Blazin' Squad star talks about Love Island stint ahead of 90s gig

The band is set to appear in the region later this year when they perform as part of the StepBack! 90s concert at the Ricoh Arena’s Ericsson Indoor Arena.

Between 2002 and 2004 the ten-piece band achieved six Top 10 hits in the UK Official charts, including Crossroads which reached number one, followed by Flip Reverse the following year that peaked at number two.

Six of the founding members are set to entertain thousands of nostalgic revellers at the Ericsson Indoor Arena this autumn – the result of a conversation between some of the band members last summer.

“While I was on Love Island Blazin’ Squad’s streaming levels on Spotify went up by 2,500 per cent, which is just unreal,” said Marcel.

“My involvement with Blazin’ Squad was a big part of my story on Love Island, which in a way has rejuvenated interest in the band.

“When you think of Blazin’ Squad you tend to think of ten kids, but my appearance on the show has reminded people that we are all grown up now, and even prompted a new generation to check out our music on Spotify.

“Before I went on Love Island I had been doing some gigs in London with a couple of the other boys, but when I got home there was six of us who were up for getting back together as the offers started to come in.”

Joining Marcel in Coventry this October includes Chris McKeckney (Melo-d), Oliver Georgiou (Freek), Sam Foulkes (Spike-e), Stuart Baker (Reepa) and Lee Bailey (Krazy).

Blazin’ Squad will be accompanied by other well-known artists from the 90s and noughties eras including Peter Andre, B*Witched, 5ive, S Club, VengaBoys, East 17, Big Brovaz and Booty Luv.

And there isn’t a day that goes by that the 31-year-old isn’t reminded of his famous past.

“I still get people coming up to me every day and telling me they’ll meet me at the crossroads,” said Marcel.

“Looking back, one of the biggest highlights of our career was doing ‘Party in the Park’ because it was the festival that everyone used to go to and we even got to meet Prince Charles.

“I do still cringe thinking about the oversized stripy shirts we wore in the Crossroads video though - they were really not fashionable at all.”

And although a new generation has now been able to discover their music, Marcel said the band will be sticking to the same performances that made them famous with those now in their 20s.

He added: “Fans can expect a high-energy performance with all of the classics. The only thing that will be different is that the clothes we wear now fit us!”

StepBack! 90s is on Saturday, October 13. Tickets are on sale now.

To buy tickets visit www.stepbackconcerts.co.uk or www.ricoharena.com