Blue was a British boy band consisting of four
members: Lee Ryan, Duncan James, Antony Costa, and Simon Webbe. The
band released their debut single "All Rise" which sold more than 1.300.000
copies on May 21, 2001 and the song rose to number four on the British
Top 40. Blue released their next single, "Too Close" (a cover version
of Next's song), on August 27, 2001 and this song was Blue's first number
one single. After the cd single Too Close there were two new singles
from the album All Rise; If you Come Back and Fly By II (which is a
remix of Fly By). Those singles sold more than 200.000 copies in the
UK. The band released a new single and album, in the summer of 2002,
both called "One Love" which was the best Blue album, selling more than
3.000.000 copies. Their next single, which also reached number one on
the British Top 40, was a duet with Elton John entitled "Sorry Seems
to be the Hardest Word", a cover version of one of John's songs. This
track was number one in Europe for 6 weeks
The band decided to split after Elton John suggested that their popularity
was decreasing and that they should concentrate on their solo careers.
They did so after releasing their Best Of Blue greatest hits compilation
in 2004, which contained a few new tracks such as "Curtain Falls", "Get
Down On It" and "Only Words I Know".
Hailing from London, all-boy four-piece Blue successfully stormed the
U.K. charts by combining smooth vocals with R&B and dance music.
Singers Duncan James and Anthony Costa enlisted housemates Lee Ryan
and Simon Webbe in early 2000 and a deal with Virgin's Innocent label
soon followed. Combining R&B and soul, their debut single, "All Rise,"
was a hit in Australia, New Zealand, and in the U.K., where it peaked
at number four on May 27, 2001. Their second single, a cover of Next's
"Too Close," also debuted at number one (September 2001) in the U.K.
as did their third single, "If You Come Back" (November 2001). Their
debut self-titled album was released in November 2001. ~ Brendan Swift,
All Music Guide
