Aaron Renfree Biography

S Club 8, previously known as S Club Juniors, were a spin-off of the highly popular UK pop music band S Club 7. The group's members, Jay Asforis, Daisy Evans, Calvin Goldspink, Stacey McClean, Aaron Renfree, Hannah Richings, Frankie Sandford and Rochelle Wiseman, were all in their early teens or younger when they were chosen from thousands of hopefuls on the S Club Search (2001) television series. The group were originally intended only as a support act on as part the competition to perform at Wembley Arena on S Club 7's S Club Carnival Tour. The group also had their own documentary series, S Club Juniors: The Story.

S Club Juniors were formed in 2001, through an auditioning process. The auditions were aired on CBBC. The original concept was that the group would all be children and would perform at Wembley as a support act to S Club 7 on their Carnival tour. S Club Juniors' appearances at Wembley were considered a success and consequently 19 Entertainment, the management company that had created S Club 7 and auditioned S Club Juniors, decided they should perform as a support act at all of the venues on S Club 7's carnival tour.

There were originally seven Juniors: Calvin, Jay, Daisy, Stacey,Rochelle, Frankie and Connor, but 19 management liked Aaron and Hannah and decided that they were going to be in the band as well but as the Juniors were rehearsing for the tour with S Club 7, Connor left the band to go back to school, according to an interview with Calvin "to complete a music diploma at one of the best music schools in the country".

By the end of the tour, S Club Juniors had created a following and, with the encouragement of 19, Polydor Records signed the group. Their first single was called "One Step Closer". The single was promoted by the TV series S Club Junior: The Story, which followed the group as they performed on S Club 7's 'The Carnival' tour and promoted the single. It was also heavily promoted on SMTV: Live, CD:UK and The Saturday Show. The single debuted and peaked at Number 2 in the UK Singles chart and sold 250,000 copies, gaining a Silver disc for sales. It was beaten to Number 1 by the Sugababes with their single Freak Like Me.

Off the back of the success of "One Step Closer", a second single was recorded, called "Automatic High". The single was a summer song and once again had a promotional video filmed in Malaga, Spain. The single was released on the 22 July 2002 and also peaked at Number 2.

Their third release was "New Direction". After the cheesy first two singles, this was a more serious song and was praised by critics. It was released on 13 October 2002. It reached Number 2 in the charts.

A fortnight after "New Direction" was released they released their first album, "Together". The album hit Number 4 in the chart and eventually sold over 500,000 copies.

In the run up to Christmas 2002, S Club Juniors released a fourth single, "Puppy Love", to further promote their album. The single peaked at Number 6.

After the success of their album, S Club Juniors went on a joint tour of the country with S Club. The tour was called S Club United.

In 2003, the Juniors won "best newcomer" at the Disney Channel Kids Awards.

They are also believed to be the only act ever in the UK Singles Charts to have their first three singles go straight to Number 2.

S Club Juniors: The Story was a television series broadcast on the BBC, following the daily events of the band. It filmed 'behind the scenes' of the S Club Carnival Tour and "One Step Closer". The list below refers the series.

It was during the S Club United tour that S Club decided they would split. 19, S Club Juniors management firm then decided to rebrand the Juniors as S Club 8.

As S Club 8, the band attempted to become more mature, with outfits becoming more risqué and their music becoming more R&B influenced, rather than pop, like the first album. It was thought the group seemed to be going through an identity crisis and thus alienated many fans; inevitably this led to their downfall.

The first single released under this brand was "Fool No More", on 30 June 2003. The single was heavily promoted and charted at number 4. It was beaten by the Fast Food Rockers and Evanescence. The single was due to be released in May, however due to the split of S Club the single was pushed further back. It is one of the groups most successful tracks and is acclaimed for its electropop tinged sound. The single received heavy video and airplay and constant promotion on children's TV programmes such as CD:UK and TOTP Saturday.


In late September 2003, S Club 8 released Sundown, picking up from the sound of Fool No More, this single too charted at No 4. The video was produced using green screen technology. This single also samples like their older counterparts Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. A fortnight after the single was released, the group's second album (named "Sundown") was launched. Like the more recent singles, the album didn't chart as well as earlier material, entering at 13, dropping to 36 the next week and leaving the top 75 three weeks later.

"Sundown" lacked a song that stood out as a clear single. Consequently, "Don't Tell Me You're Sorry" was remixed and released. This was to be S Club 8's final single as it charted at number 11; their lowest position to date and failed to improve their slumping album sales. However, as the track was released during the run for New Year number one spot the track is not regarded as a flop and remains a favourite with fans.

After the failure of Sundown, 19 Management chose to send the group in a radical new direction. Consequently in 2004, S Club 8 returned as cast members in the BBC children's television show I Dream. Unlike the S Club (7) shows which focused upon the band's fictional exploits, I Dream saw S Club 8 as members of a larger ensemble cast (see side bar). I Dream revolved around the summer school Avalon Heights, run by Professor Toone (played by Christopher Lloyd), where the characters tried to improve on their talents in the performing arts. Not surprisingly, the show featured many songs and dances: normally two songs per episode.

In the run-up to the shows airing it was marketed as an S Club 8 TV show. However it emmerged that the show would actually mainly feature five additional actors, to whom S Club 8 would play second fiddle. It was in this manner that S Club 8 were rebranded iDream.

On 15 November 2004, the shows theme tune, "Dreaming" was released as a single, and was sung by Frankie and Calvin. The single flopped charting at number 19, falling to 36 the next week then out of the UK Top 40. The album was released 2 weeks later and also failed charting at 133.

