Boy Bands who never reuinted

Now Bros have added themselves to the ever growing list of boy bands to reunite, the question is who will be next?

Here are some boy bands who have never reunited. I haven't included some of the newer ones as they haven't been split up for long enough for a reunion to be on the cards yet:

Big Fun

Back in 1988 after producing Brother Beyonds only 2 top 10 hits, Stock Aitken and Waterman came up with their own boy band, Big Fun. Their first hit was a cover of "Blame It On The Boogie" in 1989. I remember my young self reading the lyrics to this in Smash Hits magazine and reading in the footnotes that it was written by Michael Jackson, unaware he originally sang it too. It reached a respectable number 4, but despite this very few people I speak to remember it.

They followed it up with another top 10 the same year with "Can't Shake The Feeling". However third single "Handful Of Promises" failed to make the top 20 in 1990. They teamed up with Sonia for their fourth and final top 40 hit with "You've Got A Friend" (no not that one) which did slightly better reaching number 14, but that was it for their chart career less than a year after it started.

When they finished they found themselves with a large bill to pay to Stock Aitken and Waterman making a reunion seem highly unlikely as they money they make will go straight to their former employers.

Yell!

 

 

Signed by Simon Cowell long before anyone knew who he was, Yell! had just one top 40 hit in 1990 with a cover of "Instant Replay". Their career came to an abrupt end shortly after when it was discovered that member Daniel James was really called Colin Heywood and was 32 instead of 23 which he claimed to be. By my calculation that would now make him 58, so would guess that if the reunion hasn't happened by now it probably never will.

 

Bad Boys Inc

 

The success of Take That in the early 90s was not instant. Their were given one last chance to score a big hit, and followed the advice of Ian Levine to cover "It Only Takes A Minute" in 1992. Ian Levine would then produce their following three hits and Take That had become a household name by the end of the year.

 

In 1993 Ian Levine decided to form a boy band of his own, Bad Boys Inc. If Take That and East 17 were the Coca Cola and Pepsi of the boy band world in the early 90s (you decide which is which), then Bad Boys Inc were very much the Virgin Cola. Their debut hit "Don't Talk About Love" only just made the top 20 and their following two singles didn't make it that far.

 

In 1994 they finally scored a top ten with "More To This World". This would be as good as it would get, two singles later their time was up. They did become the first band to appear on the National Lottery but this would be the last meaningful contribution they would make to the music world.

 

EYC

 

 

 

At the end of 1993 I was watching the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. With the music being as mainstream as you could get and being quite clued up about all things music, I was surprised to come across a band there I'd never heard of before, EYC.

 

I've since found out that they were there in place of New Kids On The Block whose comeback single "Dirty Dawg" was deemed inappropriate for the awards. They were also an American group, but were virtually unknown in their homeland.

 

They were a lot more in your face than your average boy band at the time, but that didn't seem to bring them a great deal of success. They released five hits in the space of a year which brought them no top tens. The best they did was reach number 13 with "Black Book" which was more mellow than their other hits. They made a last ditch attempt late on in 1995 with "Ooh-Ah-Aa (I Feel It)" which bombed at number 33 and that was that.

 

As I recall they had just one fan from my school. Still that's one more than Bad Boys Inc.

 

 

Gemini

 

 

 

By 1995, Bad Boys Inc were finished, but Ian Levine seemingly was not. Enter Gemini, called that because they were twins. Their first hit "Even Though You Broke My Heart" only reached number 40. Then came their most successful hit, "Steal Your Love Away" which reached number 37. Final hit "Could It Be Forever" reached 38, but they never attempted to complete the sequence by getting to 39 with a follow up. Of course when people think of Gemini these days they think of their namesakes (spelt Jemini) scoring nul points at Eurovision. Compared to what they could have been remembered for, it may not be such a bad thing.

 

 

Upside Down

 

 

 

Upside down were formed on a BBC documentary called "Making Of The Boyband" which I've posted above. After selecting four members from photographs followed by some karaoke, the management started to look for some actual music for them to sing.

 

After much exploring they decided to bring in none other than Ian Levine. Their first hit "Change Your Mind" was a blatant rip off of "Careless Whisper". By the end of the documentary it had reached 35, but possibly helped by the documentary it ended up reaching 11. Follow up "Everytime I Fall In Love" only managed 18 and then came "Never Found A Love Like This Before" which was clearly a rip off of Take That's "Pray" with an almost identical video. It reached number 19. Their final hit was an actually cover of "If You Leave Me Now", but this would only reach 27.

 

Following this, their record label World Records went bankrupt and that was the end of the band. They did comeback as a rock band called Orange Orange but with no success.

 

The documentary above was said to be the inspiration for Channel 4 comedy "Boyz Unlimited" a few years later.

 

The One

 

Very little can be found on boy band The One. They had their own mini series on GMTV before releasing their only top 40 hit "One More Chance". Member Billy Worth would reappear in the Channel 4 comedy "Boyz Unlimited" a few years later. According to his IMDb profile he passed away in 2008, but he was also working as a publican in Melbourne in 2010. Make of that what you can.

