Blue (English band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blue

Blue performing in Manchester in 2011 (From left to right: Duncan

James, Antony Costa, Lee Ryanand Simon Webbe)

Background information

Origin London, England

 R&B
Genres
 pop

Years active  2000–2005

 2011–present

Labels  Innocent

 Island

 Sony

Associated acts  Elton John

 Daniel Glatman

Members Antony Costa

Duncan James

Lee Ryan
Simon Webbe
 Blue is an English boyband consisting of members Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee
Ryan and Simon Webbe. The band originally formed in 2000 and has released three studio
albums, All Rise (2001), One Love (2002) and Guilty (2003) that all peaked at number one in the
United Kingdom alongside releasing 16 singles, over a four-year period. The group also worked
alongside artists such as Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Lil' Kim. In late 2004, the group
announced a hiatus and released their first compilation album, Best of Blue, on 15 November
2004.
The band reunited once again in January 2011 and represented the United Kingdom at the 2011
Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with the song "I Can", coming in 11th place with 100
points. Blue released their fourth studio album, Roulette on 25 January 2013 with "Hurt Lovers"
as the lead single. The following month, it was confirmed that the group would be joining The Big
Reunion, in which six groups from the past (including Liberty X, Atomic Kitten and 5ive) reform
for a one-off gig. From May 2013, the group toured the UK and Ireland with the other groups
in The Big Reunion concert series.[1] On 27 March 2013, the group announced they would
embark on their first headlining tour later on in the year, their first tour in nearly ten years. Blue
have sold 15 million records worldwide,[2] including 3.3 million records and 1 million singles in the
UK alone.[3] In April 2015 Blue were dropped by their record label Sony due to the comparatively
poor sales of their fifth album Colours, which sold just 4,000 copies in its first week.[4]

Contents
[hide]

 1History
o 1.12000–01: Formation and All Rise
o 1.22002–04: One Love and Guilty
o 1.32004–05: Best of Blue and hiatus
o 1.42011–12: Return and Eurovision Song Contest
o 1.52012–16: Roulette and Colours
o 1.62017–present: Upcoming sixth studio album
 2Discography
 3Tours
 4References
 5External links

History[edit]
2000–01: Formation and All Rise[edit]
In May 1999, Lee Ryan and Antony Costa met at the ages of 15 and 17, respectively, when
auditioning for a boy band on ITV's This Morning, with Simon Cowell putting the group
together.[5] Ryan made it into the band, as did 21-year-old Will Young (who would go on to win
the first series of Pop Idol in 2002), although Costa was not chosen.[5]
The boy band never took off, but Ryan and Costa remained friends following their meeting. In
2000, Costa and another one of his friends, Duncan James, decided to form their own band, and
they were soon joined by Ryan. Their manager Daniel Glatman said, "Duncan came to see me
with his friend, Antony Costa, who was also in the same position [wanted to be in the music
industry], and they told me that they wanted to do something together. When I asked them if they
had anyone in mind to work with, they said they had a friend, Lee Ryan, whom they wanted to
invite to join their band. The three of them came in a couple of days later and I was completely
blown away by the incredibly talented stars that stood before me."[6] Ryan, Costa, James and
Glatman all felt that something was missing and so they went on to audition for a fourth member,
a position eventually filled by Ryan's flatmate, Simon Webbe.[6][7]
Blue started recording for their debut album following their new line-up. They released their debut
single "All Rise" in May 2001 and it reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. Their follow-
up single "Too Close" was released in August 2001 and peaked at number one. Following this,
the band went to New York City to film the "Too Close" music video, and while there, they
witnessed the attacks on the World Trade Center. The following month, Blue were being
interviewed by British newspaper The Sun and Ryan commented that "This New York thing is
being blown out of proportion" and asked "What about whales? They are ignoring animals that
are more important. Animals need saving and that's more important." The other members of the
band tried to silence Ryan, but he went on. This caused a huge media backlash that resulted in
Blue losing a record deal in the United States and campaigns to sack Ryan from the
group.[8] Despite the backlash, Blue went on to achieve a second number one in November with
the ballad "If You Come Back". The album All Risewas released in time for Christmas and
reached number one, eventually selling in excess of 1.8 million copies in the UK. The final single
from the album, "Fly by II", reached number six in March 2002.
2002–04: One Love and Guilty[edit]
Blue's second album, One Love, was released in October 2002, entering at number one on
the UK Albums Chart and selling more than 150,000 copies. Three singles were released from
the album: "One Love", which peaked at number three, "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word",
featuring vocals from Elton John, which peaked at number one, and "U Make Me Wanna", which
peaked at number four. The song "Supersexual" was issued in parts of South America and Spain
in order to promote the band in the region. In June 2003, Hugh and David Nicholson of 1970s
Scottish band Blue took the group to court, attempting to sue them and their record label EMI for
£5 million. The case was a high-profile High Court case over the rights to use the name Blue.
After some negotiation, the two groups agreed to drop the case and were both allowed to
continue to be known as Blue and to use the name commercially.[9]
Their third album, Guilty, was released in autumn 2003, entering at number one on the UK
Albums Chart and selling 100,000 copies on the week of release. The album spawned four
singles, including the title track, "Guilty", which peaked at number two, "Signed, Sealed,
Delivered, I'm Yours", featuring vocals from Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone, which peaked at
number 11, "Breathe Easy", which peaked at number four, and "Bubblin'", which peaked at
number nine. The album ended up selling more than 1 million copies in the UK alone. The song
"The Gift" was released to promote the album in Japan.
2004–05: Best of Blue and hiatus[edit]

