Simon Cowell has yet to respond after Five reached out to him about reforming.
Although the music mogul was responsible for putting the band – comprised of Jason “J” Brown, Abz Love, Ritchie Neville, Sean Conlon and Scott Robinson – together in 1997, they say he doesn’t appear to be interested in their reunion.
Speaking to The Sun on Sunday’s Biz on Sunday column, Ritchie said: “Out of courtesy, we let him know that we were reforming — like, ‘Hey by the way …'”
Scott added: “He hasn’t replied, but do you know what? He is a very, very busy man, so I’m sure he will at some point. If he wants to come to a show. ”
Referencing Five’s 1999 hit ‘If Ya Gettin’ Down’, Ritchie said: “He can get on down! He was already a massive success, just not a famous one, when he signed us. We wish him well, he is doing his thing.”
Despite the lack of response from Simon, they all agree that the ‘X Factor’ judge played a huge part in their early success.
Scott said: “He was a huge part of what we did. He wasn’t the celebrity he is now, as Rich just said, but he was an incredible A R [talent scout].
“He really helped us to formulate our albums, our sounds, chose the producers, the songwriters, put everything together and, you know, he did a great job.”
Sean added: “All he needed was the first chorus. He would just put it on, get to the end of the first chorus then follow his gut instinct and work the rest out later — he just knew from there, and just turned it off.”