Five Star
Five Star |
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Five Star (aka 5 Star) was a British pop / R&B group, from Romford, Essex, formed in 1983 and comprising five siblings of West Indian ancestry.
Biography
Known for their glamorous image, distinctive matching costumes and heavily choreographed dance routines, Five Star achieved a string of Top 40 singles and albums in the UK between 1985 and 1988. In the summer of 1986 they became the youngest act ever to top the album chart with their million seller, Silk and Steel, which later went on to yield a record total of seven single releases, a record number at the time (which was bettered by Michael Jackson's eighth single release from Bad in 1989). In June 1986, Five Star declined George Michael's offer of being the supporting act at their Wham! "The Final" tour.[citation needed]
The group of five siblings from the Essex town of Romford was put together by their father, Buster Pearson (born in Jamaica and was the former session musician with Wilson Pickett), who also acted as their manager. Pearson also set up Tent Records Inc. to release the group's material. Considered by many to be a British version of The Jacksons, Five Star went on to have many UK hits, scoring their biggest success in 1986 with Top 10 singles "System Addict", "Can't Wait Another Minute", "Find The Time" (both produced by Richard James Burgess), and "Rain Or Shine". Further Top 10 hits "Stay Out Of My Life" (penned by Denise) and "The Slightest Touch" followed in 1987, as well as a BRIT Award for Best British Group. 1987 also saw the release of third album, Between The Lines.
Their squeaky clean image made the group as popular with the press as the record buying public, and many tabloids ran stories of the Pearsons' everyday and private affairs, most notably Lorraine's engagement to Eddie Murphy in 1988.[citation needed] The group moved to a huge mansion, Stone Court, in Berkshire, complete with CCTV and alarmed security gates.[citation needed] This overt attempt by their father at keeping Five Star's business away from public gaze only fuelled further interest and over-embellished stories of 'private nightclubs' and 'Neverland-style fairgrounds' for the siblings' private use.[citation needed]
In 1988, the group felt they had taken the sound that made their name as far as it could go and changed their direction to a more adult-oriented, leather-clad disco/rock/dance sound (led by a 1988 Leon Sylvers III produced single "Another Weekend"). Despite the moderate success of the album Rock The World, the record sold less well than earlier releases.
By this point the group's popularity had dramatically declined, and by late 1989 their Greatest Hits collection peaked at a lowly No.53 on the album chart. Also in 1989, the group made an infamous appearance on British TV show Going Live, on which they were verbally abused by a teenage phone-in caller. Apparently at loggerheads with RCA, Buster Pearson signed the group to Epic Records the following year, and an entirely self penned, self produced album, Five Star, was produced at the family home. Despite heavy promotion, the two singles from it, "Treat Me Like A Lady" and "Hot Love", failed and a planned third single, "What About Me, Baby?", was shelved, with the UK release of the album also abandoned. Seeking fresh opportunities and a new audience the band moved to America in late 1990 amid reports of bankruptcy.[citation needed]
1991 saw the release of the slick, American-sounding Shine album, and in 1994 the more laid back, mature Heart And Soul, which had a distinct RnB direction. The following year, Five Star brought the album to the UK, with considerably less press coverage than previous years.[citation needed] It was around this time the group took their first big break from the music scene. Denise got married and had children and Delroy went into musical production.
In 2001, Five Star's 31st official single release, "Funktafied", was a hit on the US R&B chart and a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (the first time they had featured on it since 1988). Five Star returned to the UK in 2002, as a trio of Stedman, Denise and Lorraine, to perform on various tours, including the 2002 'Here and Now' nostalgia tour. In 2005, "System Addict" was re-recorded and re-released. A planned re-release of "The Slightest Touch" that same year was cancelled.[citation needed] Plans for all five members to re-group and record new material in a full scale come-back were discussed for 2006/7.[citation needed] Part of these plans included a multi-million pound record deal, national tour and a fly-on-the-wall TV documentary.[citation needed] However, only three members expressed interest and negotiations ground to a halt. After a disastrous gig at UK holiday resort Butlins in October 2006, in which all five members were billed, but on the night three impersonators turned up, Lorraine announced her departure from the line-up, while Stedman and long-lost member Doris forged ahead recording solo material.[citation needed] Despite no official statement from the group, it is widely assumed that Five Star have disbanded for good.[citation needed]
The future for the Pearson's seems to be rooted in solo careers for at least three members: Stedman's solo album, as yet untitled, is complete and ready for a release date in the UK. It was showcased to the public, journalists and music industry members in London in February 2007.[citation needed]
Doris is yet to reveal when her completed solo songs will see commercial release. Denise recently revealed she too is currently working on solo material.[citation needed]
Delroy continues to live in LA with his family producing for U.S. music acts. [citation needed] Lorraine has so far not revealed any ambitions to pursue a musically-related career. [citation needed] In March 2007, the group's record label, Sony BMG, released a brand new compilation DVD of all their hit music video's called "Five Star Performance", which reached No.25 on the DVD music charts.