 

North and South

 

Another boy band with their own TV series, North and South had a show called "No Sweat" on CBBC. In 1997, after that infamous interview with Brian Harvey which brought East 17 to an abrupt end, their manager Tom Watkins put this band together via adverts on teletext.

 

Their debut "I'm A Man Not A Boy" reached number 7, but their three follow ups, included the theme tune to the show, didn't do so well. Once the TV series ended, so did the band.

 

 Northern Line

 

 

Several years ago I was working at a place where many of my colleagues were fans of Big Brother and would discuss the show on a daily basis. Not watching the show myself, I could not contribute to these conversations until one day somebody said "apparently Ziggy used to be in a boy band called Northern Line, does anyone remember them?" to which I said "I do". I was the only one.

 

Although not the first group to name themselves after a line on the tube (Central Line anyone?), you can almost sense how awful they would be based on the name alone. They didn't disappoint, with their debut "Run For Your Life". It didn't end there, they followed up with hilariously awful "Love On The Northern Line". One further hit followed and that was that.

 

Member Dan Corsi did actually appear on the Big Reunion when he auditioned to become a member of 5ive. However, he refused to sing at his audition and unsurprisingly didn't get the part.





 



Nothing Lasts Forever - Bros

This week saw the announcement that Bros are to reunite next year for a gig at the O2. This sold out in 7 seconds so they've turned it into a full tour. So I thought it would be appropriate for them to be the next subject of my Nothing Lasts Forever series.

Bros first hit the charts at the beginning of 1988 with "When Will I Be Famous". At that time, it had been 18 months or so since Wham! had called it a day and there hadn't really been a boy band to fill that void since. Though singer Matt Goss has said since that Bros were not a boy band because Luke played the drums and Craig played the bass whereas the boy band concept is to all be vocalists. My argument is that several other boy bands had instrumentalists including arguably their nearest rivals Brother Beyond, but also future boy bands Take That and East 17 would occasionally play instruments too. Also, clearly not all the music of a Bros song was made just by a bass guitar and drums.

The follow up was "Drop the Boy" which could be seen as and early indication that Matt didn't want to be seen as a boy band. Then came their only number one hit "I Owe You Nothing", a sure sign that Bros mania was now in full swing. Their fourth single was called "I Quit" which is exactly what bass player Craig would do several months later. Just before Craig did quit they released their own version of "Silent Night" at Christmas time in 1988 which was a double A side with "Cat Among The Pigeons". This entered the charts at number 2, but fell to number 4 the following week with Cliff Richard taking the top spot with "Mistletoe and Wine" and Kylie and Jason taking number 2 with "Especially For You" and Kylie and Jason's wedding song on Neighbours "Suddenly" by Angry Anderson taking number 3. So as popular as Bros were, they couldn't compete with Neighbours. Still the first five singles all reaching to top 5 was a decent record.

So the beginning of 1989 saw Bros being reduced to just a singer and a drummer. They returned in the summer with the first single of their upcoming album "Too Much". My recollection of hearing this for the first time was that Matt appeared to be angrier in his vocals. This reached number 2 keeping up their record of top 5 hits and a couple of weeks later they played what turned out to be their last gig, at Wembley Stadium to 77,000 fans.

However, their next single "Chocolate Box" was their first not to reach the top 5, though it still reached a respectable 9. Then their Christmas time ballad "Sister" got to number 10. By this point, the UK had now been introduced to American boy band New Kids On The Block who were ready to steal their crown. The next single "Madly In Love" failed to reach the top 10 in early 1990.

Bros then seemed to disappear off the face of the earth until the summer of 1991. By this point they had parted ways with songwriter Nicky Graham and had written their own songs for their third album. They returned with single "Are You Mine" which I managed to listen to a few seconds of on the top 40 countdown until my uncle turned the radio off because it was Bros. Everyone else seemed to agree with my uncle with the song failing to reach the top 10. Their final single "Try" only managed number 27 and their final album spent just 2 weeks in the album chart. So they called it a day.

The mid 90s saw Matt Goss attempt a solo career. I recall seeing the video to his cover of Alexander O'Neal's "If You Were Her Tonight" and if it wasn't for his voice I wouldn't think it was the same person. He eventually made it as a solo artist though, performing regularly in Las Vegas and popular enough to do a solo gig at Wembley Arena. Luke has made a name for himself as an actor whilst Craig has now made the move into music management and will not be part of the Bros reunion.

So the glory days of Bros lasted just 2 years, from the beginning of 1988 to the end of 1989. Despite this, Bros fans will need to wait almost a year to see them in concert.

Saint Etienne @ Heaven

Several years ago I learnt that Saint Etienne had done a gig in London where they played their debut album Foxbase Alpha in full. Unfortunately the gig had already happened when I found out about it.

This year marks 25 years since its release so I had been hoping they would do another gig in London where they play the album in full. Upon returning from holiday earlier this year I found they had announced a date at Heaven, but this had already sold out. Fortunately they added another date which I bought tickets for.

