Five star Scott Robinson insists less is more when it comes to playing the numbers game.
The boyband are back on the road for a new tour, but it’s a stripped down line-up after the departures of original members Abz and J.
Scott, though, is unabashed about it being just himself, Sean Conlon and Ritchie Neville who will take to the stage in Glasgow next month.
“We might take a bit of stick about being three instead of five, but we really don’t care,” Scott told The Sunday Post.
“People look at Five as a number, but it’s just a band name to us. Take That, for instance, are down to three now.
“They’ve got fantastic music out and are still going strong and no one bats an eyelid.
“We’re not long off the Big Reunion Boyband tour and there were a few comments beforehand about it being a joke with there just being the three of us.
“But when I looked at the tweets after the first gig there wasn’t a single negative one.
“Everyone was saying that we smashed it and at the end of the day it’s all about the fans.”
There have been turbulent times along the way but Scott is quick to insist that he’s “never been happier” to be a member of Five.
“Everything is working, we’re all on the same page and it’s never been a nicer place to be.”
But he’s equally quick to give his version of how things have come to pass.
“When we first got back together about five years ago it was never going to work,” he says earnestly.
“None of the boys were ready. J didn’t even want to sing the old songs.
“It was ludicrous how can you go and do a tour for your fans and sing all new music? When we first got offered the Big Reunion, J didn’t want to do that. It was his choice and we respected that.
“The fans embraced us as a four-piece but then Abz lost his way and said he wasn’t enjoying himself.
“He let us down majorly by sending a tweet saying he wasn’t a member of the band without as much as a text. But we did the Big Reunion tour and now we’re on this tour so things are now very positive.
“It’s not like we’re begging people, they are coming to book us so whatever we are doing now seems to be working. We’re making music we want to sing on stage and making people smile.”
Scott, 34, says this Loud and Intimate tour, with still all the hits but a more personal touch is exactly how they want to play things.
The tour kicks off in Bristol and they are at the ABC in Glasgow on Saturday, April 18.
It’s a bit different from the heady days of their heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s when they sold 20 million records after being signed by Simon Cowell and BMG/RCA to a six-album deal.
But being on the road these days is also somewhat different for Essex lad Scott.
He’s a dad-of-four now and he and wife Kerry are especially hands on with their twin girls Bobbi-Rayne and Kayde-Rose.
“Touring can be difficult but I make it work,” Scott confides.
“I really like getting family around me so Kerry comes and we take the girls. The boys come when they’re not at school. I really don’t function without my family at my side.”
The twins turned one in January and Scott is hopeful that by the time the band hit the road this time round they might even know that it’s their dad on stage.
There’s no doubting that being a dad is what Scott loves best and he paints a rosy picture of hectic domestic life.
“Having twins really isn’t as bad as everyone thinks it is. Kerry and I are lucky in that I don’t work all the time and so we do get to spend a lot of time at home. So we very much share things.
“Sometimes I’ll bath one and she’ll bath the other or I’ll bath both and she’ll get them ready for bed. We really take turns in helping each other out. That’s particularly nice in the morning.
“We take turns over who is getting up first and getting on with everything and who enjoys that extra half-hour in bed!”
Five: Loud and Intimate, ABC, Glasgow, Saturday, April 18. Visit kililive.com for ticket info.
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