It was widely reported in July 2007 that Stedman was facing a series of death threats from his father, which forced Stedman to be moved from his West London flat to a secret location after his front door was kicked in.[citation needed]
A source tells British newspaper the Daily Mirror: "Sted was terrified. His father rang him on his mobile phone at lunchtime and told him he had a gun and wanted to shoot him. Stedman is moving on with his life but his father finds that very difficult to handle and is basically a very angry man." A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident, saying, "We were notified on July 27, 2007 of an allegation of threats to kill. Officers from CID (Criminal Investigation Department) are investigating."[citation needed]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | UK | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Luxury of Life | 12 | 57 |
| 1986 | Silk And Steel | 1 | 80 |
| 1987 | Between The Lines | 7 | - |
| 1988 | Rock the World | 17 | - |
| 1989 | Greatest Hits | 53 | -- |
| 1990 | Five Star | - | - |
| 1991 | Shine | - | - |
| 1993 | The Best Of Five Star | - | - |
| 1995 | Heart And Soul | 80 | - |
| 1998 | Greatest Hits | - | - |
| 2001 | Eclipse | - | - |
| 2003 | The Greatest Hits | 25 | - |
| 2005 | Legends | - | - |
Singles
| Year | Song | UK | U.S. | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Problematic" | - | - | N/A |
| 1984 | "Hide and Seek" | 113 | - | Luxury Of Life |
| 1984 | "Crazy" | 144 | - | Luxury Of Life |
| 1985 | "All Fall Down " | 15 | 65 | Luxury Of Life |
| 1985 | "Let Me Be The One" | 18 | 59 | Luxury Of Life |
| 1985 | "Love Take Over" | 25 | - | Luxury Of Life |
| 1985 | "RSVP" | 45 | - | Luxury Of Life |
| 1986 | "System Addict" | 3 | - | Luxury Of Life |
| 1986 | "Can't Wait Another Minute" | 7 | 41 | Silk & Steel |
| 1986 | "Find The Time" | 7 | - | Silk & Steel |
| 1986 | "Rain Or Shine" | 2 | - | Silk & Steel |
| 1986 | "If I Say Yes" | 15 | 67 | Silk & Steel |
| 1987 | "Stay Out Of My Life" | 9 | - | Silk & Steel |
| 1987 | "The Slightest Touch" | 4 | - | Silk & Steel |
| 1987 | "Whenever You're Ready" | 11 | - | Between The Lines |
| 1987 | "Are You Man Enough" | - | 15 | 'Silk & Steel |
| 1987 | "Strong As Steel" | 16 | - | Between The Lines |
| 1987 | "Somewhere Somebody | 23 | - | Between The Lines |
| 1988 | "Another Weekend" | 18 | 23 | Rock The World |
| 1988 | "Rock My World" | 28 | - | Rock The World |
| 1988 | "There's A Brand New World" | 61 | - | Rock The World |
| 1988 | "Someone's In Love" | - | 39 | Rock The World |
| 1988 | "Let Me Be Yours" | 51 | - | Rock The World |
| 1989 | "With Every Heartbeat" | 49 | - | Greatest Hits |
| 1990 | "Treat Me Like A Lady" | 54 | - | Five Star |
| 1990 | "Hot Love | 68 | - | Five Star |
| 1990 | "What About Me Baby" | - | - | Five Star |
| 1991 | "Shine" | 88 | - | Shine |
| 1995 | "I Love You For Sentimental Reasons" | 84 | - | Heart And Soul |
| 1995 | "I Give You Give" | 83 | - | Heart And Soul |
| 1996 | "I Give You Give(remix)" | - | - | - |
| 1996 | "Surely" | - | - | Heart And Soul |
| 2001 | "Funktafied" | - | - | Eclipse |
| 2005 | "System Addict 2005" | 46 | - | - |
| 2005 | "The Slightest Touch 2005" | - | - | - |
External links
- Five Star @ Hyves - Dutch profile-fansite
- The Five Star Service - A fanzine based site
- YouTube video of the "Why are they so ------- crap?" incident
- 5 Star Luxury - The Ultimate and Largest Five Star Fan Group
- Five Star at Vh1.com
- Five Star Myspace
- Doris Pearson Official Myspace Page
- Stedman Pearson Official Myspace Page
- Five Star Discography!
- Denise Pearson Offcial Myspace Page