Growing up in 1970s Essex, Deniece Pearson and her siblings Stedman, Lorraine, Doris and Delroy were surrounded by music. Their dad, Buster Pearson, had played guitar with Otis Redding, Jimmy Cliff, Wilson Pickett and Desmond Dekker and then ran record labels, before he spotted the talent in his own home. In 1983, the siblings formed the band Five Star – often described as the UK answer to The Jackson 5.
Five Star had four top 20 albums and six top 10 hits in the mid-’80s, including System Addict, Rain or Shine and The Slightest Touch. In 1987, they won the Brit Award for best British group.
Though they officially disbanded in 1995, they have got back together for partial reunions since. Deniece has also released solo songs; recorded with Bros’s Matt Goss; appeared on The Voice UK; and starred on the West End in Thriller – Live.
She’s spent 2023 celebrating 40 years of Five Star, and recording for her new solo album, due out in early 2024. The first taste comes in the form of Caribbean-tinged Christmas single Santa Claus is Coming. So, in celebration of the festive season, she joined us for a merry trip down memory lane in The Music That Made Me.
Deniece Pearson, Five Star: The Music That Made Me
Kissing the lips off Smokey Robinson
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the music that made me is listening to Smokey Robinson, in our house where we grew up in Romford, Essex. Our home was full of vinyl and full of musical influence from my father, from him playing guitar on the Wilson Pickett tour and working with Desmond Dekker and all these musical greats from the ’60s.
Smokey Robinson was huge influence on me. I met him in Vegas. I had my bustier on and I think he probably thought I was just a fan. My friend was like, ‘This is a Deniece Pearson from Five Star and you influenced her in her career.’ I just couldn’t stop staring at him.