Editing S Club (section)

===1997–1998: Formation===
S Club 7 were formed by [[Simon Fuller]] after he was fired as manager of the [[Spice Girls]] in November 1997.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/368484.stm | title=Spice svengali celebrates S Club success | work=[[BBC News]] | date=14 June 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105003509/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/368484.stm | archive-date=5 January 2007 | url-status=live}}</ref> He described S Club 7 as a continuation of ideas he had had for the Spice Girls, but with a softer, more uplifting image. The same songwriting team was used for both acts.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a544375/s-club-7-were-a-continuation-of-the-spice-girls-says-simon-fuller/ | last=Corner | first=Lewis | title=S Club 7 were a continuation of the Spice Girls, says Simon Fuller | work=[[Digital Spy]] | date=16 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424013619/http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a544375/s-club-7-were-a-continuation-of-the-spice-girls-says-simon-fuller/ |archive-date=24 April 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Fuller placed an advert in ''[[The Stage]]''<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/eighteen-years-since-bring-it-all-back-s-club-7-has-been-whittled-down-to-s-club-three/news-story/1a4b2469700ad436bad8fab213c81291 | title=Eighteen years since Bring It All Back, S Club 7 has been whittled down to S Club ... THREE | first=Matt | last=Young | work=[[News.com.au]] | date=3 February 2017}}</ref> and held auditions with more than 10,000 applicants.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://mancunion.com/2023/10/14/s-club-we-were-all-hungry-for-it/ | title=S Club: "We were all hungry for it" | first=ISSY | last=HATTON-WILLIAMS | work=[[The Mancunion]] | date=14 October 2023}}</ref> Both [[Jo O'Meara]] and [[Paul Cattermole]] were spotted by producers from Fuller's company, 19 Management, and asked to audition.<ref name="7heaven"/> [[Rachel Stevens]] was the only member who did not audition; instead, two producers approached her and asked her to record a demo tape.<ref name="7heaven">{{cite book | last=Paramor | first=Jordan |title=7 Heaven: The Official Book |publisher=[[Penguin Books|Puffin Books]] | year=2001 | isbn=0-14-131460-5 |location=Great Britain | pages=6–19, 21–22, 36, 38, 41}}</ref> According to the journalist [[Steven Poole]], after Fuller's disagreements with the Spice Girls, he picked "the blandest, most malleable characters ... nice kids who wouldn't answer back".<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/12/highereducation.popandrock | title=Hits and myths | last=Poole | first=Steven | authorlink=Steven Poole | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=12 February 2005 | issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 

Once the lineup was decided, the members flew to Italy to become acquainted with each other.<ref name="sclubthing">{{cite video | people=S Club 7 | title=S Club 7: It's an S Club Thing | medium=[[VHS]] documentary | publisher=[[Warner Music Vision]] | date=22 November 1999 | time=04:15, 04:54, 05:20, 13:00, 15:30}}</ref> Stevens remarked that the group "felt comfortable with each other from the beginning".<ref name="sclubthing"/> Several members of the group said that the "S" in S Club 7 stands for Simon, after the group's creator, although the official explanation of the meaning has always been ambiguous.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a610807/s-club-7-what-does-the-s-really-stand-for/ | title=S Club 7: What does the S really stand for? | first=Lewis | last=Corner | work=[[Digital Spy]] | date=18 November 2014}}</ref> At one point they were nearly called "Sugar Club" instead of the name that stuck.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.popjustice.com/thenews/s-club-7-are-back/ | title=Popjustice - Popstars: S Club 7 | author=Mikey | work=[[Popjustice]] | date=March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424220325/http://www.popjustice.com/popstars/s-club-7/ | archive-date=24 April 2012 | url-status=live}}</ref> Another theory is that the group is so-named because "S" is the first letter of the word "seven". McIntosh, in a December 2012 interview, said a lot of Fuller's success has been based on the number 19 (owning [[19 Entertainment]]); therefore as "S" is the 19th letter of the alphabet, the "S" was put into S Club 7.<ref>{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C5HDls2N-8&t=2m29s |title=Video Brunel Interviews S Club - Dec 2012 | date=December 2012 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/-C5HDls2N-8 | archive-date=2021-11-07 | via=[[YouTube]]| url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>