Death of a BOY BAND
Britain's boy bands are in a mess. Boyzone are having time off, there are only two members of Another Level left and the rumours are that 911 are soon to be no more. What's gone wrong...?
You'd think there could be nothing better than earning pots of money, being famous and travelling the world, but it hasn't stopped Wayne and Bobak jumping off the good ship Another Level or 911 disappearing from the charts.
So why is it that just when you've learnt all the lyrics and finally found their website, your favourite boy band make an official announcement about 'personal differences' then split up, never to be seen again? J17 looks into the boy band phenomenon to see what's going on...
Birth of a boy band
Most boy bands would have you believe they've been mates for years, but nine times out of ten they come together by answering an advert for band members in an entertainment magazine like The Stage. They often meet for the first time, during auditions then, once they're in the band, they're thrown together day and night and have to become instant friends. But that's fine. Soon they're going to be millionaires and have girls a go-go, so who cares if they don't get along?
In the beginning, playing 'Club el Tack', in the back of beyond and sharing hotel rooms when money's short can actually help a new band bond. When 911 started out they were so skint one of them would book into a cheap hotel, while the other two climbed in through a window and secretly stayed in the room without paying. This sort of thing helped them to become firm friends.
On the down side, new bands are constantly learning song lyrics and repeating dance routines 'til they're perfect. The rest of the time they're cooped up in a small van for hours while travelling the country doing promotion and touring schools. Even worse, they have no idea if they're going to be bigger than Boyzone or just another flop. It's no wonder that stories about soon-to-be-celebs scrapping in hotels and flinging their fists at each other are common (although they're denied).
If a band aren't fighting with each other, they're probably falling out with their manager. Managers are often like surrogate parents who are notoriously strict with their bands - making sure they go to bed early and don't get another chance to misbehave. When manager Louis Walsh caught Westlife smoking he shouted at them so much they all burst into tears. Not very rock 'n' roll, is it?
First steps to fame
Assuming the band haven't killed each other, their manager will now prepare them for stardom. They'll be taught how to pose for cameras, how to handle interviews and abide by the harsh laws of boy banddom. Normally, this involves avoiding personal questions, not drinking or smoking in public and denying having a girlfriend by claiming they 'don't have time for a relationship', so they won't put off potential female fans. It doesn't matter if they're madly in love with their girlfriend, they still have to act like she doesn't exist.
Boyzone's Shane denied seeing Easther from Eternal for years. Then, before you could say 'OK magazine', he married her. Scott from Five was another boy bander who religiously followed the 'I-don't-have-a-girlfriend' rule, until in January, tabloids revealed he is engaged to Kerry Oaker, 18, who he has been secretly seeing for two years. A friend of Scott's says 'He desperately wanted to keep it quiet...Scott doesn't want to rub their [the fans'] noses in it.'
Even if a pin-up is brave enough to admit having a serious girlfriend, boy band life can still ruin everything. Backstreet Boy Nick Carter recently dumped his girlfriend of three years, Mandy Williford, 18, because she was so jealous of all his fans. Whether they're just starting out or they've got a number one album, being a boy bander often makes having a 'normal' relationship virtually impossible.
Being dropped
Even more pressure is heaped on a band when they release their first single. This is make-or-break time, and if they fail to make a dent in the charts after months of hard work, it can be disheartening. After all, the whole reason they've worked so hard is to become pop stars and if they fail at that they face a trip to the job centre.
Most bands will persevere, but you can bet if they haven't had a hit once two singles have been released they'll be in serious danger of 'splitting from their record company' (in other words, they'll be 'dropped', lose their record deal and go back to obscurity).
Even if a band's single reaches number one, it doesn't guarantee happiness because the pressure will be on to follow it up with another huge hit. That means spending more time together appearing on TV, being interviewed for magazines and travelling to gigs. This is when the smallest disagreement can turn into a massive row.
It's also the time when many band types say they feel like robots. They can become disillusioned and lonely. As one ex-boyband member admitted, 'It's all very well having thousands of girls screaming at you on stage, but when you go back to a hotel room at the end of the night the feelings of loneliness can be incredible. Sometimes you just can't shake off that feeling of isolation.' Boy banders don't have time to keep in touch with friends and few people understand that the life of a boy band is exhausting and stressful so, often, they really are alone.
Growing up
Inevitably, the excitement about being in a band disappears as boy banders grow up. It's one thing having to wear matching outfits and having a perma-smile when you're 15 but another in your twenties.
Robbie Williams is a classic example. He joined Take That at 16, and by the time he was 21, rumours about him rowing with Jason and Gary and being told to lose weight or leave the band were flying around. It was clear Robbie'd had enough when he was pictured swigging champagne and partying with Oasis at Glastonbury. His departure from Take That soon followed and he commented 'I need to do something else for my own peace of mind and health.'
Another Level are in a similar situation. After years of interviews, video shoots and touring, Wayne and Bobak have quit one of the most successful boy bands around. Dane says 'Of course it's sad that Wayne and Bobak have left. Wayne never felt like he had time to do the things he wanted, while Bobak had just has enough. We've been under a lot of pressure and we've worked incredibly hard...but Mark and I are still into it and it's going to be a new challenge.'
You might think that anyone who jacks in their place in a boy band and all the money that goes with it is missing a few brain cells, but although a few highly-successful bands will cash in (especially if they write their own songs) most will only make a minimum amount. One particular boy band who were in the charts a couple of years ago were paid £150 a week, even though their manager made millions out of them.
The dumper
Even if, despite all this, the band become hugely successful, their fans will grow up and move on and the band may still be deposited in pop's dumper. Hello 911. Yup, Lee, Spike and Jimmy may be the latest victim of the fickle world of boy bands. They've worked their booties off for years, toured the country and scored a number one with A Little Bit More. But when they released their Greatest Hits collection in October '99 it failed to make the top 40 - now rumours that they have 'parted company' with their record label Virgin are flying around.
When you look at the life of a boy band, it's no wonder that it can often be a short one. So, the next time a boy band splits up, vanishes from sight or 'parts company' with their management, maybe we shouldn't be surprised....maybe we should all be amazed they lasted so long.
Romance, rows and rumours*
The truth about boy band land
*names have been left out for legal reasons
- A boy band who recently quit music weren't just as famous for their music...they were also notorious throughout the industry for sleeping with many of their fans.
- One over excited boy band member kicked a door in and caused £1000 worth of damage when he got drunk at a showbiz party
- As you read this, a certain member of a highly-successful pop band is desperate to reveal that he's gay, but his management company are determined for him to remain a girlie pin-up for as long as possible.
- A member of a very famous boy band got a severe talking to from his record company when they discovered he was dating a girl of 15
- The manager of one boy band claimed that his group were 'crap' and the lead singer couldn't actually sing.
- Two members of an extremely famous boy band refused to speak to each other for a year, even during interviews.