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911 (English group)

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911
911 performing live in Glasgow on 7 May 2013 (L-R: Jimmy Constable, Lee Brennan and Spike Dawbarn).
911 performing live in Glasgow on 7 May 2013 (L-R: Jimmy Constable, Lee Brennan and Spike Dawbarn).
Background information
OriginCarlisle, England, UK
Genres
Years active
  • 1995–1999
  • 2008
  • 2012–present
Labels
MembersLee Brennan
Jimmy Constable
Spike Dawbarn
Websitewww.911official.com

911 (pronounced "nine one one") are an English pop group consisting of Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable and Simon "Spike" Dawbarn. They were formed in Glasgow in 1995 and released their debut single "Night to Remember" in May 1996. This was followed by their debut album The Journey in March 1997, which was certified Gold by the BPI in November 1997. 911 released two more Silver-certified albums, Moving On and There It Is, in 1998 and 1999, respectively. There It Is also produced their only UK number-one single, a cover of "A Little Bit More", which topped the UK Singles Chart in January 1999.

In their five years together, 911 scored ten UK top 10 singles. They sold 10 million singles and 6 million albums around the world,[1] and were very popular in Southeast Asia, where their first two albums went to number one.[2] They split in late 1999.[3]

In October 2012, it was announced that 911 would again reunite for the ITV2 reality-documentary series The Big Reunion, along with Atomic Kitten, Liberty X, B*Witched, Five and Honeyz in January 2013. Due to the highly positive reception, the groups went on an arena tour around the UK and Ireland. Their comeback album Illuminate... (The Hits and More) was released on 8 September 2013, along with their comeback single "2 Hearts 1 Love". In early 2014, 911 headlined their own UK tour - The Illuminate: The Hits and More Tour.

Career

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1995: Formation

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Dancers Jimmy Constable and Simon "Spike" Dawbarn met in the early 1990s through a fellow dancer named Clive. Before long, Constable and Dawbarn were chosen to work as dancers on the late-night ITV music show The Hit Man and Her.[4] In 1995, after seeing how successful Jason Orange, who used to be a dancer on the show, had been with boy band Take That (and having also become more popular than the acts they were dancing for), Constable and Dawbarn decided to put their own group together.[5] At Carlisle's radio station CFM Radio, they found Steve Gilmour, who had previously managed PJ & Duncan and Boyzone, and asked him to be their manager a few months later. Gilmour initially turned them down, but Constable and Dawbarn continued to gain more and more fans as time went on. Every time their paths crossed, Constable would show Gilmour the fanmail they were receiving and they were also one of the seven acts to be booked at the Sands Centre in Carlisle, again for CFM.[6]

Gilmour had finally become convinced and he decided to manage them but they were short of a singer. Lee Brennan, who had been a fan of Dawbarn and Constable on The Hit Man and Her, was recruited following a recommendation by Gilmour. After moving into Gilmour's three-bedroom flat in the south side of Glasgow,[7][8] 911 embarked on a massive tour of schools and under-18 clubs all over the UK in order to build up their growing army of teenage followers, and fast became crowd favourites on road shows during the Summer of 1995.[9] Despite their immense popularity, they were turned down by every record company they turned to.[10] After being unable to secure a major record deal, 911 and their management team Backlash decided to form their own record label, Ginga Records, with funding from businessman Frank Shapiro.[11]

1996–1999: Success

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In April 1996, they released their debut single, a cover of Shalamar's "Night to Remember", which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 38 in May.[11] In July, their second single "Love Sensation" was released; later featured in the 1997 live-action film Casper: A Spirited Beginning, it charted even higher at number 21 in August. The success of these two independently released singles created a major record label bidding war and in September 1996, 911 were signed up by Richard Branson's Virgin Records on a £3.5 million, four-album deal. 911 won GMTV's 'Search for the Next Big Thing' and were voted the 'Second Best Newcomer' after the Spice Girls in Smash Hits.[12]

911 had their first top 10 hit in November 1996 with "Don't Make Me Wait", which reached number 10.[13] Nine more successive UK top 10 hits followed, including "Bodyshakin'" (which became their signature song), "Private Number" and the UK chart-topper "A Little Bit More".[13] During this time, 911 released three studio albums, The Journey (1997), Moving On (1998) and There It Is (1999), all of which hit the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart. They also sold out 35 theatre dates in just 30 minutes for their first headline tour. In Malaysia, The Journey was number one for 20 weeks and every one of their singles was number one as well.

However, after a gruelling schedule the band began to fall apart, with Constable descending into alcoholism (on one occasion appearing on SMTV Live drunk), Dawbarn beginning to suffer agoraphobia and Brennan, the band's pin-up and lead singer, starting to feel increasingly insecure about his image and looks. At the end of 1999, they released a greatest hits album entitled The Greatest Hits and a Little Bit More, which included (at the time) their final single "Wonderland", before splitting up. On The Big Reunion, Dawbarn said: "We knew we'd reached our peak and we were kind of that little decline and we thought, 'It's best getting out at the top.'"[14] Constable was also told by the other two that he would be the one to break the news of their break-up live on Chris Moyles' Radio 1 show. In a 2005 interview with The Guardian, Constable said: "I didn't have any time to get my head around it. I had a lump in my throat saying it, then we came out of Radio 1 and the other two guys went to the pub. I got in my car and took off and I never saw them for two years."[15]

2008: First reunion

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In 2008, 911 reformed for a nightclub tour of the UK and Republic of Ireland, performing their most popular hits, and have also performed at a number of nightclub and university events, and they entertained the crowd prior to the Bradford Bulls clash with Leeds Rhinos on 23 May 2008.[16] They took part in Living's Pop Goes the Band; where they came together to get back to their boy band ways, resulting in a live performance of "Bodyshakin'".[17]

2012: Second reunion

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911 reunited in 2012, along with Atomic Kitten, Liberty X, B*Witched, Five and Honeyz, for the ITV2 documentary series The Big Reunion, a show which would feature the bands reuniting for the first time in several years and undergoing two weeks of intense rehearsals ahead of a comeback performance sometime in 2013.[18] The show began airing on 31 January 2013, and the second episode, which aired on 7 February, featured Lee, Jimmy and Spike talking about their time together and the difficulties that came with being in a band.

