Perhaps A1 weren't covered because there wasn't much drama to their story?
Boybands Forever - BBC Documentary series
- Thread starter Stuart
- Start date
Yeah true. They could have used the Asian territory success (and tragedy) sub plot, but they had that featured with five.
I think they had a feud with Paul.
I really enjoyed watching this (Via VPN for those wondering how to watch outside the UK). Well I say enjoy, it was equal parts nostalgia, re-living trauma from the times when these bands were my only escape, sheer joy and utter disgust at literally everyone who wasn't in a band being hideous. Especially the newspaper guy, who seemed proud to have destroyed several peoples lives.
I was quite surprised we didn't see A1 aside from that fleeting glance. I do hope they continue with some more episodes that bring us up to date, perhaps when everyone has had time to grieve Liam's passing.
I'd also love a pop group/girlband version too.
I was quite surprised we didn't see A1 aside from that fleeting glance. I do hope they continue with some more episodes that bring us up to date, perhaps when everyone has had time to grieve Liam's passing.
I'd also love a pop group/girlband version too.
They also had 4 fans die in a stampede in Jakarta which was obviously traumatic for them
Mvnl
Staff member
Did the 5ive footage ever get used for a documentary?
The Sean story about Robbie sounds so much like one H from Steps told about his decision to leave after Robbie told him to that I wonder if he just took that story, or if Robbie just spent all his time telling band members to quit.
The decision to gloss over Boyzone + hardly mention any part US bands played in it is interesting.
The fact Damage needed to become more pop while bands like Five used urban influences to add to their bad boys image is.. very questionable
The Sean story about Robbie sounds so much like one H from Steps told about his decision to leave after Robbie told him to that I wonder if he just took that story, or if Robbie just spent all his time telling band members to quit.
The decision to gloss over Boyzone + hardly mention any part US bands played in it is interesting.
The fact Damage needed to become more pop while bands like Five used urban influences to add to their bad boys image is.. very questionable
I’m wondering if that’s because they’ve got their own dedicated documentary coming?
I didn’t know much about Damage (apart from Jade being Emma Bunton’s husband), so I found their segments really interesting. It seems they launched at the wrong time because, just a few years later, groups like So Solid Crew, Mis-Teeq, and Big Brovaz were thriving without filtering their sound or image.
I imagine their gripe was more that they were being paid the bare minimum while putting in the hours. We all now know this all too common industry story of exploiting the acts while others did nicely out of it but the East 17 boys wouldn’t have known back then, learned the hard way and were rightly pissed off. But yes, Biff played a big part in their early success so deserved his share too.
The first episode served as a reminder how much I hated the hysteria around Take That and East 17, the frighteningly obsessive behaviour of their fans, and the fact that their music was genuinely mostly subpar sludge that would've flopped performed by anyone else.
Always loved Robbie though, his round-peg-square-hole personality always resonated. Those scenes of Gary talking about how loved he was in his village ...added up.
Always loved Robbie though, his round-peg-square-hole personality always resonated. Those scenes of Gary talking about how loved he was in his village ...added up.
Oh I understand how they feel too, but I feel like the documentary made Biff out to be the villain in their story without a right of reply. Louis Walsh certainly wouldn't have been in the doc if they'd pressed him on how much money he, Simon or Steve Mac and Wayne Hector made from Westlife before the boys advances were recouped.
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Just adding to the pile-on about the News of the World 'journalist.'
What a vile human being.
What a vile human being.
Mvnl
Staff member
It's really hard to believe. Like, most of those managers are horrible people too, but at least I see where their ego/need to make themselves the hero in their story stems from.
That journalist is just deliberately choosing to be as unpleasant as possible.
I'm not an expert on FIVE but I always thought Sean partly left due to being bullied by Ritchie and J in the band. Have I made that up or did they just decide to gloss over that fact in the documentary?
Mvnl
Staff member
I think they might have just decided to not speak (ill) about people who aren't there to tell their side, which I respect.
Finished the whole thing.
If there's any more shows like this/The Big Reunion/Steps Reunion, very open to suggestions cause I love these things.
I don't even think they even acknowledged that time they did that video with the cardboard cutout of him.
I also enjoyed Spice Girls: How Girl Power Changed Britain, which was on Channel 4 not too long ago.