Phixx
Encyclopedia
Phixx were an English boy band
formed in 2003 from the five runners up on British
TV show Popstars: The Rivals. The original members were Andrew Kinlochan, Chris Park, Mikey Green, Peter Smith, and Nikk Mager. Between 2003 and 2005 they had four top 20 singles in the UK. They broke up in 2006.
. In October 2003 they released their first single, "Hold On Me", on the Concept Records
label, which charted at number 10 in the UK, selling over 60,000 copies. March 2004 saw the release of their second single, "Love Revolution". This sold over 50,000 copies and charted at number 13.
The videos and dance routines for their first two singles aroused media attention for their content, as they often featured the band topless or naked, often in sexually suggestive and aggressive situations with other gay men.
The third single, released in June 2004, was a cover of Duran Duran
's "Wild Boys". During the release week, one version of the single was disqualified from the chart for being a few seconds too long, so the single dropped from the midweek chart position of 9, to number 23; however, an appeal was made to the chart regulators and both versions were eventually counted, giving a final position of number 12. The single sold over 65,000 copies.
Just after the release of "Wild Boys", Peter Smith announced he was leaving to pursue a solo career and to give him more time to write music.
In autumn 2004 Phixx toured South Africa
, where they were already popular. They released their debut album, Electrophonic Revolution, there and it became the best-selling album for their South African record company Sheer Music. The band co-wrote some of the songs for the album with Lee Ryan
from Blue
, Bryan McFadden (formerly of Westlife
), Alistair Griffin
, Ultra
, and Theo from Liberty X. All the tracks were produced by John McLaughlin
, who had previously worked with Busted.
In December 2004, the band recorded a Christmas song written by Matt Baker for the children's show Blue Peter
. This song was available as a free download from the Blue Peter website in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but was never released for sale.
In January 2005, they released their fourth UK single, "Strange Love" (written by Judie Tzuke
), which entered the UK Singles Chart
at number 19.
In May 2005, Nikk Mager also left the band. They continued to perform around England and Ireland as a three piece, and spent six months in the recording studio, writing and recording new material. In November 2005, Chris Park announced that the remaining members of Phixx would be breaking up for good in 2006, in order to work on their own solo projects.
Band members made appearances on the music panel game, Never Mind the Buzzcocks
. Green appeared on the show in 2004, followed by Park a year later. Both appeared as panellists on Phill Jupitus
' team. In 2006, fellow band member Mager appeared in the Identity Parade line-up, where the panellists were asked to pick out a forgotten star from a group of five.
In 2008, Mager also appeared in the audition stage of The X Factor
, but he was eliminated after his performance of "The Rose
". Phixx appeared at number 35 in Chantelle's Top 50 Reality TV Stars.
Like Liberty X
, who were formed from the runners up on the first series of Popstars, Phixx had a much longer career than the male winners of Popstars: The Rivals, One True Voice
, who split up in 2003 after releasing just two singles. Phixx by contrast were active until 2006, and released several singles and an LP during their time together.
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
formed in 2003 from the five runners up on British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV show Popstars: The Rivals. The original members were Andrew Kinlochan, Chris Park, Mikey Green, Peter Smith, and Nikk Mager. Between 2003 and 2005 they had four top 20 singles in the UK. They broke up in 2006.
Band history
In February 2003, they signed to Hyperactive Management, who had previously been successful with Liberty XLiberty X
Liberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor...
. In October 2003 they released their first single, "Hold On Me", on the Concept Records
Concept Records
Concept Records is a small UK-based independent record label headquartered in London.The company was founded in 1999 by former A&R man for Jive Records and Warner Bros. Records Max Bloom...
label, which charted at number 10 in the UK, selling over 60,000 copies. March 2004 saw the release of their second single, "Love Revolution". This sold over 50,000 copies and charted at number 13.
The videos and dance routines for their first two singles aroused media attention for their content, as they often featured the band topless or naked, often in sexually suggestive and aggressive situations with other gay men.
The third single, released in June 2004, was a cover of Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
's "Wild Boys". During the release week, one version of the single was disqualified from the chart for being a few seconds too long, so the single dropped from the midweek chart position of 9, to number 23; however, an appeal was made to the chart regulators and both versions were eventually counted, giving a final position of number 12. The single sold over 65,000 copies.
Just after the release of "Wild Boys", Peter Smith announced he was leaving to pursue a solo career and to give him more time to write music.
In autumn 2004 Phixx toured South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where they were already popular. They released their debut album, Electrophonic Revolution, there and it became the best-selling album for their South African record company Sheer Music. The band co-wrote some of the songs for the album with Lee Ryan
Lee Ryan
Lee Ryan is an English singer-songwriter, actor and member of the British boy band Blue.-Early life:...
from Blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
, Bryan McFadden (formerly of Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
), Alistair Griffin
Alistair Griffin
Alistair Richard Griffin is an English singer/songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show Fame Academy 2 in 2003, where he was "spotted" and championed by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees...
