A BASINGSTOKE boyband who reached the judges houses stage of the X Factor have announced their split after nearly a decade together.
Posting on social media, Concept told their fans who have supported them for the last nine years: “We think it’s time to finally tell you that Concept is no more.”
The announcement was made on the nine-year anniversary of the band, made up of friends Karim Newton, Matt Goodenough, Scott Dicks, Nathan Gittens and Ben Selley, who was hoping to following in the footsteps of his famous cousin, One Direction’s Harry Styles.
Concept formed when the five friends were just 16-year-old and studying at Queen Mary’s College together, and since then they have had numerous successes including releasing various singles, performing at Wembley Arena and at numerous concerts across Europe, and appearing on television shows, building up an army of followers.
They performed a sell-out one-off show at The Haymarket in 2015.
In a goodbye post to their thousands of fans, they said: “Your support over the years has meant more to us than we could ever put into words and truly does mean more than anyone could ever know.”
They added: “We want to thank all of our friends and family, who supported us through all of the setbacks and no’s, which there were many, over the years. But also, through all of the incredible moments, that’s what Concept was all about. Family. We love you all so much so thank you for everything you have done and for helping make our dreams come true.”
In a message to their fans, nicknamed ‘Connies’, they said: “You have supported us so truly and we love every single one of you for that support. You became our friends, our family and all of us have grown so much over the years together. You have seen five, 16-year-old boys turn into five, 25-year-old men and we hope that you will support us still, whatever we decide to do in the future from this point on.
“We’re sorry it’s taken this long to let you know what has happened and that we couldn’t give you more music over the years. But this isn’t the time to be sad, it’s a time to look back at all the memories over the years and to look forward to what could happen in the future for all of us.”
Timeline of Concept's musical journey
December 2011
The Gazette published an article about Concept forming as a new boy band when they were just 17-year-old students at QMC. Basingstoke boy band have One Direction connection.
February 2012
Concept were the stars of a charity concert in Basingstoke in February 2012 to raise money for Popley Spotlight Centre in Shakespeare Road.
July 2012
The Concept boys showed their support for charity in July 2012 when they played in a charity football tournament for Out of the Blue. Boy band take on former Reading FC players.
March 2013
Concept announced they would perform in Basingstoke at The Haymarket in March of 2013. Basingstoke boy band to perform first headline hometown gig.
March 2013
We ran an article after Concept sold out their first hometown headline gig at The Haymarket in just six days. Boy band sell hometown gig in six days
April 2013
The Gazette reviewed Concept's sell-out show at The Haymarket in April, and said: "The audience enjoyed an energetic, fun and extremely professional performance, from five very talented individuals. Not only do Concept sing in perfect harmony, they body pop, rap, play the guitar and interact with their audience like they have been doing this for years."
April 2013
In April The Gazette interviewed the Concept boys following their sell-out gig at The Haymarket. Concept member Ben Selley said at the time: “At this point, anything is possible. We have worked so hard to get here.”
October 2013
Their sell-out show at The Haymarket was such a success, in October Concept announced they would return the following year for two nights.
November 2013
Concept toured secondary schools last year, performing to students and talking about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The Gazette caught up with them during a visit to The Costello School, in Basingstoke. Boy band visit Basingstoke school.
January 2014
A review was published on The Gazette's website following Concept's second show at The Haymarket. Review: Concept The Haymarket.
February 2014
Earlier this year, Concept's Ben Selley was included in a list of 17 famous people with connections to the Basingstoke area.
February 2014
Concept performed to screaming fans at Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College in February this year, as part of their schools tour to talk about the dangers of smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. Boy band Concept speak to schoolchildren.
August 2014
Concept made it through the first round of auditions for the X Factor.
September 2014
The band vows judges again and make it through to the next stage of the Saturday night entertainment show - judge's houses.
October 2014
The five are flown out to Bermuda where they perofrmed for X Factor judge Louis and his guest judge Tulisa Contostavlos in an attempt to make it through to the live shows.
But their dreams were shattered when Louis decided not to take them through to the next stage. The competition was won that year by Ben Haenow who pipped runner up Fleur East to the post.
Concept vowed to not give up with #ConceptNeverGiveUp trending on Twitter.
April 2015
Concept perform a one-off Haymarket concert to showcase their new material.
March 2018
The band step up their gigging around London.
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