"These Are the Days" is a song by British pop music group S Club. It was released on 26 July 2023 in memory of Paul Cattermole. The song is the first new material recorded and released by the band in 20 years.[1] This is the first release with the group as a quintet following Cattermole's death and Hannah Spearritt's departure.
| "These Are the Days" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by S Club | ||||
| Released | 26 July 2023 | |||
| Length | 3:06 | |||
| Label | Universal | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | John Nathaniel | |||
| S Club singles chronology | ||||
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Background and composition
editOn 6 April 2023, band member Cattermole died of natural causes at the age of 46.[2] S Club announced the release of the single on 23 July 2023.[3][4] "These Are the Days" is the first song to feature S Club without vocals by Hannah Spearritt, although the video includes old footage of her, as part of the original lineup.
"These Are the Days" was written primarily by Simon Ellis and his wife Johanne Ellis, with contributions from Cathy Dennis,[5] with production helmed by John Nathaniel.[6][7]
Jo O'Meara has revealed that the song "was actually written for us twenty years ago, for the very first time around, but I think it probably wasn't right for us back then, and it just popped up again and it seemed like absolutely the perfect song for us to do and we've reworked the lyrics a little bit and made it more a tribute song".[8][9]
The song was the first S Club single to not reach the top 5 in the UK, and was subsequently dropped from the North American leg of the Good Times tour in 2024.
Music video
editThe music video, released on 26 July 2023, showed the group looking through photographs and memories of their time as a seven-piece group from 1999 to 2022.[10] The video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh.[11]
Other versions
edit"These Are the Days" is the only single released by S Club to not feature a B-Side, remix or alternative version.
A different version of the song with a similar chorus was released by Now United for their album "The Musical: Welcome to the Night of Your Life" on 21 April 2023, a few months prior to S Club's release. Now United are also part of Simon Fuller's label XIX Entertainment and opened for S Club on their Good Times tour later that year.
Track listings
edit- Digital single[12]
- "These Are The Days" – 3:05
Charts
edit| Chart (2023-2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[13] | 15 |
| UK Singles Sales (OCC)[14] | 16 |
References
edit- ^ McIntosh, Steven (26 July 2023). "S Club: New single These Are The Days is 'tribute' to Paul Cattermole". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (18 May 2023). "Coroner rules Paul Cattermole, late S Club 7 star, died of natural causes". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (24 July 2023). "S Club to Release First Single in 20 Years – Global Bulletin". Variety. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ Griffiths, George (24 July 2023). "S Club to release first new single in 20 years in memory of Paul Cattermole". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ Murray, Robin (26 July 2023). "S Club Return With 'These Are The Days'". Clash. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "S Club - These Are The Days". Spotify. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "S Club – These Are The Days". Apple Music. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "S Club Live on The One Show [28.07.2023]". YouTube. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Smith, Carl (9 August 2023). "S Club: "We share a bond nobody else will ever understand"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (26 July 2023). "S Club debut brand new single 'These Are The Days' – watch the video". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "S Club – These Are the Days". 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ "These Are The Days - Single by S Club on Apple Music". Apple Music.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2023.