Boy band Avenue landed a record deal the old-fashioned route after X Factor exit

Aug 31 2008 Sunday Sun

WHETHER you love or loathe X Factor, it’s hard to escape the annual TV talent contest and its parade of cringeworthy auditions from delusional eccentrics, not to mention the occasional angelic voice.

There are normally many memorable moments throughout the course of the series, and 2006’s competition was no different.

We all know about Leona Lewis, who eventually went on to win the contest and release the fastest-selling debut album the UK has ever seen.

Beaten finalist Ray Quinn has also gone on to carve out a career in West End musicals, while a handful of the other final 12 have landed nicely on their feet since 2006’s X Factor finished, too.

But boy band Avenue is remembered for slightly different reasons.

While they initially impressed the judges with their tight harmonies and polished image, the quintet was eventually disqualified for breaking the rules of the show.

However, that didn’t put them off for long. After the disappointment of being booted off the show, they regrouped, replaced a member, and began the process of getting a record deal themselves.

Now, as the release date of debut single Last Goodbye approaches, four of the band’s members — Scott has a throat infection and can’t make our interview — are in a chipper mood. As they dive up to introduce themselves, it’s clear Jonny, Ross, Max and Andy are as keen as mustard.

But before we get on to what they’ve got ahead of them, what exactly happened on X Factor?

Ross said: “We got a call to go and meet the producers, and we opened the door and Louis Walsh was just sat there with cameras around him.”

Max continued: “We obviously believed in ourselves but we didn’t know we were going to get that far.

“We got to the final 12, and to the point where you have to sign a management contract with the show. It was then we had to say we already had a management contract.”

Jonny added: “It was just a management deal, though, not a record deal. We did everything else the way the others did on X Factor. I was in a house-share in London at the time, so the lads all moved in with me and kipped on my floor in a room about eight feet across.

“We got up every day and learned songs, practised, and then would go in and sing to the manager and ask if what we were doing was good. It’s not like we had an unfair advantage.”

But Ross concluded, diplomatically: “Rules are rules, though.”

The fact that the boys had a manager was bad enough, but seeing as he was the man behind operatic X Factor rejects G4 — and therefore linked to the show previously — Avenue just had to go.

Undeterred, they began singing for managers of top pop bands, sending tapes to record labels and playing showcases all over the country. In short, they did things the old-fashioned way.

“I think it’s worked out for the best, looking back on it,” said Jonny. “At the time, I was devastated, we all were. We’d told our families, filmed the reveal, we’d met all the other finalists and everything.

“Now, though, we have a record label and a management company that let us have lots of input in what we do.”

As for Avenue’s music, Last Goodbye is available for download from September 8, and gets a physical release later in the month, with an album to follow shortly.

In 2008 — an era dominated by guitar bands and urban artists — the phrase “boy band” conjures up images of plastic-looking males, with too much hair gel, singing soppy and cliched ballads.

Avenue, however — whose songs are written by Jason Pebworth of Orson, among others — are a boy band more in keeping with the times. Their songs are a mix of high-energy dance, upbeat pop, and rockier tracks.

The band say their album also contains at least one Beatles-esque song and a load of Beach Boys-style harmonies.

“There’s such a gap in market for a boy band,” said Jonny. “There are no boy bands out there, but with bands such as Alphabeat and the Ting Tings bringing pop music back to the charts, we are hoping to follow in their footsteps.”