Jo O'Meara Biography

O'Meara was born to father Dave O'Meara and mother Babs O'Meara and raised in Romford, East London.

S Club 7

In her teenage years, O'Meara would sing in a Country Music pub by the name of Wild Jack Henry's. It was there that someone from 19 Management spotted her on stage. However, it was two years later before she got a call from them asking her to audition for a new pop group called S Club 7. O'Meara easily earned a spot in the band. She was a prominent member of the British group, singing most of the group's lead vocals, as well as acting with the group in TV series such as Miami 7, LA 7, Hollywood 7 and Viva S Club, and S Club's own movie, "Seeing Double."

During the filming of the movie, Jo had an accident on set during one of the stunts which hurt her back, limiting S Club's dance routines and leaving her out of the group for a brief period. Jo's voice remained, however, her vocals were re-recorded by Rachel Stevens for use during live television performances. Jo eventually returned to continue performing with S Club and to promote the movie, but in June 2003, S Club announced during one of their concerts that they were to split, and performed together for the final time a few weeks later at the G-A-Y nightclub in London, England.

Solo Career

Many speculated when Jo would make her comeback, having been the voice of S Club 7, but instead it was Rachel Stevens who was the first member of the band to release solo material. Jo surprised many fans by taking a long hiatus from pop music, many thinking she was healing up her back injury. However, she revealed that she was taking time out from five years on the road with S Club 7, allowing her to spend time with her family and to indulge in her hobby of playing the slot machines in her home town of Romford.

In July 2005, Jo announced that she had signed a new solo recording deal with Sanctuary Records, the label behind acts such as Morrissey, KISS and Megadeth. Her debut single, "What Hurts the Most", was released on 26 September 2005, followed a week later by her album, Relentless. She has already performed at various roadshows in the UK alongside the likes of Lemar, Girls Aloud and her old bandmate Rachel Stevens.

In 2006 she took part in the BBC show Just the Two of Us. Her singing partner was Chris Fountain, who is an actor in Hollyoaks. The pair came third in the competition, failing to attract enough votes to make the final after their performance of "Never Had A Dream Come True."

In March 2006, "What Hurts The Most" was recorded and released by country group Rascal Flatts. It reached #1 on the US Billboard Country Chart, and peaked on the Hot 100 at #6. She is making a film called Crossroads.

Jo O'Meara has recently decided to take a break from the music business. (edit)