Whatever Happened To… allSTARS*?

As suggested by @MyFizzyPop and seconded by @Scandipop, I decided the next long lost pop band to track down in my new Whatever Happened To… feature should be allSTARS*. Back in the days of A*Teens, *N Sync and B*Witched, a new starry-eyed pop band was formed. After the success of S Club 7 and their CBBC TV series, CITV wanted to jump on the bandwagon, so they created their own series named Star Street about a five piece pop group called allSTARS*. Presumably the members, Sandi, Thaila, Ashley, Rebecca and Sam, were picked because their initials spelt out ‘stars’, but luckily enough they were also attractive, charismatic and at least good enough at singing to record an album.

Their childishly fun debut single Best Friends was a small hit, but the band are more remembered for their most poptastic single Bump in the Night, which appeared on the Scooby Doo soundtrack, and their cover of Land of Make Believe which miraculously made it into the top 10. Trying to build on this minor taste of success, they went for a slightly more mature sound on fourth single Back When (written by Cathy Dennis), but it was another flop and they were dropped from their label, disbanding soon after. So whatever happened to this cute bunch of pop wannabes and have any of them even sung a note since?

Ashley – Being the pretty boy of the band, it’s no surprise that Ashley ended up playing a long-running character in Hollyoaks. Ashley had actually played the part of Darren before allSTARS* and returned shortly after the band were dropped. He’s still part of the cast in 2010 and was even nominated for three British Soap Awards this year. Including Sexiest Male, of course!

Thaila – I only realised today that Thaila’s name isn’t actually Thalia… oops! Thaila has done loads of TV work since allSTARS*, appearing in everything from Star Stories to Law and Order, and even spent a week in the Big Brother house as a ‘fake’ contestant, pretending to be an Australian BB housemate called Pauline.

Sandi – Sandi is sadly more famous for who she’s dating than what she’s doing these days, as she is now married to Dominic Wood of Dick & Dom fame. They even have a baby together, and appeared on an episode of All Star Mr & Mrs in 2008.

Rebecca – Like Ashley, Becky had acting experience prior to allSTARS*, which helped her gain a variety of roles after the band ended. She played Melanie on Family Affairs for two years, but since then has gotten married and moved to California. According to her IMDB profile she hasn’t worked since, but maybe one day she’ll pay Hollywood a visit now she’s so nearby.

Sam – Poor Sam seems to have had the least luck since allSTARS*. The only notable TV appearance he has made is auditioning for the terrible boyband pretending to be a girlband series Boys Will Be Girls. He didn’t get in, ‘losing out’ to Russ from Scooch, Martin from the Fast Food Rockers and Austin who eventually turned up on X Factor. If you’re beaten by them you know you’re in trouble! However Sam was quite adorable so hopefully he’s living a nice normal life somewhere out there.