, Ultra
Ultra (boy band)
Ultra is an English male pop band, which was most successful in the late 1990s. The original line-up consisted of James Hearn , Michael Harwood , Jon O'Mahony and Nick Keynes .-Musical history:Although sometimes mistakenly described as a...
, and Theo from Liberty X. All the tracks were produced by John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
, who had previously worked with Busted.
In December 2004, the band recorded a Christmas song written by Matt Baker for the children's show Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
. This song was available as a free download from the Blue Peter website in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but was never released for sale.
In January 2005, they released their fourth UK single, "Strange Love" (written by Judie Tzuke
Judie Tzuke
Judie Tzuke is an English singer/songwriter. She is most well known for her 1979 hit "Stay With Me Till Dawn", which reached no.16 on the UK Singles Chart.-Early life:...
), which entered the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at number 19.
In May 2005, Nikk Mager also left the band. They continued to perform around England and Ireland as a three piece, and spent six months in the recording studio, writing and recording new material. In November 2005, Chris Park announced that the remaining members of Phixx would be breaking up for good in 2006, in order to work on their own solo projects.
Band members made appearances on the music panel game, Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
. Green appeared on the show in 2004, followed by Park a year later. Both appeared as panellists on Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
' team. In 2006, fellow band member Mager appeared in the Identity Parade line-up, where the panellists were asked to pick out a forgotten star from a group of five.
In 2008, Mager also appeared in the audition stage of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK series 5)
The fifth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV in 2008. The series started on 16 August and was won by Alexandra Burke on 13 December, with new judge Cheryl Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges...
, but he was eliminated after his performance of "The Rose
The Rose (song)
"The Rose" is a pop song written by Amanda McBroom and made famous by Bette Midler, who performed it in the 1979 movie, The Rose. Since then it has been covered by a variety of artists.-Bette Midler version:...
". Phixx appeared at number 35 in Chantelle's Top 50 Reality TV Stars.
Like Liberty X
Liberty X
Liberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor...
, who were formed from the runners up on the first series of Popstars, Phixx had a much longer career than the male winners of Popstars: The Rivals, One True Voice
One True Voice
One True Voice were a British boyband created on the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals, which also produced girl group Girls Aloud. The band was created by the public, who voted for their favourite hopefuls each week...
, who split up in 2003 after releasing just two singles. Phixx by contrast were active until 2006, and released several singles and an LP during their time together.
Singles
| Date | Song | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
RSA South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2003 | "Hold on Me" | 10 | 1 | Electrophonic Revolution |
| March 2004 | "Love Revolution" | 13 | 5 | |
| June 2004 | "Wild Boys The Wild Boys (song) "The Wild Boys" is the twelfth single by Duran Duran, released in October 1984.The song was the only studio track on the live album Arena, and was produced by Nile Rodgers, who had previously remixed the single "The Reflex"... " |
12 | 9 | |
| January 2005 | "Strange Love" | 19 | 17 |
Album
Electrophonic Revolution was the only album released by Phixx. It was released in November 2004.| Track | Song | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hold On Me" | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Love Revolution " | 3:53 |
| 3. | "Wild Boys" | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Strange Love" | 4:07 |
| 5. | "Original Sin" | 4:03 |
| 6. | "Superstar" | 3:44 |
| 7. | "Judgement Day" | 4:15 |
| 8. | "Red Light" | 2:48 |
| 9. | "Relentless" | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Voyeur" | 3:42 |
| 11. | "Temptation" | 3.39 |
| 12. | "Let's Go All the Way" | 3.26 |
| 13. | "City of Night" | 3:43 |
| 14. | "When I Fall" | 4:30 |
| 15. | "Don't Walk Out" | 4:00 |
See also
- One True VoiceOne True VoiceOne True Voice were a British boyband created on the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals, which also produced girl group Girls Aloud. The band was created by the public, who voted for their favourite hopefuls each week...
- CleaClea (band)Clea was an English girl group whose members met on the television show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. Chloe Morgan , Lynsey Brown, Emma Beard, and Aimee Kearsley, decided to form a band after they were voted off the series...
- Javine HyltonJavine HyltonJavine Dionne Hylton , often known simply as Javine, is an English singer. She is most notable for representing the UK at Eurovision Song Contest 2005; beating competition favourite, model Katie Price, for the ticket to Kiev...
- Girls AloudGirls AloudGirls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
- Liberty XLiberty XLiberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor...