In the late '90s 5ive were international superstars. Over a four-and-a-half year period, Ritchie Neville, Richard 'Abs' Breen, Jason 'J' Brown, Sean Conlon and Scott Robinson had 13 hit singles, three UK number ones, four albums and sales of 15 million. In 2000, 5ive were awarded the Brit for Best Pop. The group split in August 2001. So what does a former boy band member do? Scott Robinson started his new life the very next day after the group disbanded by marrying childhood sweetheart Kerry Oaker. He then had a six month spell as a broadcaster: "I did Essex FM for six months with Chris Brooks, who now works at Capital,” says Scott. Laughing, he adds: “I am a pro of the radio scene!...I’m a pro at everything I do!" Variety is what he likes. Along with Chris Brooks, he's developed new concepts for TV programmes; he’s played cards for a celebrity poker website and he’s become a father (the latter was with his wife, not Chris Brooks!) Laughable Now Scott is appearing at the Derngate in Northampton in the '80s musical Boogie Nights 2. For that, he's also learnt to dance: "I TRY to do a bit of dancing! You should have seen me in rehearsals – it was laughable!"
 | | Dancing tough: Scott Robinson (left) in 5ive |
That comes as a bit of surprise because we’ve all seen Scott dancing in the pop videos. Scott explains: "It's a different kind of dancing in the theatre. You had to look 'hard' in 5ive. Boogie Nights 2 is more 'dancey'". The boy band thing is well and truly over for Scott, even though fans still come along to see him in Boogie Nights 2. Scott won a place in 5ive by being handpicked, from 3,000 other hopefuls, by the creators of the Spice Girls. Boy bands He has this advice for budding pop stars: "You’ve got to be clever when you're in one of these bands because if you don't look at your contract properly, or you get rushed into it, you’re not going to make any money. "Everyone knows it’s the song writers who make the most money. So, write your own songs. That’s what we did. For the first album, we only wrote a few songs. For the second album we said: 'let’s make sure we make out of this and not just the record company and not just the management'." But Scott is no stranger to acting or musicals. Before his boy band stint, he trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. He was also in the National Children's Theatre's original production of Whistle Down The Wind. Scott's work is now an exhausting eight shows a week in Boogie Nights 2. It may be tiring, but the audiences' enthusiasm makes it worthwhile: "What I love is the end – the finale bit. Even if you’re feeling tired, there’s no way that you could do it half-heartedly because the audience wouldn't let you. They're so up for it that they give you a sudden burst of energy." Scott Robinson was talking to BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith. | 
