Hits, Splits and Reunions: Five By Numbers

In 2025, few would have said that the original line-up of Five would be one of the biggest arena draws around but that’s just what’s happened with the news that Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon have regrouped for their first tour together since 2001.

Between October 31 and November 28 their Keep on Movin’ Tour will hit arenas in Brighton, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, London, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Sheffield, Belfast and Dublin, delivering a boatload of nostalgia along with some of the biggest hits from the era when boybands ruled the Earth. 

Given that Five were never shy of drawing attention to the numerical aspect of their name — don’t pretend your brain didn’t immediately sing “one, two, three, four…Five will make you get down” at you when you clicked on this article — here’s their history in numbers as we get ready for one hell of a reunion later this year. 

1

During their original run, Five had one top 10 hit on the US Billboard 200 (they landed 11 back home in the UK). Released as the group’s second single in the spring of 1998, When the Lights Go Out was a well-timed tilt at Transatlantic appeal, splitting the difference between Backstreet Boys-esque emoting and chunky hip hop production. In 2020, Rolling Stone called Five “the workhorses of the late-Nineties boyband glut” while slotting this at number 67 on their list of the 75 greatest boy band songs. 

2

For a while, the number two haunted Five. Between 1998 and 1999 they landed three silver medals in quick succession on the UK charts as Everybody Get Up, Until the Time Is Through and If Ya Gettin’ Down, the lead single from their second album, all fell just short. It took their signature song, Keep on Movin’, to finally get the monkey off their back. It debuted in the top spot in October 1999, eventually going double platinum and, years later, lending its name to their greatest hits compilation and their upcoming reunion tour. 

3

In one of those quirks that could only happen in the boyband game, Five spent a number of years touring as a three piece. For a while it was down to Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville and Sean Conlon to hold down the fort following Brown’s decision to skip The Big Reunion, a TV show that brought an era-specific cadre of acts back together, and Abz’s exit in 2014 following the accompanying arena tour alongside the show’s other stars: 911, Atomic Kitten, Honeyz, Liberty X Blue and B*Witched. As a trio, Five released one album, 2022’s ‘Time’.

4

In 1998, Five walked away with four awards at the Smash Hits Poll Winners’ Party, which served as the gold standard for British pop outfits for a few decades. Voted for by readers of the teen bible Smash Hits magazine (RIP) it offered a direct line into what fans were listening to and obsessing over, with Five claiming Best British Band, Best Album and Best Cover along with the big one: Best Haircut. They had Robinson’s none-more-spiky barnet to thank for that particular gong.

​5

The upcoming Keep on Movin’ Tour represents the only time that Five have toured as an actual band with five people in it for more than 20 years. Demand for the shows, including multiple additional dates in cities including London, Cardiff, Leeds and Liverpool, reflect that, but also the hold the group have maintained in UK pop culture. They were a band of their time, but one that synthesised a number of the most popular elements of late ‘90s music, amping up everything from boyband swagger, neo-soul style and post-Robbie Williams pop-rock pageantry into their own stomping sound. In a time of peak nostalgia, it’s not a surprise that they’ve got another hit on their hands.

Five Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:

Wed October 29 2025 - CARDIFF Utilita Arena Cardiff
Fri October 31 2025 - BRIGHTON Centre
Sat November 01 2025 - BOURNEMOUTH BIC
Sun November 02 2025 - CARDIFF Utilita Arena Cardiff
Tue November 04 2025 - NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena
Wed November 05 2025 - LIVERPOOL M&S Bank Arena Liverpool
Fri November 07 2025 - MANCHESTER AO Arena
Sat November 08 2025 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Sun November 09 2025 - BIRMINGHAM Utilita Arena
Tue November 11 2025 - LONDON O2 Arena
Wed November 12 2025 - LONDON O2 Arena
Fri November 14 2025 - NEWCASTLE Utilita Arena Newcastle
Sat November 15 2025 - ABERDEEN P&J Live
Sun November 16 2025 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Tue November 18 2025 - MANCHESTER Co-op Live
Wed November 19 2025 - SHEFFIELD Utilita Arena
Thu November 20 2025 - LONDON O2 Arena
Sat November 22 2025 - BELFAST SSE Arena Belfast
Sun November 23 2025 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Tue November 25 2025 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Wed November 26 2025 - NEWCASTLE Utilita Arena Newcastle
Fri November 28 2025 - BIRMINGHAM Utilita Arena
Sat November 29 2025 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Sun November 30 2025 - LIVERPOOL M&S Bank Arena Liverpool
Tue December 02 2025 - DUBLIN 3Arena

Compare & Buy Five Tickets at Stereoboard.com.

Related News

Fri 14 Mar 2025

Five Tickets For Extra Cardiff, Leeds And Liverpool Shows On Sale 10am Today