Hi Mofos,
I have been so sad that Stedman Pearson from one of my favorite groups Five Star passed away on 3/10 from kidney disease.
I didn't want to believe the rumors so I reminded myself that I'm a journalist and had to go confirm it and his sister Deniece sent me the family statement. One one hand, I was fan girling since it was her actually emailing ME and the on the other hand, I was in shock that it was unfortunately true that our dearest Stedman was gone. I still remember asking my parents for braces and blonde hair because Deniece had it. Of course that answer was no, but getting the opportunity to chat with Stedman years later was enough to make my 10 year old self so very hype!
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I was reminded of the incredible convo that I had with him in 2012 during my time at SoulTrain.com. Since the website is gone and with it are the archives of so many artists, I'm glad I saved my written pieces and audio interviews. I'm working on how to share the audio of many of these since so many artists have gone to glory and their stories are dang near wiped off the internet.
Anyhoo, it was a sunny Sunday afternoon in 2012 when I spoke with Stedman for ST (so it's me asking him the questions as Soul Train) and we cackled for over an hour. This is the condensed version of that conversation. Enjoy.
Sound Check: Stedman Pearson: British
Invasion
As part of one of Britain’s biggest groups in black
music history, siblings Stedman, Lorraine, Deniece, Doris, and Delroy Pearson
became known as the U.K.’s answer to the Jackson Five.
The siblings make up the pop/R&B group Five Star,
and they had a string of hits in the 1980’s that crossed the pond and landed on
the U.S. pop charts with songs such as “System Addict,” “All Fall Down,” and “Let
Me Be The One.”
After a hiatus from the music industry, the eldest
sibling, Stedman Pearson, is setting out to make his own solo star shine
bright. With the release of his latest single “Love You More,” Stedman is
showcasing not only his vocal ability, but his songwriting skills, he says, “I
wrote the song for someone that I adore greatly to just say thank you and I
love you more than you will ever know.” His new album “Eliminate” is expected
to be released later this year.
Soultrain.com caught up with the British singer to
discuss being compared to music royalty and his journey as a solo artist.
Soul Train: Stedman, What have you
been up to over the years?
Stedman Pearson: (laughs)
Well, I was actually living in the
States. I was in Oregon, I had bought a house out there and I just wanted to
settle down. I was actually in construction at the time, I wanted to do
something that made me feel good about myself, so I helped to build my house
there. They thought I wasn’t cut out for that (laughs) but I wanted to prove my
way, I had actually studied architectural drawing so I wanted to build the
house from the ground up. Then I got into a bit of designing, soon after I
found myself back in England. I was only coming to visit for a couple of weeks,
and have been here for 11 years. I actually got into writing, so I went through
several managers until I found the right one.
Soul Train: Will
you ever come back to the States to live?
Stedman Pearson: Well,
I love England since I’m from here, but let me tell you, there is one thing
about America that I love, the passion that people have for life, no matter
what it is. People have a great deal of passion out there. I love the American
dream.
Soul Train: What
has been the highlight of your music career with the group Five Star?
Stedman Pearson: Well
as a group, for me personally, achieving so much here, being the hottest black
group in British history, and having a number one album. I think outselling
Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” album here is a highlight, and the fact that both
Michael and Janet Jackson loved us. Also, being loved by her Majesty, the
Queen. She absolutely loved Five Star, she told us that we were a credit to the
nation. Those are some of the highlights, and performing with my siblings was
just the best time ever.
Soul Train: How did it feel constantly being compared to the Jackson family, or the Jackson Five to be more specific?
Stedman Pearson: It’s an honor to be
compared to the Jackson Five, you know with both families being black in the
music industry, but we did get that a lot. The thing is with the Jackson Five,
it was all guys, with Five Star, you had 3 girls, and 2 guys that’s why we
found it a little funny as well to be compared to them.
Soul Train: Which Jackson did you identify most with?
Stedman Pearson: To be perfectly honest, I would have to say I relate
to Michael a lot. Michael and I have had the same upbringing in many respects,
very close to our mum's and not really close to our dad's unfortunately. There
are things that I would do that I think Michael would do and there are things
that I would see Michael doing that I could see myself doing, not in a way that
it was on purpose. I really wish we had gotten the chance to meet each other to
sit and talk. A lot of people tend to compare me to Michael and I take that as
a high compliment. A lot of people think that I am trying to be Michael because
of the way that I look, the way that I talk, the way that I dress, and that's
not it, I'm just being myself. There will always be a comparison, always.
Soul Train: Will
there be a Five Star reunion?
Stedman Pearson: I can't really say, but we are performing at some gigs,
but I don't know if we will get back in the studio to do another album. Right
now, I couldn't actually say.
Soul Train: Why
did you decide to pursue a solo career?
Stedman Pearson: I've always wanted to do that for the longest time. I just
had to find the right people. I wanted to write, but I didn't know how to
write, so I had to learn. I started writing from my experiences, and I think
that's what I was afraid of a few years back, writing about that. You grow and
you mature and you find your way, so I decided now would be the right time to
actively pursue it and I found the right manager that is able to teach me about
the music industry the way it is now.
Soul Train: The song "Love
You More" did you write that? What inspired it?
Stedman Pearson: I did write that song. It was written about someone that I
simply adore to this very day and will always be in my life. She's very dear to
my soul. I wrote it from the heart to say thank you and that I love you more
than you'll ever know. It was originally a ballad, and a colleague of mine,
took it and gave it to one of his boys to remix it and they changed it to this
dance track, so I fell in love with it even more.
Soul Train: When will the album be released?
Stedman Pearson: The album, which is called “Eliminate” will be released
between September and October. We have a distribution deal with Universal so it
will be worldwide. There's a lot on the album, I'm working with a group called
Flavor Patrol. I think people will be pleasantly surprised. There's a mixture
of R&B, hip hop, pop, and even some opera on the album. I even have a song
on there that I wrote about Michael Jackson.
Soul Train: How was your experience performing on Soul Train in America
and in the UK?
Stedman Pearson: It was amazing. Here in the UK we were constantly on the
show. In America, Don Cornelius couldn't believe that we were all siblings and
that we all look alike and were talented. He said we were making him nervous
because we were all so beautiful to look at (laughs). I remember when we were
rehearsing for the show, people were just standing there staring at us and we
thought oh no, they don't like us! (laughs) As soon as we performed, the
applause that we got was just phenomenal, and so after that every time we came
to America, Don would be on the phone wanting to book us for the show. It was
just so amazing to be on Soul Train with the legendary Don Cornelius was
surreal. It was like a dream. I thank God for Soul Train.
Rest in peace Stedman, thank you for the music and the memories!
~Meik
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