Blue performing on their Greatest Hits Tour, in 2005.

In November 2004, the band released Best of Blue, a greatest hits compilation. The album
spawned the singles "Curtain Falls", which peaked at No. 4 in the UK, "Get Down on It" and
"Only Words I Know", which peaked at No. 2 in France and Italy. The album peaked at No. 2 on
the UK Albums Chart and was awarded a double platinum certification. Following the release
of Best of Blue, band members Simon Webbe and Antony Costa made the decision to release an
album compiling a selection of the group's b-sides, remixes and previously unreleased material.
The album also includes three tracks only previously in Japan: "The Gift", "It's Alright" and
"Elements". The album also includes band member Duncan James' debut solo single, "I Believe
My Heart". By the indication of the album booklet, a live version of "Lonely This Christmas" from
CD:UK was intended to be track seven on the album, however, was removed from the track
listing for unknown reasons. The album was released in July 2005, becoming available in several
European countries, as well as Japan, Thailand[10]and China, but wasn't released in the UK. In
2005 the group announced that they would pause and go into hiatus to devote himself to a solo
career for some time. In 2009, the band planned a return, but it never happened at the time.[11]
2011–12: Return and Eurovision Song Contest[edit]

Blue performing at the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany on 14 May 2011.

It was announced on 29 January 2011 that Blue would reunite and also represent the United
Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, with their entry "I Can".[12] It coincided with the
tenth anniversary of the establishment of the band in 2001 and a one-hour
documentary, Eurovision: Your Country Needs Blue, was broadcast in April 2011 celebrated their
preparations for the final.[13] It was the third time the group has Eurovision ambitions as group
member Lee Ryan wrote and composed "Guardian Angel", Andy Scott-Lee's song for the 2005
edition of Making Your Mind Up. Furthermore, Antony Costa came second in the 2006 edition of
the show with the song "It's A Beautiful Thing".[14] Group member Duncan James was a panellist
on all episodes of the Eurovision: Your Country Needs You series in 2009, which Jade
Ewen won. He also announced the UK votes in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 final.[12]
Blue became the first UK representatives since The Shadows in 1975 to have had multiple no.1
singles in the UK chart prior to appearing in Eurovision,[15] and the first since Sonia in 1993 to
have had a no.1 at all before entering the competition.[16] The song "I Can" premiered on 11
March 2011, on The Graham Norton Show.[17] In the contest, they came 11th with 100 points.
After the contest Blue said they were the victims of political voting, claiming they would have
finished higher if countries had voted for the performance rather than their neighbours.[18] It later
turned out when the European Broadcasting Union (who runs Eurovision) released the split
Televote & Jury results, That Blue came in 5th place with the European voters and the final result
was down to coming in 22nd place on the Jury vote. Duncan James insisted that the result of
their Eurovision bid won't affect their UK comeback, adding: "Should the worst happen, we're still
going to press ahead with the album. It won't be the last of us – we're all fully committed to this
band again."[19]
The band revealed during an interview that they had recorded a collaboration with American R&B
superstar Bruno Mars for their upcoming fourth studio album. Discussing the record with Digital
Spy, Lee Ryan said: "We've been writing with Ne-Yo, and I've written at least a couple of songs
on my own that will probably make the album. We've also been working with Bruno Mars on a
song called "Black and Blue" – he's sending his parts over from a demo we recorded a while ago.
It's got some haunting notes on the chorus." They also revealed that three tracks on the album
had been produced by RedOne, and that they felt that the material was "their best work to
date".[19] During February 2012, the band embarked on a small tour across Manila, performing
with fellow boyband A1 and Jeff Timmons in three special concerts, two of which included
the Smart Araneta Coliseum on 25 February 2012, and the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 28
February. The tour was billed as "Boybands: The Greatest Hits Tour".[20]
2012–16: Roulette and Colours[edit]
Blue performing in Italy in 2013

