Five Star, (also known as 5 Star), were a British pop / R&B group, from Romford, Greater London, formed in 1983 and comprising brothers and sisters Stedman, Lorraine, Denise, Doris and Delroy Pearson. Known for their flamboyant image, 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.
Biography
The group of five siblings from the Essex town of Romford were put together by their father and manager, Buster Pearson. A Jamaica-born former session musician with Wilson Pickett, Pearson set up Tent Records Inc. to release the group's material. Five Star scored several Top 10 chart ratings in 1986 with "System Addict", "Can't Wait Another Minute", "Find The Time" 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 their third album, Between The Lines.
Their squeaky clean image meant many tabloids ran stories of the Pearsons' everyday and private affairs, most notably Lorraine's rumoured engagement to Eddie Murphy in 1988.[citation needed] The group moved to a mansion, Stone Court, in Berkshire, complete with alarmed security gates.[1]
In 1988, the group changed their direction to a more adult-oriented, 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 that year, the group made an infamous appearance on British children's TV show Going Live, on which they were called "fucking crap" by a teenage caller.
Apparently at loggerheads with RCA, Buster Pearson signed the group to Epic Records in 1990, and the album, Five Star, was self-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 later in the year amid reports of bankruptcy.[citation needed]
1991 saw the release of the slick Shine album, and in 1994 the more laid back Heart And Soul, which had a distinct RnB direction. The following year, Five Star brought the album to the UK.[citation needed] Around this time, the group informally end. Denise got married and had children, and Delroy went into musical production.
In 2001, Five Star's 31st official single release, "Funktafied", peaked at #99 on the US R&B Chart and spent ten weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at #26.[2] 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 record deal, national tour and a fly-on-the-wall TV documentary.[citation needed] However negotiations faltered after Doris and Delroy declined to take part. After a gig at UK holiday resort Butlins in October 2006, in which all five members were billed, three impersonators were involved.[1]Lorraine announced her departure from the line-up, while Stedman, Denise and Doris embarked on recording solo material.[citation needed]
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]
Denise revealed in 2007 that she too is working on solo material.[3]
Delroy continues to live in LA with his family producing for U.S. music acts.[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.
For Five Star's 25th Anniversary in 2008, Denise joined Stedman and the backing dancers for gigs at Butlins over October and November 2008. Stedman Pearson appeared on Celebrity Scissorhands on BBC1, for Children In Need. Doris and Lorraine were interviewed on radio to talk about their life in the group and what they are all doing now. Denise made her West End debut, performing in Thriller - Live, at the Lyric Theatre on 2 January 2009. She continued to appear in the show until April 2009.
All five original members will be performing gigs later in 2009, in association with Buster Pearson.[citation needed]
Discography
Albums
Singles
Video's & DVD's
| Year |
Album |
UK |
| 1985 |
Luxury of Life |
7 |
| 1986 |
Silk and Steel |
1 |
| 1987 |
Between the Lines |
4 |
| 1988 |
Rock the World |
16 |
| 1989 |
Greatest Hits |
44 |
| 2007 |
Five Star Performance |
25 |
|
References
External links