On 29 November 2004 an album titled "Welcome to Avalon Heights" was released, containing songs from the show performed by S Club 8 members and the rest of the cast.

Jay:
Jay Perry Asforis (born October 30, 1989) was a member of both the S Club Juniors and S Club 8. He was also one of the cast members of I Dream. In 2006, Jay completed his GCSE exams and did well enough to go onto A Levels at a Sixth Form where he lives. It is widely beleived that Jay has no intentions of returning as a performer. He has expressed an interest in a career in business on his myspace account.

Daisy:
Daisy Rebecca Evans (born November 30, 1989) started dancing at the age of two whilst growing up in Chadwell Heath, Essex, United Kingdom. She attended Warren Junior School and starred in the UK tour of Annie.

In 2006, after the split of S Club 8, Daisy left the Sylvia Young Theatre School and started a 3 year Performing Arts course at a theatre school in her home county of Essex. Daisy quit this course in early 2007, after deciding to commit to From Above full time.

As of 2007 Daisy had joined the "Score Angels"; a group of football cheerleaders sponsored and organised by the News of the World newspaper.

Since early 2007, Daisy has been a member of new 5 piece band, From Above. The band are currently recording an album and recently recorded a video for their single, "Make Believe". They have also been touring the UK, performing in more than 60 clubs, and have reportedly been linked with some important people in the music industry. Since the start of October 2007, Ms Evans' latest project in From Above has been a embroiled in a cloud of confusion, due to several line up changes. According to From Above's myspace account, several changes were likely to occur and it is unclear whether Daisy will be in the latest line up of the group. Confirmation of where Daisy stands and other changes are expected to be announced in the first week of November.

Calvin:
Calvin Goldspink (born January 24, 1989) was a member of S Club 8 for the entirety of their existence. He has one brother, named Jamie.

Stacey:
Stacey Jade McClean (born February 17, 1989) hails from Blackpool, Lancashire and was a prominent singer in S Club 8 ( of course a member ), as well as being a cast member of I Dream.

Since leaving the band, Stacey has reportedly continued singing and states that she has "not abandoned the music scene completely" In mid 2007 McClean had a photo shoot and was said to become a huge star during the summer of 2007. These claims did not materialise.

Stacy attended Royles Brook Primary School in Thornton Cleveleys and then moved onto St Aidans High School.

Aaron:
Aaron Paul Renfree (born December 19, 1987) was the oldest member of S Club 8. He starred in I Dream but did not appear in every episode due to studying for his GCSEs at the time of filming.

After S Club 8 split in 2004, he joined dancing company TK Spin, who work at Pineapple Dance Studios in London. He left the company a year later.

Aaron is, (as of 2007), a member of dance group Jongleurs, created by Chris Mitchell, Cosy McGrath and Aaron. All members of the group have had professional training at Surrey based dance college Laine Theatre Arts, where Aaron is currently studying.

Hannah:
Hannah Lorraine Richings (born November 30, 1990) was the youngest member of S Club 8. She has one sister named Ellie. She also starred in the TV show I Dream along with the other members of the band. She was never given a distinct solo during her time in the group, arguably due to her younger age, but had solo parts in two unperformed songs which were recorded as B-sides for their singles Sundown and Automatic High (within the songs "Wherever Your Heart Beats" and "We Got You" respectively). She also had a solo in the song, Here We Go, which was recorded but not released to chart but was on a CD free with a summer S Club Juniors magazine special. Ms Richings participated in Miss Teen Queen UK in early 2007, however she did not gain many votes.

Since the band split, Hannah is believed to have returned to school to complete her GCSEs.

Frankie:
Francesca "Frankie" Sandford (born January 14, 1989) was the second oldest member S Club 8 and was one of the group's more prominent singers. Since the group disbanded, she has stepped out of the public eye but is reportedly working on a solo career. She has recently received her bronze swimming certificate. [citation needed] Sandford has launched a music myspace account www.myspace.com/frankiesandfordofficialmusic which is showcasing 2 tracks entitled "Bored" and "Swallow". She is to this date unsigned.

Sandford has 2 MySpace accounts, the above for fans and other people who she does not know and she has a personal account for friends and family only.

Rochelle:
Rochelle Wiseman (born March 21, 1989) was a member of S Club 8 as well as being among the cast members of I Dream.

During her time in the group, she had a stint as presenter on the now defunct BBC children's programme Smile.

After the band's split, Rochelle appeared briefly on the BBC Two quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Her appearance was broadcast on February 24, 2007 as part of the show's regular Identity Parade feature. This feature shows the audience an old music video and the contestants having to guess which one person of a line up of five was present in the video. The team, consisting of Bill Bailey, Russell Howard and Romeo Stodart (from the band The Magic Numbers), correctly picked Rochelle from the lineup.

Charley Uchea; a Big Brother 8 UK 2007 housemate ,claimed to be best friends with Rochelle during her time in the Big Brother house.

Rochelle is frequently spotted with her good friend Danielle Lloyd a model and who was part of the race scandal of Celebrity Big Brother UK 2007.

She is now a model and is a regular model for Love Me Love My Clothes(LMLC).Wiseman also took part in the Miss England contest. However Wiseman did not win this competition and polled in 3rd place.

In late October 2006 in emerged that Rochelle was a member of a group called The TigerLilys, they had a myspace account which displayed 2 tracks. However later the group disbanded without being signed by a label or releasing any material commercially.