No Sweat (TV series)
Encyclopedia
No Sweat is a British television
children's comedy
show that went to air on the BBC
's analogue channels in the late 1990s. The show followed the exploits of struggling boy band
, North & South, consisting of Jimmy (played by James Hurst), Greg (played by Lee Otter), Miles (played by Tom Lowe
) and Giles (played by Sam Chapman), who were a band in real life, scoring four UK
Top 40 hits
between 1997 and 1998 including a #7 debut single "I'm A Man Not A Boy" in May 1997.
, 2wo Third3
, Bros
, and East 17
. Tom, Lee, and Sam responded to adverts published on Teletext
, and guitarist James joined later following a chance meeting with Sam. After being chosen on their musical ability, the band were put through a series of screen test
s by Initial Television for the show. After these, they began recording their debut album and filming the first series of the show in Brighton in early 1997.
and centred around James Hurst's character, Jimmy Osman, who had just moved into the area with his kind, but overbearing mother, Beverley (played by Harriet Thorpe
). Beverley was obsessed with entering competitions, once purchasing multiple cans of dog food despite not having a dog. After making friends with Greg Fuggle at the Peasbody school, and getting past the school bullies Carly (Gemma McCluskie) & Janice (Jessica Meyer), they decided to form a band as a way of getting girls and cash - fast. They initially try to persuade Giles Beamish & Miles Smith-Jones from rival school St Ethelburga's to join this band, and, though reluctant at first, they eventually joined and named themselves North & South.
Midway through the first series, the debut single, "I'm A Man Not A Boy" was released, and reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart
, ending that year as the 72nd biggest selling single with 102,300 copies sold. It fared even better in Malaysia, reaching #2. In August 1997, after the series ended, they released their second single, "Tarantino's New Star", which was anticipated to repeat the success of its predecessor. However, despite a lot of promotion, it only reached #18 and disappeared from the UK chart within weeks. Despite this, they went on a sell out tour of the UK in October. The show's theme song, "No Sweat", was also released as a single, and was also used as the theme song for the European version of the PlayStation
video game, Tombi!.
After the tour, third single "Breathing" was released in November, and again, well promoted, but it only scraped in at #27, leaving the charts faster than its predecessor. Things were not looking good for the band, despite a second series of No Sweat being filmed and an album out the following year.
, but was met with lower ratings than the first series. In this series, it centred around the band going on tour up and down the UK in a broken down camper van (that on the inside was more like an actual home), reverting to their actual names and being managed by Mickey (played by David Cardy) with Janice & Carly being the band's bodyguards. For their fourth single, a remix of the show's theme tune, entitled "No Sweat '98" was released, but again, it did not do well commercially, peaking at #29 and leaving the UK chart rapidly thereafter.
BMG Entertainment decided not to release their much delayed debut album, entitled 'Allsorts'. Shortly after the second series of No Sweat ended, the band split up.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
children's comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
show that went to air on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's analogue channels in the late 1990s. The show followed the exploits of struggling boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
, North & South, consisting of Jimmy (played by James Hurst), Greg (played by Lee Otter), Miles (played by Tom Lowe
Tom Lowe (performer)
Thomas Peter "Tom" Lowe is an English-born singer and actor.-Personal life:Tom Lowe was born in Stockport, England to his parents, Peter and Margaret Lowe...
) and Giles (played by Sam Chapman), who were a band in real life, scoring four UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Top 40 hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
between 1997 and 1998 including a #7 debut single "I'm A Man Not A Boy" in May 1997.
Beginnings
The band were formed by pop music manager Tom Watkins, whose previous artists included Pet Shop BoysPet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
, 2wo Third3
2wo Third3
2wo Third3 were a gay four piece 1990s electropop group, with three performing members and one non-performing songwriting member. They were called 2wo Third3 because out of the performing members, the two backing members dressed in identical clothing usually with rubber gloves and the frontman,...
, Bros
Bros
Bros were a British band active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisting of twin brothers Matt Goss and Luke Goss along with Craig Logan...
, and East 17
East 17
East 17 are a pop boy band comprising Tony Mortimer, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell. Tony Mortimer is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Walthamstow, London in 1991, the group have achieved eighteen Top 20 singles and four Top 10 albums, and were one of the UK's most popular boy...
