IT wasn't just Five's loyal legion of fans left ecstatic when they announced their comeback in this column in February.
As I catch up with the group — Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon — they admit they've had some rather famous stars slipping into their DMs.
"Cara Delevingne is a fan," Abz tells me in Bizarre HQ.
"She reached out to us. We're going to get her along to a show.
"It doesn't get better than that."
Recalling another huge highlight of the past few months, Scott adds: "Performing with Robbie Williams in June was unexpected. You don't say no when he asks you to come on and sing Keep On Movin'.
"We heard some of his new songs live in the dressing room, too.
"He was singing them in his dressing room before the show."
The lads are brimming with excitement when I chat with them, and it's not hard to see why.
They sold out all 12 of their initial comeback tour dates and are now playing a total of 25 across the UK, starting in Cardiff on October 29.
After that, they'll be heading to Australia and New Zealand for a run of arena dates.
Sean tells me: "When we did that first interview with you, we were petrified.
"We were nervous about the industry as a whole. We were quite misunderstood back in the day because we were just lads. That was overwhelming."
Scott adds: "The doubt started to creep in the night before. I phoned my wife Kerry and said, 'What if no one cares?'. But we got the most amazing response. Then we sold out 12 shows and now we're doing 25. It's overwhelming, in a good way."
The guest list for their gigs is growing every day and Scott admits: "Mine's as long as my arm."
His comment prompts Abz to joke: "You could fill out Emirates Stadium with your friends and family, Scott."
But like Oasis, the band won't be dishing out too many freebies, with Sean telling me: "We'll be spreading the love to friends and family — some will have to pay, though."
Looking back at their raucous heyday, Five were flying high in the charts. In all, the band clocked up 11 Top Tens, including three No1s with Keep On Movin', Let's Dance and We Will Rock You.
And as we reminisce about how times had changed, I asked if they could share some of their favourite stories.
They did not disappoint.
"We're in this underground club in Russia and these two men walk in with this kid in matching tracksuits," J says.
"They're trying to challenge us to a dance-off with this little five-year-old kid at 3am.
"We left the club and we saw this car park which had a big alsatian dog guarding it.
"We rattled the fence to see what the dog would do, and then this security guard got up and he was coming at us with an AK-47.
"We had a security guard with us who was armed.
"He looked at that bloke, then looked at us, and ran away."
Ritchie chips in, saying: "The biggest one for me was randomly jamming Jimi Hendrix's Hey Joe with Roger Taylor and Brian May.
"We were at Brian's house getting ready for the Brit Awards. I sang the first line and they joined in."
Laughing, Sean adds: "Mine is watching Coronation Street on Roger Taylor's telly that was as big as that window. I was basically stood in the Rovers Return. He's a massive Corrie fan, Roger."
Scott wins for me, though, as he recalls: "Playing Bop It with Liam Gallagher in Brazil.
"He kept on showing us new albums and whatever songs he had written, he'd say, 'This one's f*ing legendary', and whenever Noel had written it, he'd say, 'This is she'.
"Liam was going through a very famous break-up at the time, and he'd be slagging this woman off, and then he'd turn to my wife Kerry and say, 'No offence, love'."
The last time I bumped into the band was at the Brits, where they became one of the biggest attractions in the room.
But as I ask if they had a good time, it turns out the night ended up being rather costly.
Scott explains: "The next morning, we missed breakfast. So me and my wife, Ritchie and his missus and J went to the pub for a roast."
J adds: "We ended up with a £650 bar bill of Guinness. The women were drinking cocktails."
Smiling, Scott continues: "The plan was that I was supposed to be going home with Kerry to look after the kids, but we stayed all day. Kerry had to literally put me to bed after we got an Uber home."
They might be older and wiser, but Five will always know how to party.
Mamadonna's party is popping
MADONNA played the embarrassing mum role well as she put on a pair of novelty glasses to celebrate her kids' 13th birthday.
Twins Estere and Stella wore bikinis in a snap shared by the Queen of Pop from their party at home in the States.
They played football, hit the trampoline and even got on the mic for a sing-song, just like Mum.
And it sounds like they are just as outspoken as her, as Madge wrote on Insta: "Nothing could prepare me for your personalities, your energy and your very strong opinions."
We wish her luck for those teenage years.
He's TruLee madly deeply
LOVE is in the air for S Club singer Jon Lee, it seems, after he tried his luck on E4 show Celebs Go Dating.
Reach singer Jon has recently been spotted out on dates with marketing man Jordan Fairhurst who he met during filming.
