Jo O'Meara

Early life

Joanne Valda O'Meara was born in Romford, Greater London, to parents Dave and Barbara. She has a brother and sister, Shane and Julie. She grew up in Collier Row, a suburban housing estate in the north of Romford in the London Borough of Havering. She was educated at Clockhouse Junior School and Bower Park School. O'Meara was given a full scholarship to attend the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, where she excelled in music, acting and dance – receiving a standing ovation by the heads and principals for her rendition of the song "Summertime".

Career

1996–1998

At age 16, O'Meara joined the earliest incarnation of girl group Solid HarmoniE and flew out to Sweden to work with record producer Max Martin. She'd move to Essex and performed open mic nights until she was spotted by the S Club 7 team in a country and western bar. Prior O'Meara was also a member of a German rap/hip hop group 2-4 Family which was formed in 1998.

1998–2003: S Club

Main article: S Club

The group rose to public prominence by appearing in their own BBC television series, Miami 7, in 1999. Over the five years they were together, S Club 7 had four UK No.1 singles, one UK No.1 album, a string of hits throughout Europe, including a top-ten single in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Africa. They recorded a total of four studio albums, released eleven singles and went on to sell over fourteen million albums worldwide. Their first album, S Club, had a strong 1990s pop sound, similar to many artists of their time. However, through the course of their career, their musical approach changed to a more dance and R&B sound which is heard mostly in their final album, Seeing Double.

The concept and brand of the group was created by Simon Fuller, also their manager through 19 Entertainment; they were signed to Polydor Records. Their television series went on to last four series, seeing the group travel across the United States and eventually ending up in Barcelona, Spain. It became popular in 100 different countries where the show was watched by over 90 million viewers. The show, which was a children's sitcom, often mirrored real life events which had occurred in S Club, including the relationship of Hannah Spearritt and Paul Cattermole, as well as the latter's eventual departure from the group. As well as the popularity of their television series, S Club 7 won two Brit Awards—in 2000 for British breakthrough act and in 2002, for best British single. In 2001, the group earned the Record of Year. S Club's second last single reached number-five in the UK charts and their final studio album failed to make the top ten. However, on 21 April 2003, during a live onstage performance, S Club announced that they were to disband.

2004–2007: ''Relentless'' and reality shows

In 2004, O'Meara signed with Simon Fuller as her artist manager and began recording her debut solo album, planned to be released between September and December. The album would be focused on R&B sound, with Fuller describing O'Meara as "the next Christina Aguilera".

In July 2005, O'Meara signed with Sanctuary Records and on 26 September was released her debut solo single, "What Hurts the Most", a version of Mark Wills's 2003 song. The song peaked at number 13 on the United Kingdom and 26 in Ireland. On 3 October she released her debut album, Relentless; the album peaked at number 48 in UK and was described by music critics as "polished", "well constructed" and "better than other former boy/girl band" albums and O'Meara's Voice as "strong".

In February 2006, O'Meara took part in the BBC reality show Just the Two of Us. Her singing partner was Chris Fountain, actor on the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. The pair came third in the competition, failing to attract enough votes to make the final after their performance of "Never Had a Dream Come True". In January 2007, O'Meara appeared on Celebrity Big Brother. Along with Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd, O'Meara was accused of racist and bullying behaviour toward fellow contestant Indian actress Shilpa Shetty, resulting in a record number of complaints to Ofcom, national and international media coverage, and condemnatory statements from the British and Indian governments.

2008–2020: S Club 3 and S Club reunion

In November 2008, O'Meara, Bradley McIntosh, and Paul Cattermole formed the spin-off group S Club 3 and had been performing in nightclubs, universities and Butlins holiday camps around the United Kingdom. On 12 November 2008 a bottle was thrown during their performance in Bradford. It struck O'Meara, leaving her with a cut to the head requiring hospital treatment. A 20-year-old man was arrested and it was suggested the attack was linked to her Celebrity Big Brother appearance where she was accused of racially aggravated bullying.

O'Meara featured in a cover of the Python Lee Jackson song "In a Broken Dream" on the Popes' 2012 album New Church, her first released recording in seven years. She also appeared on stage with them performing the song. In November 2014, all seven original S Club 7 members reunited to perform a medley of some of their greatest hits on BBC Children In Need. They performed a reunion tour, Bring It All Back 2015, in May 2015.

