S Club Party

Album: s Club (1999)
Charted: 2
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Songfacts®:

  • This was the second single released by English pop group S Club 7. The song served the purpose of introducing the audience to the band as each line of the second verse describes a different member of S Club 7. It was a commercial success, reaching #1 in New Zealand and #2 in Australia and the United Kingdom, where it was certified gold.
  • This was the first major UK hit as writer and producer for Norwegian songwriting and production team Stargate, who comprise Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen. Between 1999-2004, Stargate were a trio with third member Hallgeir Rustan and they received their first big break when producer Simon Fuller asked them to work on a new project for a new TV series about a new pop group called S Club 7. They said yes and wrote and produced a number of songs for the seven-piece. They went on to achieve 40 Top 10 hits in the UK between 1999-2004 and many more since.

    Eriksen told Sound on Sound magazine: "In our early days as a trio, we did a lot of remixes for the European market, mostly of American artists. So we'd get a cappella versions of songs by Mary J Blige, Mariah Carey, Brandy, and others, and we'd create remixes, and these would often be the main European versions. The remix thing got our name out to the record labels, and we were then able to write and produce original music for the likes of S Club 7, Blue, Mis'Teeq, Hear'Say and so on."
  • Rustan came up with the name Stargate when he and Eriksen set up their studio in Trondheim. Eriksen told Sound on Sound magazine: "We laughed about it at first, because it seemed a little pretentious to suggest that an artist becomes a star when passing through our stargate. But we liked the name and somehow it stuck."
  • In the mid-2000s Eriksen and Hermansen decided to cross the Atlantic and try their luck in America. After achieving their US breakthrough with Ne-Yo's "So Sick," they achieved 21 top 10 hits in the following four years, writing and producing for such American R&B and pop acts as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Flo Rida and Mary J Blige.
  • Stargate was excited to be approached by Simon Fuller, who had just worked with the enormously popular Spice Girls, but were intimidated by the size of the new group. Hermansen told Entertainment Weekly: "We thought, 'Oh my God, how are we going to fit seven people into one song?' That was the biggest challenge. We wrote the verse where they introduce themselves because we felt it was important that you got a feel for all of the different members. They had flown to Trondheim in Norway and hung out with us for a week or two at least."

Comments: 1

  • Margaret from Worcester, MaThis song was featured on Video on Trial. With the exception of Hannah Spearritt, if any member gets their hands on the review, expect trouble.
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