ReConnected | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Manchester, England |
| Genres | Pop music, Boy band |
| Years active | 2010–2014 |
| Labels | Bannatyne Music[1] |
| Past members | Max Mondryk Harry Mondryk Matt Fitzgerald |
ReConnected was a Britishvocal group that was formed in July 2010, and disbanded in January 2014. The group was formed by three members of the boy band Connected – Max Mondryk and Harry Mondryk, and Matthew Fitzgerald – after the band achieved success during thefourth series ofBritain's Got Talent earlier that year,[2] before the Modryks and Fitzgerald chose to split from the boy band and form their vocal group.
In 2010, Max and Harry Mondryk, along with Matthew Fitzgerald, formed up with twin brothers Myles and Connor Ryan to create the boy band Connected. The group auditioned for a place inthe fourth series ofBritain's Got Talent, coming in eighth place overall in the British competition. Their success led to the group performing together on theBritain's Got Talent Live Tour that year, in which they included several songs in their performances, including "Never Forget" byTake That, "Everybody in Love" byJLS, and "Don't Stop Me Now" byQueen. Their last gig was on 18 July, at theMidlands Music Festival inTamworth, which had an attendance figure of over 20,000.[citation needed]
On 30 July 2010, the Mondryks and Fitzgerald split with the Ryans to form a new band, announcing their decision on Facebook.[3] Both of the Ryans were disappointed and upset, with Connor commenting that: "We were there the day before and they were our best friends. Nothing was wrong, we didn't fall out and it was just very confusing.... We found out on the internet, like most of the other fans. It was horrible."[4] While the Ryans would go on to performas a singing duo, the other three members named their new group as ReConnected, signing on to record labels Cent Management[5] and Freedom Management, the latter of whom was provided by the members promoter in Connected, Kevin Newton. As part of their new group, ReConnected received assistance from songwriter-producer Tim Woodcock to develop songs and music for their performances.[6]
Following their formation, ReConnected recorded six tracks which they first sung live in May 2011, titled: "ReConnected", "Superhuman", "Seeing Stars", "December", "Wish You Were Here" and "Stranded". The group also released shortacoustic versions of these songs,[when?] and held a launch show on 26 May at Sound Control inManchester, United Kingdom (UK).[7] After the launch received high demand and sold out, a new launch show was created for 2 June, which was filmed for a documentary and music video. Further launch shows were then created, for venues inNottingham,Newcastle upon Tyne, Birmingham, Bristol andBournemouth.[8]
The group went on to broadcast a weekly radio show, titled "The ReConnected Radio Show", the internet radion station UK Undiscovered,[9][10][11] with their premiere episode featuring the groupghost hunting.[12]
On 19 September 2012, the band announced it had signed to the record labelRKA Records, founded by Ryan Ashmore and Liam Webb, and part owned byDuncan Bannatyne after the pair appeared on theBBC'sDragon's Den.[13] ReConnected worked on a single, "One in a Million", which debuted on 13 February 2012 at Manchester Academy.[14] While some of its members were attending high school, ReConnected continued to keep in touch with fans using social media. On 17 November 2012, they performed at thePreston Christmas Lights Switch-On, along with many more in the north.[15]
On 6 January 2013, ReConnected announced it would be a supporting act forLittle Mix on a 22-city tour that year.[16][17][18] On 17 March, the group released a new single, titled "One in A Million", featuring a music video that featured Bannatyne in a bit part,[16] and including remixes from Radio Edit and Harry's Dub Remix. An EP of the single was also created, featuring two additional remix tracks: Hardino Remix and Steve C Remix.[19] It debuted at number 32 on theUK Singles Chart.[20] Sales of single impressed Bannatyne, who described his reaction as being "over the moon by the midweek result". The group later recorded its debut album with Woodcock.[21] In July, ReConnected travelled toIbiza to film the music video for their second single, "Time of Our Lives",[22] The video was released on 12 September,[23] and the single on 20 October.[24] It reached number 33 on the UK Charts,[25] and number 3 on the UK Indie Single Chart.[26]
Rumour soon began to circulate towards the end of 2013 that the group were preparing to split up. On 31 January 2014, ReConnected posted a video message confirming these rumours, explaining that their decision to separate was to pursue solo careers.[27]
Harry Mondryk and Max Mondryk are fromWhitefield.[28] Harry had previously auditioned forBritain's Got Talent three times.[citation needed] He has also studied for aBTEC in music atBurnley College.[29] Matt Fitzgerald is from Burnage in Manchester and studied A Levels at Xaverian College with a view to attending university
| Year | Title | Chart position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK Indie | Scotland | ||
| 2013 | "One in a Million" | 32[30] | 4[31] | 35[32] |
| "Time of Our Lives" | 33[25] | 3[26] | — | |
Originally founded as RKA Records by Ryan Ashmore and Liam Webb. ... After signing 'Reconnected', finalist on Britain's Got Talent 2010 both the original founders left RKA to pursue other ventures ... It was decided to rebrand the label to Bannatyne Music Ltd.
ReConnected Official / @reconnectedband / The ReConnected Radio Show repeated every night this week from 7pm!
