Although he’d already had an amazing break in acting early on in his life, Josh still lived a regular life, moving up to Charters School in Sunningdale when he was 11. With his good looks, he began getting lots of attention from girls, but his heart was reserved for someone else – his PE teacher! He developed a huge crush on the gorgeous hockey player, whose beauty hadn’t escaped the other boys in his school – Josh confessed that most of them tried to get a look at her when she was playing a match. As he grew up, Josh’s romantic side emerged and he had his first kiss aged 15, playing Spin the Bottle. At school, he was a real character who left an impression on all those around him. ‘He brought a smile to the face, could be a bit cheeky, but had a sparkle about him,’ said headteacher Martyn Parker.
After that taste of the big time with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Josh began to think seriously about making singing his aim in life. His other passion had been football, and he’d played for quite a few teams, including Ascot Juniors, but an injury put paid to his sporting dreams. So instead he focused on singing and in early 2007 he asked his mum and dad if he could audition for that year’s X Factor. Leona Lewis had won the year before and it would be Josh’s first opportunity to audition for the top-rated show, as that year was the first they’d lowered the minimum age for participants from 16 to 14. Having turned 14 the summer before, Josh just squeaked in and his mum Kathryn reluctantly agreed to let him go. It was an amazing eye-opener for Josh, who reached the Bootcamp stage before being turned down. ‘I was his chaperone and it was a very intense experience,’ said Josh’s mum. ‘He was probably too young then.’ While at The X Factor he also met Blair Dreelan, a singer who was auditioning as part of his band 4th Ba5e. They hit it off, and when 4th Ba5e split up, Josh and Blair started a group together called M4. Although that didn’t work out either, they stayed good friends and Blair was to play a key role in Josh’s future.
After his GCSEs, Josh went to Farnborough Sixth Form College, although he still hadn’t given up on his dream of making it in the music industry. Having attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School’s Saturday classes regularly for a few years, he’d made friends with Jaymi Hensley, another talented singer a couple of years older than himself. Together they talked about their passion for making it in music and before long Josh thought his big moment had come. Aged just 17, he won a place in a boyband called Replay and they signed a two-year management contract. He hoped that this meant his pop dreams were about to come true, although progress with Replay was slow and he wasn’t sure they were going to be successful. But soon another incredible opportunity came up that would rock Josh’s world. ‘About a year into the contract, I got approached by Jayne Collins, who was The Wanted’s manager,’ Josh explained. ‘She’d seen me performing with Replay and wanted me to join The Wanted as the fifth member.’ Josh met up with Max and the rest of the Wanted boys and their management where they outlined plans for the band. It sounded amazing and Josh desperately wanted to leave his current group and join The Wanted, but it proved impossible. ‘Me and my parents spent a lot of money trying to get me out of the contract, but there was nothing we could do – I was tied down,’ he said. ‘I missed out on a massive opportunity there. Every time I hear them I kick myself.’
Josh was gutted. He thought he’d missed his big break – after all, how many opportunities to join a successful boyband would occur in his life? But he was determined not to give up, to think positively and keep going. He carried on auditioning when he could, fitting it in around his studies until he left college in 2010. Josh took on jobs to make ends meet, including one stint selling mobile phones and then another working in an office doing IT sales. Although he found the work ‘really boring’, he had no other options until fame came calling again. But there were no guarantees. In his lowest moments Josh couldn’t help but wonder whether he would ever be able to sing for a living. His next big adventure came when he joined another boyband, this time called The Boulevard. Alongside bandmates Ryan Davies, Andy Rice and Alistar Jay, they supported Boyzone in a series of gigs across Ireland. Yet again, it was a near-miss for Josh, as the band had hoped to sign a record deal, but none materialised. It was a difficult time for Josh, especially because in 2011 his beloved nan died, leaving him gutted. ‘She struggled as a single mum to raise a family and we had nothing,’ he said. ‘She could always sing, and I grew up listening to her sing to us as kids. She always taught me to be humble and take every chance you get, as things happen for a reason.’
And things were definitely about to happen for Josh – finally. Now well known among music managers thanks to his stints in various bands, his stunning model looks and voice, he was snapped up with his friend Jaymi to join another new band called Rewind. There were five of them in total, with Billy Ashley, Ben Weedon and an ex-jockey called JJ Hamblett rounding out the group. Rewind started gigging around the country at various Pride events, but the boys weren’t happy with how things were going. Three of them – Josh, JJ and Jaymi – decided to change managers and go with Blair Dreelan instead, who had by then moved into music management. (He’d also had a brush with tabloid notoriety himself when his girlfriend, Sarah Robinson, left him for The X Factor’s 2010 winner, Matt Cardle!) It had been a whirlwind few months, but the buzz between the three guys was there – and after the rollercoaster journey they’d all been on in their earlier attempts at a pop career, they all hoped that this would be the band that stuck. And as a newly formed three-piece, they needed a new name. With all their initials the same, it seemed like destiny: Triple J were born.
George Shelley grew up surrounded by music. He was born in Bristol on 27 July 1993 – just one day less than a year after Josh! – and his nurse mum Toni decided to name her third son after one of the patients she’d bonded with. Even as a toddler, he couldn’t wait to start playing musical instruments and began singing as soon as he could talk. His mum would fill up bottles with uncooked rice so little George could turn them into maracas, and an early photo shows him as a cute toddler, with baby-blond hair and dimples, sitting proudly behind his Mickey Mouse drumkit. ‘George, even as a young boy, always wanted to join in and used to pretend he was playing on the drums, using a saucepan and a wooden spoon,’ Toni told the Bristol Post newspaper. ‘He has always been the sort of person who could pick up an instrument and play it – a talent he got from his granddad.’ George’s granddad, Dave, a retired policeman, was a real rock’n’roller, playing in many bands – he was to play an influential role in his grandson’s life.
George was born into a big family: he has two older brothers, Tom – who is his half-brother – and William. When George was nearly three, his little sister Harriet arrived. ‘I remember walking past my mum and dad’s room,’ he told Bliss magazine. ‘My mum told me to put my head on her belly and she said, “That’s your sister.”’ Sadly, after Harriet was born, George’s mum Toni and his dad Dominic split up. George stayed with his mum, living in a ‘really small house’ in Clevedon and going to Happy Hours Day Nursery. He then started at Backwell Infant School, moving on to Golden Valley Primary School and then Yeo Moor Junior School as his family moved house a lot. George was a smiley, sweet little boy and began showing an enthusiasm for the guitar, which his mum Toni also played, often performing at pubs, clubs and festivals with songs she’d written herself. The family wanted to encourage George to explore his musical talent, but they couldn’t afford to pay for lessons. So with some help from his granddad Dave, George began teaching himself to play guitar and was so excited when he got his own guitar for his 13th birthday. He spent hours honing his skills, practising chords and trying to learn his favourite pop songs, especially those by the Black Eyed Peas. ‘Where Is the