Six years ago, in a Wet Bristol Underpass, two teenagers by the names of Sparx and Justin
scrawled a simple message on the wall ‘1997 will be our year’. Well 1997 came and went.
So did hundreds of other pop acts. But Triple 8 have been waiting, patiently, for 
their time to come. And finally, in 2003, that time is right now. With Josh Barnett, 
Jamie Bell and David Wilcox swelling their ranks, Triple 8 are ready. Balladeering 
boybands beware: this’ll knock you right off your shoes.

Sparx, who was 22 in February, is Bristol born and bred and 888’s resident visionary. 
‘We had self belief,’ he says of those dark days in Bristol ‘and we had each other. 
We knew we’d get there eventually’. An obsessive music fan, he thanks Michael Jackson, 
Stevie Wonder and Prince for his love of pop.

Justin is 20 years old, and grew up in Bristol not far from Sparx’s house. Justin was 14 
when he and Sparx set up the band (‘There’s not much else to do in Bristol!’) His big influences 
are ‘Usher for the performance, Boyz2Men for the music and Jodeci for 
the vibe’. While he’s too modest to admit it, Justin’s like a one-man version 
of the whole lot put together!

Josh Barnett, 21, is many things. ‘A genius’ according to a recent, not entirely 
scientific IQ test. ‘The tidiest person in the world’, claims David. And in 888’s 
earliest stages, he was the perfect third member – already something of a pop veteran. 
(He was in an act called Brash, with Anthony from Blue – but walked away because, 
in his own words, ‘they were shit!’).

Jamie Bell, 17, came into the band having known Josh from a local football club, 
and was familiar with David from shared sessions at London’s Pineapple dance studio. 
Jamie’s taken roles in shows like Oliver (as a workhouse boy) and Grange Hill. 
‘He’s far too sensible for his age,’ David huffs. ‘He should be out with all the women, 
fighting and all sorts. But he’s not! So I have to do instead.

21-year- old Blackpool boy David Wilcox is Triple 8’s resident charmer (‘Everyone 
says I’m going to turn out like Peter Stringfellow’), he happily admits to being 
‘the scruffy one’. In a past life David was signed as part of a shonky boyband called 
Hiwayz and he was the last to join Triple 8 – two days after meeting with manager 
Chris Herbert, he was booked on a plane to the recording studio in Norway.

After six years Triple 8 are ready to blow up, 2003 will be their year.