Mercury4

Mercury4 is a Melbourne-based Australian boy band which, as of June 2004^[update], has achieved three top 40 singles in Australia.

History

Mercury4 started in 2000 with Rien Low and Brad Johnston meeting and deciding to work together. Cole Rintoul joined in 2001 with Jarvier Perez joining in 2002. The band signed with BMG in late 2002 after a showcase gig at the Mercury Lounge, hence the name Mercury4.

BMG recruited hit production team the Matrix who had produced hits for Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff to write and produce their first single "Get Me Some". Released in June 2003 in Australia, it arrived at No. 5 on the ARIA Charts the following month.

Their second single "5 Years From Now" was released in January 2004 and reached No. 16 on the Australian charts in February 2004. The band's third single "Every Little Step" was a cover of the 1989 Bobby Brown hit, and was produced by Cutfather & Joe who wrote and produced the Jamelia hit "Superstar". It reached No. 27.

In early 2004, Jarvier Perez left the band for personal reasons and was replaced by Kevin Layton.

The band's self-titled debut Mercury4 was released on 31 May 2004, and included a cover of Air Supply's hit "All Out of Love" featuring vocals by Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell from the original band. However, the album only charted for one week in Australia and the band were dropped from their label when BMG merged with Sony.

Member Kevin Layton successfully auditioned for the 2009 series of Australian Idol but just missed out on entry to the Top 24.

Members

The band consisted of:

• Rien Low (born 22 February 1982)
• Kevin Layton (born 1 May 1982)
• Cole Rintoul (born 27 November 1982)
• Brad Johnston (born 30 November 1983)

Jarvier Perez was a member of the group between 2002 and 2004.

Discography

Albums

• Mercury4 (2004) – #32 Australia

Singles

• "Get Me Some" – #5 Australia
• "5 Years From Now" – #16 Australia
• "Every Little Step" – #27 Australia

External links

• Mercury Rising