. Tom, Lee, and Sam responded to adverts published on Teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
, and guitarist James joined later following a chance meeting with Sam. After being chosen on their musical ability, the band were put through a series of screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...
s by Initial Television for the show. After these, they began recording their debut album and filming the first series of the show in Brighton in early 1997.
First series/Music: 1997
The first series in 1997 was set in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and centred around James Hurst's character, Jimmy Osman, who had just moved into the area with his kind, but overbearing mother, Beverley (played by Harriet Thorpe
Harriet Thorpe
-TV:She was in the mid-to-late 1990s British television sitcom The Brittas Empire, playing Carole Parkinson, the receptionist who was prone to depression and fits of emotion who permanently kept her children with her, in drawers under her desk and would sometimes be seen feeding them or washing...
). Beverley was obsessed with entering competitions, once purchasing multiple cans of dog food despite not having a dog. After making friends with Greg Fuggle at the Peasbody school, and getting past the school bullies Carly (Gemma McCluskie) & Janice (Jessica Meyer), they decided to form a band as a way of getting girls and cash - fast. They initially try to persuade Giles Beamish & Miles Smith-Jones from rival school St Ethelburga's to join this band, and, though reluctant at first, they eventually joined and named themselves North & South.
Midway through the first series, the debut single, "I'm A Man Not A Boy" was released, and reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, ending that year as the 72nd biggest selling single with 102,300 copies sold. It fared even better in Malaysia, reaching #2. In August 1997, after the series ended, they released their second single, "Tarantino's New Star", which was anticipated to repeat the success of its predecessor. However, despite a lot of promotion, it only reached #18 and disappeared from the UK chart within weeks. Despite this, they went on a sell out tour of the UK in October. The show's theme song, "No Sweat", was also released as a single, and was also used as the theme song for the European version of the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
video game, Tombi!.
After the tour, third single "Breathing" was released in November, and again, well promoted, but it only scraped in at #27, leaving the charts faster than its predecessor. Things were not looking good for the band, despite a second series of No Sweat being filmed and an album out the following year.
Series 2 and the end: 1998
In April 1998, the second series started on the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, but was met with lower ratings than the first series. In this series, it centred around the band going on tour up and down the UK in a broken down camper van (that on the inside was more like an actual home), reverting to their actual names and being managed by Mickey (played by David Cardy) with Janice & Carly being the band's bodyguards. For their fourth single, a remix of the show's theme tune, entitled "No Sweat '98" was released, but again, it did not do well commercially, peaking at #29 and leaving the UK chart rapidly thereafter.
BMG Entertainment decided not to release their much delayed debut album, entitled 'Allsorts'. Shortly after the second series of No Sweat ended, the band split up.
1999 and beyond
- James Hurst worked as a computer programmer in London for several years, but has since returned to songwriting. He released an EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
called Spread The News, All Is Well, Be Afraid in January 2006, under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike LicenceCreative Commons licensesCreative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
as a free download. He appeared on Never Mind The BuzzcocksNever Mind the BuzzcocksNever Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
in January 2004 on the "Identity Parade" round. - Lee Otter changed his name to Lee West and launched a brief solo career in August 2000, supporting Steps on tour. His debut solo single, "Wishing", failed to chart. However unconfirmed rumours recently surfaced that he could be joining the liverpool singer-song writer Phil Malone in a new band called Malonely.
- Tom LoweTom Lowe (performer)Thomas Peter "Tom" Lowe is an English-born singer and actor.-Personal life:Tom Lowe was born in Stockport, England to his parents, Peter and Margaret Lowe...
took lead roles in Les MisérablesLes Misérables (musical)Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
and CatsCats (musical)Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
in London's West EndWest End of LondonThe West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
between 1999 and 2001. He went on to study at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, graduating in 2005. Auditioned on American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
season 6American Idol (Season 6)The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host...
, making it through to the Hollywood stage of the competition after a successful first audition but failing to make the final cut after round 3 of the pre-semi final boot camp. He is currently living in the United States. - Sam Chapman is currently undertaking the teaching of a Music Technology course at a college in Lincolnshire.
Singles
- "I'm A Man Not A Boy" (May 1997) - UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#7 - "Tarantino's New Star" (August 1997) - UK #18
- "Breathing" (November 1997) - UK #27
- "No Sweat '98" (April 1998) - UK #29