On 22 June 2012, the band premiered their new song, "Hurt Lovers", during a concert in China.
In an interview shortly after the concert, the band claimed that "Hurt Lovers" was one of the first
tracks they recorded after re-uniting, and that it was an obvious choice for their comeback single.
It received positive reception across Asia, before being officially premiered in Germany on 6
October 2012. Thus, the creators of the film Schluss Macher approached the band, and asked if
the song could be used as the official theme for the film. Thus, the track will receive an early
release on 4 January 2013, before being released across the world later in the year. In promotion
of the single, the band performed it live on Vocea României on 4 December 2012,[21] as well as
embarking on an acoustic radio tour across six cities in Germany.[22] In October 2012, the group
confirmed via their official Facebook page that the title of their fourth studio album would
be Roulette. It was also revealed that the album will receive an early release in Germany, being
made available from 25 January 2013. The band shot the album's artwork in a deserted casino in
November 2012.[23] On 21 February 2013, it was confirmed that the group would join ITV2's
reality series The Big Reunion.[24][25]
The bands were originally only supposed to perform a one-off concert at London's Hammersmith
Apollo on 26 February 2013, but the entire show sold out in under five minutes shortly after the
premiere of the first episode on 31 January 2013.[26] A DVD of the Hammersmith Apollo concert
will be released in April 2013.[27] On 11 February, it was confirmed that, following high ticket
demands and the popularity of The Big Reunion, a full 12-date UK tour would be taking place
from 3–12 May 2013.[28] On 28 April 2013, Roulette was released in United Kingdom and
Ireland.[29] On 16 May the band released "Without You" as the second single from the album only
in Germany, Swiss and Austria. The music video premiered the same day. "Break My Heart" was
released as the third single from the album on 29 June for radio premiere and 5 August 2013 for
digital download. The single was released as official single only in Germany and promotional
radio single on United Kingdom.[30] The music video was premiered on 18 August. Blue starred in
their own TV programme on ITV2 called Blue Go Mad in Ibiza, which followed the band as they
ran their own bar out in Ibiza. Little did they know that they were being pranked, everybody
involved with the bar excluding Blue themselves were actors who purposely made things as
awkward as possible. In November 2014, Blue announced they had signed a two-album record
deal with Sony Music, starting with their fifth studio album Colours released on 9 March
2015.[31][32] The album underperformed, selling only 4,000 copies in its first week of release which
resulted in the band being dropped by the record label in April.[4]
Blue then embarked on a 16-date tour around the United Kingdom, beginning on 21 March 2015
at the Guildhall in Portsmouth and come to an end on 9 April at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester,
whilst also performing along the way
in Plymouth, Cardiff, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Bournemouth, London, Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverp
ool, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Oxford and Ipswich.[33] On 9 May 2015 Blue performed
at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in Horse Guards Parade, London, dressed as World War
II RAF officers.
2017–present: Upcoming sixth studio album[edit]
In April 2017, Blue posted an image of them in the studio on their Instagram account, as well as
an image of Lee Ryan playing the guitar captioned with "#6", seemingly indicating that the band
is working on their sixth studio album. The sixth studio album has also been confirmed by band
member Simon Webbe in October 2017.

