Max George

Maximillian Alberto George, born September 6, 1988, grew up with his family in Manchester. Before music, he had been a football player with Preston North End and was on the verge of signing a two-year deal with them, whilst he has been a Manchester City supporter since a young age. Previously he was a member of Avenue, a five-piece boy band made up of Jonathan Lloyd, Scott Clarke, Ross Candy and Jamie Tinkler in addition to George. They entered the third series of The X Factor in 2006 and made it to Louis Walsh's Bootcamp. But media reports exposed that Avenue had not strictly adhered to the rules, having been signed by an earlier music X Factor director to a deal. They were banned from participation for having professional representation rather than being specifically formed for the competition. Avenue admitted they had failed to duly report their engagements and George admitted it was "not the X Factor's fault" in the video showing their disqualification in Walsh's office. With Andrew (Andy) Brown joining as a member of Avenue replacing Jamie Tinkler, the band went on to have some success beyond their X Factor appearances with their debut single "Last Goodbye", reaching number 50 on the UK Singles Chart. They had a follow up release with "Can You Feel It?". Avenue disbanded in April 2009. In 2008, while still a member of Avenue, George appeared naked on cover of British gay magazine AXM "Naked Issue" in support of cancer research. He is engaged to British actress Michelle Keegan after meeting her at one of The Wanted's concerts.