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Few male groups more popular than Five back in the nineties.

However at the peak of their fame, they dramatically disbanded in 2001, as the pressure and demands of stardom and an unrelenting workload took a toll on all of them.

Currently, many years later - and to the delight of their original fans - all five members are back.

"It was too much too quickly. Far too rapid," Abz explains, while Ritchie describes it as "similar to riding a rollercoaster"

"I believe I was just in survival mode for five years, because I can't remember much of it," Sean continues, who was just 15 when the group was created.

Practicing After Two Decades

They have invited me into the rehearsal studio before their upcoming tour, two and a half decades after they were previously on the tour circuit together.

It's evident they're far more relaxed during this reunion, with one member saying they feel "spectacularly fortunate" to have a second chance.

The group achieved sales of in excess of 20 million albums in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with tracks such as their signature songs and Everybody Get Up.

However getting back together after over two decades isn't without uncertainty. While some bands have successfully completed major concerts quickly, others haven't been as successful.

Scott reveals every member of them couldn't sleep the night before their comeback was announced.

"I phoned my wife, Kerry, in the early hours and asked: 'What if people aren't interested? What if we believe it's going to be massive and everyone responds, so what?'"

'Could we still sing and dance?'

However luckily, the group's supporters were interested, and the group's arena tour of the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ locations is nearly sold out.

"We were aware we'd done well but I don't think we appreciated the extent our earlier versions had done. And the degree to which we'd impacted certain individuals and the extent they'd supported us," Ritchie explains.

One concern the group were unsure about was the prospect of singing and dancing together again.

Sean clarifies: "We announced a tour without even knowing [we could do it]. We believed but we needed to get into rehearsals to truly discover, but we can verify we still have it!"

Reflecting on Youthful Success

The group are now all in their 40s but had barely left school when they began. It was clearly an overwhelming time.

A member remembers: "We started very early and we believed we'd hit the jackpot and all our dreams were coming true. In many ways, they were, but partially it became a nightmare mentally, [there were] a lot of aspects we weren't expecting.

"We would awaken on a tour bus and think, not what country are we in, but which landmass are we in?"

Another member agrees: "There are loads of blank spots in our memories, and we've discussed this and determined that it was extremely rapid, and we were in flight or fight mode for the whole thing. It was like you were being pursued by an unseen force."

Reconnecting After Years Apart

Therefore after all that separation, the inquiry of who made the first move about the prospect of reuniting arises.

Scott explains that not even being in the same space with his ex- bandmates for more than two decades had been weighing on him.

"I phoned Abz and I hadn't spoken with him for 10 years, and among the first things he expressed to me was 'How wonderful to hear your voice'. So we just got together - it wasn't primarily concerning a tour, it was about reconnecting as companions again.

"No one outside this bubble knows what we experienced," he continues.

Understanding from Peers

Though an individual who knows more than most about what Five went through is Robbie Williams, who was a part of Take That before finding acclaim as a individual performer.

Five played Keep On Movin' with him at a concert in London this summer.

Ritchie says he had "performer insecurity" and feared the audience wouldn't know who they were, "but it went off."

Sean notes that the fellow artist "understood all we've experienced", mentioning the entire group conversed for an extended period talking.

On the emotional trauma Five experienced, a member recalls their peer told them it was similar to "carrying a big bag of rocks and you need empty it gradually."

A Different Situation Now

For J, the whole experience of being back in the group is "the antithesis of what it was previously."

"The people we've got around us, the way we're being handled. how we're being cared for, which is the most important thing. We were previously but staff were somewhat gaining experience as they worked."

Reflecting and Moving Forward

They've reconciled and reunited now but would Five go back in time and do it all again?

One member says he would "but in another way", while another member laughs: "With my current mindset, I'd enjoy to do it, because I'd be monitoring the accounts a lot more!"

The band's documentary is available from Tuesday 28 October. Five begin their concert series on the following day in Wales.