like this when they have to intervene - this is one of the most major I've seen though! Surely it creates WORSE PR though because it basically shows they were underpaid and it makes it a bigger talking point than it would ordinarily.

They were really underpaid for both tje success they had and the amount of work they did! Let's not forget that thry filmed a full tv series, abroad, every year as well as releasing and promoting a single every three months & an album about every year.

it wasn't until we made this forum that i actually looked up what happened to most of them. it's pretty sad, you'd think they would've been paid way more from it all!

I rewatched that interview last night!! :lol: The lady who speaks at the end provides an interesting insight - it wasn't a forbidden topic by their PR so interrupting the interview was unprofessional and a really bad look. Not the band's fault, they were handling it reasonably well!

Another major controversy:

 

Wednesday, 21 March, 2001, 09:25 GMT

S Club 7 stars found with drugs

 

The three male members of teen pop band S Club 7 have been cautioned for possessing cannabis.

Bradley McIntosh, 18, Paul Cattermole, 24, and Jon Lee, 19, were found carrying the drug in London's West End.

 

The trio were arrested and formally cautioned on Tuesday after passing officers smelled the drugs, according to the Sun newspaper.

 

A Scotland Yard spokesman told BBC News Online that three men aged 18, 24 and 19 were arrested for possession of a small amount of cannabis.

 

"Arrests were made in the Covent Garden area at 1630 GMT yestersday [Tuesday]."

 

The three were taken to Charing Cross police station where they received a formal caution and were released. No further action will be taken.

 

'Shocked'

 

The Metropolitan Police have said all three had admitted the offence.

 

S Club 7's girl members - Rachel Stevens, 21, Tina Barratt, 24, Hannah Spearitt, 19, and Jo O'Meara, 24 - were said by the paper to be "shocked" by the arrests.

 

The band were launched on a BBC children's TV programme, and a string of hits, including Reach and Never Had A Dream Come True, followed.

 

The band's fun, clean-cut image has endeared them to thousands of pre-teen fans.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1232884.stm

 

Wednesday, 21 March, 2001, 17:04 GMT

S Club boys 'sorry' after drugs bust

 

Three stars of pop group S Club 7 have apologised for being "stupid" after they were arrested for possessing drugs.

 

The act's male members, Bradley McIntosh, 18, Paul Cattermole, 24, and Jon Lee, 19, said they felt they had let their fans down.

 

The trio released a joint statement saying: "We have been very stupid, we know we've made a mistake and we're very sorry."

 

They were arrested, strip-searched and cautioned on Tuesday after police found them carrying a small amount of cannabis in Covent Garden, central London.

 

A spokesperson for the group added: "The band are gutted by this. They rate their fans very highly and they know that they have let a lot of people down. Now they're learning their lesson the hard way."

 

Family groups have urged broadcasting authorities to take action and asked them to remember the "enormous responsibility that they have".

 

Sponsors 'disappointed'

 

The group have also proved attractive to advertisers, and recently appeared in a spot for BT.

 

The telecoms giant, which has a two-year sponsorship deal with them, said it was "extremely disappointed" to learn of the caution.

 

A spokesman said: "The company would never condone the use of drugs.

 

"Although the campaign of television advertisements featuring the group has ended, promotional activities will continue with no plans to terminate the contract with S Club 7.

 

"BT will periodically review the contract, as we do with all sponsorship agreements."

 

Another sponsor, confectionery company Cadbury's, said it was "very disappointed".

 

A spokesman added: "We are confident there will be no recurrence and regard this matter as closed."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1233678.stm

 

 

I remember this was such big and shocking news at the time, but it didn't actually damage them commercially in the end... just two months later and Don't Stop Movin' became the group's biggest hit yet! :lol: Although apparently their merch sales were damaged...

 

 

Friday, 15 February, 2002, 16:23 GMT

S Club 7 face lawsuit

 

S Club 7 are facing an £800,000 lawsuit from a merchandising company who claim that the group's drugs scandal last year ruined its sales.

PMS International, who make S Club 7's official key rings, lunchboxes and mugs, say the high-profile drugs arrests made retailers reluctant to buy products from them.

 

S Club 7's male members, Bradley McIntosh, Paul Cattermole and Jon Lee, were arrested and cautioned for possessing cannabis in March 2001.

 

PMS are now awaiting a response to a letter to the group's management company, 19, who say the claim is "absolute rubbish" and have vowed to fight the suit.