Following the S Club reunion Jo continued to tour with Tina Barrett and Bradley McIntosh performing as S Club 3. In 2017, the trio released a single titled "Family" for charity but failed to chart in the UK.

In August 2020, O'Meara announced that she would no longer be performing as S Club 3 to focus on her upcoming second studio album. She was replaced by former S Club 8 member Stacey Franks, with the group renamed as "S Club Allstars".

2021–present: Solo career return and second S Club reunion

In April and May 2021, O'Meara released unplugged renditions of "Don't Stop Movin" and "Relentless," respectively. Those songs would go on to be included in her second album, With Love, was released on 27 August 2021, and featured twelve tracks.

In 2022, O'Meara signed a new management deal with Saga Entertainment with Jack Corbyn as her personal manager. This year also saw O'Meara taking to the stage at the London Palladium after releasing a cover of Radiohead classic "Creep".

In September 2022, O'Meara joined the Celebs to mark the 40th anniversary of the Michael Jackson classic album Thriller and raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, with a new rendition of the title track, which was released on the independent record label Saga Entertainment and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn.

On 13 February 2023, it was announced that S Club were to reunite for a second time for a new arena tour in October, to mark the 25th anniversary since their original formation. The tour would consist of 10 shows in the UK and one in Ireland, before moving on to Canada and the US in 2024.

Personal life

In 2008, O'Meara gave birth to her son, after separating from her partner Bill Slate.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Promotional singles

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. (23 April 2003). "S Club to Split".
2. (16 January 2007). "Big Brother accused of racism". [[The Guardian]].
3. Michelle Archard and Deanne Blaylock. (11 January 2007). "Essex girls battle it out in Celebrity Big Brother". Essex Chronicle Series Ltd.
4. (8 August 2021). "INTERVIEW: S Club star Jo O'Meara on coping with teen stardom and why life is easier after 40". Sunday Post.
5. (18 June 2000). "S Club reach for the top". BBC News.
6. (21 April 2003). "S Club to split up". BBC News.
7. "Jo O'Meara – News". Monrezo.
8. "News Express". Monrezo.
9. "2005 UK Singles Chart". [[UKChartsPlus]].
10. "Jo O'Meara Relentless Review". BBC.
11. "Jo O'Meara solo career". Jo O'Meara Official.
12. Taylor, Joel. (17 January 2007). "Big Brother backlash". Metro UK.
13. "S Club live on stage – The Reunion show". Happymondaysleeds.com.
14. (14 November 2008). "Former S Club Singer O'Meara Injured After Bottle Thrown". contactmusic.com.
15. Randell, Louise. (2021-08-29). "S Club 7's Jo O'Meara 'lost everything' after Big Brother but baby son saved her".
16. (22 October 2014). "S Club 7 reunite for Children in Need". bbc.com.
17. (2 December 2017). "S Club 7 reunite for Children in Need". SClub7.Com.
18. (6 August 2021). "Jo announces her departure from S Club 3". Jo O'Meara Source.
19. (25 November 2021). "I've got some news! I'm joining @realtinab1 & @BradleyMcIntosh to bring you #SclubAllstars".
20. (27 June 2021). "Jo O'Meara Drops Brand New Single 'On the Surface'".
21. (14 July 2022). "Jo O'Meara signs with new management".
22. (13 July 2022). "Jo O'Meara signs with new management".
23. (28 September 2022). "Jo O'Meara celebrates the 40th anniversary of 'Thriller' with a spooktacular take".
24. (14 February 2023). "S Club 7 reunion: Bringing back 'joy and positivity' on 25th anniversary comeback tour". BBC News.
25. (15 May 2008). "Jo O'Meara gives birth to son".
26. (5 May 2013). "The Official Charts Company – Jo O'Meara". The Official Charts Company.
27. "Jo Chart History". aCharts.
28. (March 2022). "jo omera solo music".
29. (April 2022). "COMING SOON !! So many of you have enjoyed my version of this song at my live shows ! So I've decided to release it on all platforms for you all".
30. (2 October 2022). "Jo O'Meara shares cover of Michael Jackson classic 'Thriller'".