Discography[edit]
Main article: Blue discography
Studio albums

 All Rise (2001)

 One Love (2002)
 Guilty (2003)
 Roulette (2013)
 Colours (2015)

Tours[edit]
Main artist Co-headlining

 One Love Tour (2002–03)  The Big Reunion (20

 Guilty Tour (2003–04)  The Big Reunion Bo
 Greatest Hits Tour (2004–05)
 I Can Concerts (2011–12)
 Roulette Tour (2013–15)
 Colours of Blue Tour (2015–17)

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Blue Join Reality Show The Big Reunion". MTV. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 22
February 2013.
2. Jump up^ "Brighton turns Blue for Pride". brighton-pride.org. Archived from the original on 21
February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
3. Jump up^ "Certified Awards". bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b "Blue dropped by record label: 'We're going to keep doing what we love'". Digital
Spy.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b Rigler, Natasha (3 October 2013). "Blue's Lee Ryan auditioned for Simon Cowell
aged 15 - throwback picture". Reveal. Nat Mags. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b Glatman, Daniel (7 June 2002). "Interview with DANIEL GLATMAN, manager for
Blue (2 million debut album sales)". HitQuarters. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
7. Jump up^ Webbe, Simon (20 January 2014). "Blue's Simon Webbe: To this day I still owe Lee
Ryan my life and I will support him forever". Metro. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
8. Jump up^ "Lee Ryan's 9/11 gaffe". virginmedia.com. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
9. Jump up^ "Blue bands settle name dispute". BBC News. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 30 June 2003.
10. Jump up^ "4Ever Blue Thailand edition". Archived from the original on 21 October 2012.
Retrieved 28 April 2011.
11. Jump up^ "Boyband Blue to get back together? – Music News". Digital Spy. 21 April 2009.
Retrieved 20 June 2011.
12. ^ Jump up to:a b "Eurovision Song Contest – Dusseldorf 2011 | News – Blue to represent the
United Kingdom at Eurovision". Esctoday.com. 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10
July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
13. Jump up^ "Blue are back! And they're doing Eurovision! Here's what we know so
far..."teentoday.co.uk. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
14. Jump up^ "Eurovision Song Contest – Dusseldorf 2011 | News – UK: Daz Sampson to Athens!".
Esctoday.com. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
15. Jump up^ "Blue". Chart Stats. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
16. Jump up^ "Sonia". Chart Stats. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
 17. Jump up^ Montebello, Edward. "News - Exclusive: Blue speaks to esctoday.com". ESCToday.
Archived from the original on 14 February 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
18. Jump up^ "Blue blame politics for Eurovision defeat". Yahoo News. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
19. ^ Jump up to:a b "Blue confirm "haunting" Bruno Mars collab – Music News". Digital Spy. 13 March
2011. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
20. Jump up^ "THE ULTIMATE BOYBAND CONCERT: BLUE, A1 AND JEFF TIMMONS FROM 98
DEGREES". 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013.
21. Jump up^ "VOCEA ROMÂNIEI. Grupul britanic Blue, invitat special în ediția de marți" (in
Romanian). Realitatea TV. 3 December 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
22. Jump up^ Blog Archive *Video* (The Voice Romania) Sorry Seems To Be..., December
4thArchived 16 January 2013 at Archive.is. AllRiseForBlue.COM (4 December 2012). Retrieved
18 February 2013.
23. Jump up^ "Name of Blue's new album". 5 November 2012.[non-primary source needed]
24. Jump up^ "Blue Join Reality Show The Big Reunion". MTV. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 22
February 2013.
25. Jump up^ "Blue to join ITV's Big Reunion". musicnews.com. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 26
February 2013.
26. Jump up^ Daniels, Colin (3 February 2013). "'Big Reunion' UK arena tour in the works". Digital
Spy. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
27. Jump up^ "The Big Reunion Live 2013 - DVD". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
28. Jump up^ Nissam, Mayer (11 February 2013). "5ive, Atomic Kitten, B*Witched, Liberty X, 911 for
Big Reunion arena tour". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
29. Jump up^ "Roulette - Blue". iTunes Store. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
30. Jump up^ "Blue - "Break My Heart"". 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 August
2013. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
31. Jump up^ "Feeling Blue no longer: Boyband set for comeback UK tour after signing megabucks
Sony deal". Daily Mirror. 2 November 2014.
32. Jump up^ "Colours". Amazon.com.
33. Jump up^ "Blue announce spring 2015 UK tour". Digital Spy. 3 November 2014.

External links[edit]
 Official website

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 Simon Webbe

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United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

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Eurovision Song Contest 2011

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