Being a Tuesday, it was too early in the week to drink vast amounts of alcohol, so I decided to arrive early instead of preloading on beer at home (those who buy beer at these venues will know why this is necessary). It seemed the music being played before and in between sets was part of the experience, with all tunes except for one being from 1990-1992 therefore taking us back to the Foxbase Alpha era. Going off memory, from when I arrived to when the support act began, the tunes played where "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - TLC, "Toms Diner" - DNA, "My Lovin" - En Vogue, "Anthem" - N-Joi, "What Can You Do For Me" - Utah Saints, "What Do I Have To Do" - Kylie Minogue, "Chime" - Orbital and "LFO" - LFO.

The support act where a female trio called Stealing Sheep. Its true to say they are rather different to anything I've heard before. All dressed in identical outfits and stood in line at the front consisting of a synth player, electronic drummer and the other member rotating between the guitar and bass, they all shared vocal duties.

After the support act, the tunes I remember being played where "I Love Your Smile" - Shanice, "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" - PM Dawn, "Confide In Me" - Kylie Minogue, "House of Love" - East 17, "Winter in July" - Bomb The Bass, "So Hard" - Pet Shop Boys and "Devotion" - Nomad.

Then onto the main piece, the band arrived on stage to the album intro along with one time collaborator Debsy Wykes doing backing vocals and playing various instruments throughout the night including the recorder.

During "Wilson" (the "would you like some sweets willy?" one), Sarah picked up a tub of Haribo and offered sweets to the audience, I was one of the lucky ones to get a sweet! Then during "Stoned To Say The Least" which is an instrumental track, Sarah and Debsy sat at a table and had a drink and game of cards.

Next up was "Nothing Can Stop Us Now", the first track Sarah sang for the band and she missed her cue to start singing, taking until the chorus to find her place, the beauty of live music I guess.

Once the album finished they took a 10 minute break, the music during this was in the background now and someone behind me kept shouting "Come On!" every 10 seconds during the break which was rather annoying.

Back on the stage they did "Join Our Club" followed by "Who Do You Think You Are", the song Debsy originally contributed vocals to. Then Q-Tee came on stage to perform "Filthy" which was the double A side to "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" that she did the vocals for. Then they did "Your In A Bad Way" before saying goodnight.

Of course there was an encore, and they appeared back on stage minus Pete and Bob to do an acoustic version of "Hobart Paving" which was very good. They rounded off the night with "Kiss and Make Up" which was a non album track from the Foxbase Alpha era. The ironic thing to me was that Sarah began and ended the gig singing songs she wasn't the original vocalist on.

All in all a top night and definitely worth the wait. On the way out they were giving out what looked to be goody bags, on closer inspection they were simply carrier bags with the bands logos on it. Still its a souvenir from a memorable night.

1988 Number 1s you may not know were covers

Given I was a young child back in 1988, its quite possible the 1988 version of every charted song would have been the first version I have heard.

There are several songs from that year that are well known to be covers such as "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Wet Wet Wet or "A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins.

However, there are four number ones of that year that you may not know were covers. Here are the originals with the artist who did the cover in brackets:

Tommy James & The Shondells - I Think We're Alone Now (Tiffany)

Yes the only song most people remember Tiffany for was a cover of a 60s song. This was a top ten in America but failed to chart in the UK. Tommy James & The Shondells are best known for their UK number one "Mony Mony" and had one more top 40 hit with "Hanky Panky". As for Tiffany, she actually had three further top 40s hits, "Could've Been", "I Saw Him Standing There" (cover of "I Saw Her Standing There" by the Beatles) and "Radio Romance".

Tina Turner - Don't Turn Around (Aswad)

UK reggae band Aswad scored their first top 40 hit and only number one after 13 years together with "Don't Turn Around". However not only was this not originally by Aswad, it wasn't originally a reggae song either with the original being by Tina Turner. This was the B-side to the Tina Turner single "Typical Male". Despite being songwriters, 6 out of Aswads 9 top 40 hits were covers. The other song Aswad were most famous for, "Shine", was an original.

George Benson - Nothings Gonna Change My Love For You (Glenn Medeiros)

The only song Glenn Medeiros is remembered before was a cover of an album track by George Benson. The two versions don't really sound that much different to each other, it turns out Glenn Medeiros got his break singing this in a radio talent contest in his native Hawaii. He looked on course to be a one hit wonder until two years later he scored his only other hit "She Ain't Worth It" with Bobby Brown. That same year he was the special guest on Jukebox Jury when the panel were reviewing his new song "All I'm Missing Is You" which got a complete slating prior to him appearing. They were right though, it was a miss.

Otis Clay - The Only Way Is Up (Yazz)

Yes that's right, the song Yazz is best remembered for was a cover. Otis Clay never had any hits in the UK but had a long successful career in his native America where he released many albums right up until his death earlier this year. Yazz had 7 top 40 singles which included one further cover which was of Ace's "How Long" with Aswad which would be her last top 40 hit.