The six bands performed a sold-out comeback concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo on 26 February 2013. However, following the high demand for tickets for the gig and The Big Reunion pulling in record ratings for ITV2, it was announced that a UK arena tour would be taking place from 3–14 May 2013.[19] Two more dates were later added for 16 and 17 May, taking the tour total to 14 shows.[20] Due to the arena tour quickly selling out as well, it was announced that the bands from the show will also be going on a mini-Christmas party tour in December 2013.[21]

On 6 March, 911 made an appearance on Daybreak, where they announced that they had recorded a more up-to-date version of "Bodyshakin'" and were also planning to release new material.[22] On 28 March, they appeared on This Morning and confirmed that they would definitely be releasing a new album and touring in 2014. Brennan said: "We're doing a new album, we're going to be touring ourselves next year, so we've got lots of things to look forward to. Bring It On!".[23] During The Big Reunion arena tour, it was announced that the band's new album would be called Illuminate. On 3 August, Brennan tweeted that the album, Illuminate... (The Hits and More), would be released on 9 September 2013 alongside their comeback single "2 Hearts 1 Love". During another appearance on This Morning on 5 August, 911 spoke about their music comeback and also performed "2 Hearts 1 Love".

On 20 March 2014, it was announced that 911 and the other boy bands from both the first and second series of The Big Reunion, Five, Blue, 3T, A1, Damage and 5th Story, would go on a nationwide tour in October 2014.[24]

2019–present: 911 The Reunion and Đức Phúc collaboration

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On 22 June 2019, 911 made a comeback to Southeast Asia with their concert known as 911 The Reunion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with a sold-out show.[25]

On 9 February 2023, the group collaborated with Vietnamese singer Đức Phúc [vi] for a bilingual version of "I Do" in English and Vietnamese.[26]

Discography

[edit]
Main article: 911 discography

References

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  1. ^ "Big Reunion stars 911 at Bridlington Spa: 'We can still bust a few moves'". Hull Daily Mail. Local World. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Where Are They Now?". Archived from the original on 12 March 2014.
  3. ^ "911 - Before & After Split Announcement - Radio 1 (2000)". YouTube. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  4. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (10 May 2005). "Arts: Boybands ruined my life". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Please sir, weren't you in a boy band?". Manchester Evening News. 5 December 2005.
  6. ^ Hendry, Steve (3 February 2013). "Music biz guru reveals his memories of the acts starring in The Big Reunion". Daily Record. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. ^ O'Neill, Christina (9 March 2015). "911: we love Glasgow, we loved Bonkers a lot even though it was the 'worst nightclub in the city'". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. ^ Mullen, Stacey (19 December 2019). "'We were born and bred in Glasgow': 911 say city fans kicked it all off as they approach 25 years". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  9. ^ theofficial911 (18 June 2020). "*On This Day 25 Years Ago*
    On Sunday 18th June 1995, Lee, Spike & Jimmy were launched to the world as new Boyband 911!"    . Facebook. Retrieved 10 February 2022.    {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Wright, Jade (1 April 2011). "911's Jimmy Constable tells Jade Wright how proud he is to be from Liverpool". Liverpool Echo.
  11. ^ a b "Angel who put pop group among the stars". The Herald. 27 May 1996. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  12. ^ "911's Biography – Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and pictures at". Last.fm. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  13. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 395. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  14. ^ ITV Television, The Big Reunion. 911 interviewed, March 2013
  15. ^ Lynksey, Dorian (10 May 2005). "Jimmy Constable: Boybands ruined my life". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  16. ^ Nash, Lauren (16 September 2013). "911 singer Jimmy Constable saved from depression by love of St Neots woman". Hunts Post. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  17. ^ "911: Can Carlisle lad Lee Brennan's pop band recapture their former glory?". News and Star. CN Group. 23 March 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  18. ^ Harvey, Joanna (18 October 2012). "It's pop music heaven - Atomic Kitten, 5ive, Liberty X, 911 all to reunite for new TV show". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  19. ^ Nissam, Mayer (11 February 2013). "5ive, Atomic Kitten, B*Witched, Liberty X, 911 for Big Reunion arena tour". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  20. ^ "The Big Re-Union announces show at The O2 and Odyssey Arena". Goldenplec. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  21. ^ Corner, Lewis (27 March 2013). "5ive, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten for 'Big Reunion' Christmas Party tour". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  22. ^ "Daybreak - 911 Interview (2013)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  23. ^ Heath, Olivia (28 March 2013). "Big Reunion's 911 announce future music plans!". Reveal. Nat Mags. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  24. ^ Wightman, Catriona (20 March 2014). "The Big Reunion: Boybands join forces for nationwide tour". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  25. ^ The Hive Asia (20 June 2019). "911 reveals reason for holding a concert in Malaysia after nearly 2 decades". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  26. ^ Phương, Anh Cao (10 February 2023). "Nhóm nhạc 911: 'Ca sĩ Đức Phúc căng thẳng khi làm việc với chúng tôi'" [Group 911: 'Singer Duc Phuc is stressed when working with us']. Tiền Phong (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 11 February 2023.
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