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Biography
Thanks
to Triple 8 Official Site - http://www.triple8world.com
Six
years ago in a wet Bristol underpass, two teenagers by the names of Sparx and
Justin scrawled a simple message on the wall: “1997 will be our year”.
Well,
1997 came and went. So did hundreds of other pop acts. But Triple 8 have been
waiting, patiently, for their time to come. And finally, in 2003, that time is
right now. With Josh Barnett, Jamie Bell and David Wilcox swelling their ranks,
Triple 8 are ready. Balladeering boybands beware: this'll knock you right off
your stools.
Sparx,
who was 22 in February, is Bristol born and bred and 888’s resident visionary.
“We had self belief,” he says of those dark days in Bristol, “and we had
each other. We knew we’d get here eventually.” An obsessive music fan, he
thanks Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Prince for his love of pop.
Justin
is twenty years old, and grew up in Bristol not far from Sparx’s house. Justin
was 14 when he and Sparx set the band up (“There’s not much else to do in
Bristol!”). His big influences are “Usher for the performance, Boyz II Men
for the music, and Jodeci for the vibe”. While he’s too modest to admit it,
Justin’s like a one-man version of the whole lot put together.
Josh
Barnett, 21, is many things. “A genius”, according to a recent, not entirely
scientific IQ test. “The tidiest person in the world,” claims David. And in
888’s earliest stages, he was the perfect third member –already something of
a pop veteran. (He was in an act called Brash, with Antony from Blue – but
walked away because, in his own words, “they were shit”.)
Jamie
Bell, 17, came to the band having known Josh from local football club, and was
familiar with David from shared sessions at London’s Pineapple dance studio.
Jamie’s taken roles in shows like Oliver! (as a workhouse boy) and Grange
Hill. "He's far too sensible for his age," David huffs. "He
should be out with all the women, fighting and all sorts. But he's not! So I
have to do it instead."
21-year-old
Blackpool boy David Wilcox is Triple 8's resident charmer ("Everyone says
I’m going to turn out like Peter Stringfellow"), he happily admits to
being "the scruffy one". In a past life David was signed as part of a
shonky boyband called Hiwayz and he was the last to join Triple 8 - two days
after a meeting with manager Chris Herbert, he was booked on a flight to the
recording studio in Norway.
So
that’s your five-piece - and Triple 8 are happy to admit that they’re a
boyband. “We’re going to take the embarrassment out of being in a boyband.
Pop needs to step up a gear. We’re here to raise the game.” To this end the
boys have been working with world-class producers to develop the Triple 8 sound.
“Cutting edge every step of the way,” reckons Josh. The results are
astonishing: ball-breaking, axe-wielding, genre-busting anthems like ‘Yo Yo’
and the gloriously unsubtle ‘Hit The Bone’, mingling with slick R&B cuts
like ‘Holler’ and classic ballads like ‘To Die For’.
Triple
8’s reach extends beyond the currently defined realms of a pop act. The music
sets the band’s attitude – that pop music is never ‘just’ pop music –
in steel, and the rest of planet pop will know it soon enough. They’ll take no
prisoners. “We’re not going to be sitting there going ‘Well, Number 15 is
great, thanks for your support,” Sparx states. As David explains, “we want a
Number One single. Of course we do. It's bollocks when people say they’re
happy with second best.”
After
six years, Triple 8 are ready to blow up. 2003 will be their year.
March
2003
In simple terms and in a short bio:
Six years ago in a underpass in Bristol, 2 teenagers, Sparx and Justin wrote on the wall ‘1997 will be our year’
1997 came and went with loads of other pop acts, Steps, Five, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys N*Sync, have all gone now. Triple 8 have been biding their time and now it’s finally arrived hurrah! Making up triple 8 are Josh Barnett, Jamie Bell, David Wilcox, Ian ‘Sparx’ Farquharson and Justin Scott. All aged 20, 17, 21, 23 and 22 respectively
With not much to do in Bristol at the time Justin and Sparx decided to start a band ‘we had self belief,’ said Sparx ‘ and we had each other We knew we’d get here eventually’
After six years Triple 8 are ready to blow up, 2003 will be their year.’