Now, Celebs Go Dating sexpert Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn has confirmed that Jordan DID find love on the show.
She said: "I would say Jon has had a very positive result from this journey.
"He is one of the kindest people, the nicest celebrities, I've ever met.
"I was doing a talk a couple weeks ago at the Flackstock festival and Jon actually came with a guy that you'll see on the show."
The star bared his soul on Celebs Go Dating and told how he swore off sex for six years after breaking up with his then- partner. After all he has been through, Jon deserves a bit of love.
We hope he and his partner are very happy.
Devil's music
IF you can't wait until next year for The Devil Wears Prada 2 in cinemas, there is a new soundtrack you have to check out.
The cast recording of West End musical The Devil Wears Prada is finally out on September 19, 11 months after the production opened in London.
Sir Elton John wrote the music and it features all the show's songs, plus two demos.
In the style of the show's fashion boss Miranda Priestly, "A live album? For a West End show?" Groundbreaking.
Kylie tour de force
KYLIE MINOGUE wore Barbie pink as she wrapped up her Tension tour in Mexico.
But it won't be long until her fans can relive the 66 dates.
I told earlier this month how the Padam Padam singer had recorded a concert album – and now she has confirmed it and announced the details.
She will release Tension Tour Live 2025 on September 26, followed by a vinyl version next year, and has already put out the title track.
Gushing over the global trek after it finally came to an end on Tuesday night, Kylie posted on Instagram: "Tension World Tour . . . COMPLETE! Wow wow wow – what an amazing year it's been, travelling around the world seeing so many of your beautiful faces."
Time to put your feet up, Kylie.
Bon Jovi ropes in celeb pals
BON JOVI have roped in their famous pals for a reimagining of the band's 2024 album Forever.
They have worked with Robbie Williams, Avril Lavigne, James Bay and Ryan Tedder on the new version, which is dubbed the "legendary edition".
The first track, a version of Hollow Man with Bruce Springsteen, came out last night ahead of the album's release on October 24.
Frontman Jon said it came about after his vocal cord surgery last year.
He explained: "I was singing well enough . . . but decided to call on some friends to help me in my time of need."
Swaggering Brett is back at his best
★★★★☆
THE start of Suede's month-long takeover of the Southbank Centre went off with a bang thanks to brilliant new record Antidepressants.
Described as their "post punk album", singer Brett Anderson put on a show to remember as fans heard the project in full for the first time.
He unleashed a torrent of anxieties and paranoia about modern-day society in his lyrics.
Standouts tracks include the heavy, anthemic Life Is Endless, Life Is A Moment and the beautiful June Rain, which has a nod to Eighties goth gods The Cure.
Clearly at home in his new domain for the next four weeks, Brett commanded the stage with the same energy you'd expect from a frontman half his age.
Talking to the sold-out venue, he officially declared Suede as the "anti-nostalgia band" and made it clear he is still on top form as he pumped through 21 songs back-to-back – with no tracks from the band's first five albums.
It's clear Suede are so confident in the here and now they don't need to look back.
And who could blame them with new material this good?
Magic question
HARRY Potter director Chris Columbus has questioned why the new TV series is being made, insisting it looks just like the original movies,
He told The Rest Is Entertainment podcast: "Part of me was like, what's the point? Part of me was like, OK, great. I thought everything was going to be different, but it's more of the same, which is interesting. Part of it is really exciting – to see what they're going to do with it. But part of it is sort of deja vu all over again."
Creators Tik Radio boxes
RADIO 1 has announced that it's added three TikTokers – Jack Remmington, Ash Holme and Charley Marlowe – to its presenting line-up.
Also joining the team is sprint ace Lina Nielsen and, surprise surprise, an actual radio host in rising star Beth Wallace.
There's a growing trend in radio of bringing in social media influencers over people who have actually trained for years and honed their craft.
Capital Breakfast and This Morning presenter Sian Welby knows this as well as anybody.
She says: "You can't take this stuff to heart and you can't get bitter because this is happening because radio has become glamorous. It's competing with telly, finally. We're very immediate and now everything's going out on socials.
"There used to be a joke that you could do a breakfast show in your pyjamas because no one saw you. Now we're coming TV-ready.
"That is going to attract bigger names, social media stars, YouTubers.
"I think I've always been competing against those people my entire career: Love Islanders, Big Brother contestants . . . I've missed out on a lot of television opportunities. I had to get into the mantra of just, 'Wait your turn because your time will come'."
It worked out well for lovely Sian, but I just hope the youngsters get their break fairly and squarely, too.
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