Official Chart Flashback 2003: S Club said goodbye with their final single release 14 years ago this week

Waving off a beloved pop group is never easy for a fan, but if the split is amicable, the chances are they'll release one last cash grab song to help ease the pain. 

Such was the case for S Club 7 who, 14 years ago this week, entered the Official Chart with their farewell single, a double A-side of Say Goodbye and Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You. 

For a pop group in the noughties, S Club 7 had a good innings. They'd been together for six years, notched up ten consecutive Top 5 hits, had a TV show that ran for four series, spawned a mini version of themselves in S Club Juniors and even released a film called Seeing Double.

But by 2003, things were on a downturn: member Paul Cattermole had left (forcing them to drop the 7 from their band name), Seeing Double's accompanying album of the same name stalled at Number 17 on the Official Chart, and the group's main singer Jo O'Meara had developed a serious back condition that forced her pull out of several performances.

As such, they decided to call time, and they did so in true noughties pop fashion: by recording a farewell ballad called, of course, Say Goodbye.

Released as a double A-side with Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You, the track debuted at Number 2 on the Official Singles Chart 14 years ago this week with first week sales of 54,000. It was *just* pipped to the post by R Kelly's Ignition remix, which celebrated its fourth week at Number 1.

S Club would go on to reform as a seven piece in 2015 and embark on a hugely successful UK 'Bring It All Back' arena tour, but Say Goodbye remains their final single. Sob. Watch their final Top of the Pops performance below: 

Some look a little more emotional than others, don't they?

Elsewhere on the Official Singles Chart that week, the Top 10 was packed with new entries. Mariah Carey debuted at Number 3 with Busta Rhymes collab I Know What You Want, Radiohead landed what remains their last Top 10 single There There, and Emma Bunton entered at 5 with the lead single from her second solo album, Free Me. 

Further down, former Five member Abs scored his second Top 10 with Stop Sign, and despite a dismal performance at Eurovision, Jemini managed a respectable Number 15 with Cry Baby.

See how the rest of the Top 100 Official Singles Chart looked this week in 2003

Listen to the UK Top 40 from this week in 2003 on our streaming channels! Subscribe to our weekly Flashback playlist on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music or click the image below:

Article image: Silverhub/Rex