 

PMS had bought the worldwide rights to make some official items, which also included toys, stationary, make-up sets and bags, for $900,000 (£630,000).

 

They expected to make profits by selling the merchandise on to retailers - but said there was "buyer resistance" to items bearing S Club 7's image after the arrests.

 

"I've been aware of a growing sense of unease as these stories broke and there were subsequent references to the drugs matter," a spokesman for PMS told BBC News Online.

 

"It has caused us a great deal of concern and we have been advised by our lawyers as to which way to go."

 

He said it may not have had a big effect on the group's young fans, "but it certainly affected the adult buyers with whom we deal".

 

The day after the arrests, the trio apologised to their fans, saying: "We have been very stupid, we know we've made a mistake and we're very sorry."

 

The incident also reportedly persuaded the Labour Party to reject an S Club 7 song, Reach, as their election campaign anthem while Quaker Oats ended talks about the act advertising their products.

 

'Unfortunate'

 

But they did keep deals with BT and Cadbury's and were recruited to front Pepsi ads just two weeks after the arrests.

 

"I have to say that we still think that S Club 7 are absolutely terrific, not only musically but as people, but it's just a very unfortunate set of circumstances," the PMS spokesman said.

 

A lawyer for 19 Management said: "The claim is absolute rubbish and if they do issue proceedings they will be viciously defended."

 

S Club 7's latest single, You, is not expected to reach number one on Sunday despite the fact that their last three UK singles hit the top spot.

DRAMA! :o

 

Re: the interview thing, they had already been doing soooo many interviews, I'm sure they would've been able to deflect any questions like this with SO much ease :lol:

The drug thing could've been really disastrous for them, it totally went against their family-friendly image. Pretty impressive that they managed to claw it back!

The thing with them being paid a fixed wage I don’t really see the big deal? I mean they were earning far more than most people 150k is an incredible wage now never mind back then. The thing with S Club is they were a manufactured band who had no input into their own careers, they didn’t write any of their songs, they didn’t do any of their film or TV show scripts, they didn’t choreograph their own routines they literally just had it all handed to them and did their job, why do they warrant being multi-millionaires they didn’t do anything for it, their record company and managers and songwriters etc were the ones that did all that work they were just their puppets. It’s unfair when you compare them to other pop groups / pop stars who were of similar irk to S Club ala Steps etc... but then I don’t necessarily think they deserve to be millionaires either they are just incredibly lucky.

Edited April 13, 20205 yr by Spiceboy

"They didn't do anything for it" seems a bit unfair when they were the image of the group and a major part of the reason why it was the success it was! They still had to put in the work to do all this: recording studio sessions, dance rehearsals, photo shoots, promoting singles/albums on TV shows with interviews and performances, press interviews, touring, and learning their lines for numerous TV series, TV specials and a movie. All of this was to ensure that S Club 7 was hugely successful, which mostly lined the pockets of their management!

 

Of course £600k over 4 years is more than most people could dream of, but then most people could only dream of being famous pop stars... and the majority of artists who achieved the level of success S Club 7 attained were making a fortune! I don't think it's about warranting it per se (you could argue most celebrities don't warrant the wealth they have), but if things had been on a level playing field and they'd had a better contract, they really ought to have made more money.

 

S Club 7 do have some writing credits by the way: Bring It All Back, Best Friend [bradley], Don't Stop Movin', Sunshine, Stronger, I Will Find You [bradley], Summertime Feeling [Paul], Straight from the Heart, Secret Love [Tina], Discotek [Tina]. You'd hope the credits on Bring It All Back and Don't Stop Movin' would bring in some money for the group members, but judging by Paul's financial woes, it doesn't seem it's very much.

re those articles I'm just shook that Jon, Bradley and Hannah were teenagers when the band started! And that Paul, Jo & Tina were 6 years older! They always looked about the same age.

Edited April 13, 20205 yr by fl00zy*

S Club 7 do have some writing credits by the way: Bring It All Back, Best Friend [bradley], Don't Stop Movin', Sunshine, Stronger, I Will Find You [bradley], Summertime Feeling [Paul], Straight from the Heart, Secret Love [Tina], Discotek [Tina]. You'd hope the credits on Bring It All Back and Don't Stop Movin' would bring in some money for the group members, but judging by Paul's financial woes, it doesn't seem it's very much.

 

They must be getting a few pennies from Bring It All Back and Don’t Stop Movin’ at least. I know Billie Jean is similar to Don’t Stop Movin’ but I never knew Michael Jackson was credited on it! :o