90s British boyband singer and former pentathlete gave up fame to became an investment banker – but can you guess who it is?

A 90s boyband member and former pentathlete has been unearthed as the head of asset management at an investment company in London. 

The blond blue-eyed crooner who was famed for his floppy curtain hairstyle has taken up a new role after his run in the charts came to an end. 

His band were famed for hits such as Say You Do which reached Number 11 in the UK. 

Their next single, Say It Once, which was released in 1999, charted at Number 16  and The Right Time hit Number 28. 

The band was Ultra and the line-up consisted of lead singer James Hearn, 44, Michael Harwood, on guitar and vocals, Jon O’Mahony on drums and vocals and Nick Keynes on bass and vocals.

90s British boyband singer and former pentathlete gave up fame to became investment banker – but can you guess who it is?

The band was Ultra and the line-up consisted of lead singer James Hearn, 44, (second from left), Michael Harwood, on guitar and vocals, Jon O'Mahony on drums and vocals and Nick Keynes on bass and vocals

The band was Ultra and the line-up consisted of lead singer James Hearn, 44, (second from left), Michael Harwood, on guitar and vocals, Jon O’Mahony on drums and vocals and Nick Keynes on bass and vocals

James, bottom left, said in an interview conducted in the 90s: 'Our success comes from our songs, not our looks (pictured in 1998)

James, bottom left, said in an interview conducted in the 90s: ‘Our success comes from our songs, not our looks (pictured in 1998) 

Before singing and songwriting, James studied Geography and Management at the University Of Leeds.

The band was formed in 1997 and their self-titled album was released two years later. 

James went onto work as a surveyour and later earned a master’s degree from the University of Reading.

His band – for which he wrote much of the songs – reunited in 2005 and released a second album, The Sun Shines Brighter but they lost their recording contract before it was put out. 

James told The Daily Telegraph at the time: ‘My music career was great fun and, as a bunch of guys who got together at Leeds University to give the musical bigtime a go, we had a good time.’

He also said in an interview conducted in the 90s: ‘Our success comes from our songs, not our looks. 

‘And since you asked, we’re not “manufactured” because we’ve been together since school. Some manager didn’t put us together. We put us together.’

He added: ‘We’re not Spice Girls, where the name is supposed to be some kind of tactical game. We chose Ultra while ruffling through loads of other names! 

‘Before, we used to call ourselves Decade and once we were Just Like Clockwork. We don’t surf, but we even tried a name called Suburban Surfers. It was a running joke for us really. We just kept changing names.’

  

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