Pop music rarely makes us think about mortality. But it’s something that hangs heavily over S Club tonight, the teenage pop group who came to prominence as S Club 7 on the 90s kids TV show Miami 7, who now return after the sudden death of member Paul Cattermole at 46 earlier this year.
With Hannah Spearritt leaving the group, S Club come back as five, stepping out in glittery bright outfits with each member in blue, red, yellow, pink and green – almost recalling the Power Rangers. Which feels apt, because this is very much a plunge back in time to the era of Saturday morning kids TV as pop phenomenon.
The opening S Club Party reminds us there’s no party like an S Club party but it’s one that’s feeling a little dated and tired. The choreographed dance moves are very old school and there’s lots of gesturing, waving and blowing kisses to the audience, while it becomes clear the backing track they all sing on top of is going to be doing a hell of a lot of heavy lifting.
There are plenty of moments of bright, bubbly, bouncy fun; be it the 60s girl group swing of You’re My Number One, the funk-pop of Bring the House Down, or the disco-indebted Don’t Stop Movin’ – which acts as a potent reminder of its once inescapable ubiquity.
An extensive video tribute to Cattermole marks the halfway point as S Club return dressed in black. “We miss you every single day,” says Bradley McIntosh, holding back tears, before they “bring it back for Paul” via the school disco anthem Bring It All Back.
Production-wise, this isn’t a blockbuster pop show. There’s a staircase the band walk up and down a bit, a sliding door they enter in and out of, and some fairly basic visuals and lights. It’s not explosive, dynamic or unpredictable but familiar, safe, and reliable. But perhaps this is intentional. Existing to soothe and comfort, and to reinstate a feeling of vigour, hope and optimism after a period, for fans and members, of turbulence and loss.