CHAPTER ONE: TWO AS ONE

June 8, 2000

      Fans scream for one Britain’s biggest pop groups. Most of the fans are young tweens and teenagers. This group was skate5, a tween/teen group with a dance-pop sound. British record labels are scrambling to form ‘alternative’ versions of skate5, but to no avail.

       At one of the record labels, Epic Records, there was a meeting going on with some producers and music moguls. They watched a TV news report on skate5’s upcoming concert at Wembley Stadium in London. The reporter was describing how successful this pop band was, and could be the next big thing since S Club 7, Steps, and the Spice Girls.

       One of the producers turned off the TV, and faced the others. He told them, “Please tell me we have another band proposal. And we need something different. No more Steps, S Club 7, and BubbleGum type groups. Not even skate5. They’re practically the kid-version of Steps.”

       The producers had no comment. So he continued, “Look, how about a new pop group, filled with actual teenagers. They would have attitude, something like a couple of Britney Spears’ with NSYNC. C’mon, you gotta have something!”

       One of the other producers told him, “Oh, calm yourself, Nathaniel. How can we possibly create something like that?”

       Nathaniel replied, “I don’t know, maybe combine a boy band and a girl band? Something!”

       Then the producers stared at two other producers. These two were Peter Dillon and Logan Fulton. They were just two of the biggest music producers that Britain has. The reason for the stares was because they had plans.

       Nathaniel asked the two men, “Fulton, Dillon, aren’t you forming a couple a pop bands?”

       Peter spoke up, “Well yes, we are forming pop groups, but they’re different. I’m forming a girl group, whilst Logan is forming a boy band.”

       “Then combine the two, and turn them into Britain’s biggest teen act.”

       Logan protested, “But that band would have too many members. My planned boy band will have 3 males, and Peter’s girl group will have 4 females. That would be another S Club 7.”

       Nathaniel replied, “Then make the band into some teenage version of S Club 7. Just make sure they’re different.”

       With that, Peter and Logan left the meeting. They knew the stakes are high for the next British teen sensation. Yet, they’re willing to take the risk. It was time to turn a possible boy band and girl band into a large mixed group.