In a 4 Part series, Verus Ferreira takes you on a trip on the Boybands of our times.

The trail of the boy band era for many would be the mid 80s when it started with the New Kids on the Block (NKOTB). But digging a little deeper we could also classify acts like The Beatles, The Jackson Five, The Osmonds, The Monkees, The Bee Gees, Duran Duran, AHa, The Beastie Boys, The Temptations, Earth, Wind and Fire, Depeche Mode and UB 40, among the many others as so called boy bands of the 60s, 70s and the early 80s. But our focus here would not be more on the past bands, but those bands that began with real ‘boys’, with the boy band image actually rooted towards the nineties. So you have a very exhaustive list of boy bands from New Kids On The Block, Boyz II Men, East 17, US5, BBMak, Latino band Menudo, 98 Degrees, A1, MLTR C 21, Boyzone, The Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Westlife, Blue, Take That, to the more recent attempts like The Moffats, Hanson, Jonas Brothers to hip hoppers Flipsyde, and rockers from Finland The Rasmus.

Requirements for a boyband

What are the pre- requisites for a boy band and what constitues a boy band one may ask? A boy band would normally refer to a pop group/acappella/blues featuring several young male singers – most of whom are freshers, discovered by a producer or just singers who are out to make a mark by themselves and strike it big through sheer lady luck. Most boy bands are products of church choral or Gospel music groups and come together by talent managers or record producers who scout for new talent be it in singing, dancing, rapping and appearance – basically an amalgamation of all. The members are generally expected to perform as dancers as well, often executing highly choreographed sequences to their own music. While there are no laid down requirements for a boy band, one could label a band a "boy band" when they manage to produce music for the masses, can quickly adapt to changing their appearances to new fashion trends, can easily pick up dance acts, and swear to their producers that they could bring the house down while performing to a live audience.
So turning back the hands of time we can say that the earliest predecessors of the boy band genre and era were groups such as the The Beatles, The Jackson 5, The Osmonds, The Monkees which literally formed a template for boy bands of the future. It is often said and is also very true that a live performance is the real place to really know who sings well and who does not. Evidently it is the same lead singer who later also moves on to a solo career and makes his mark.

The 60s:

THE BEATLES:
The Fab Four is the best example of how a boy band set a precedent for boy bands to follow both in terms of marketing to young girls and their immense muisc content that was lapped up by young and even the old. From the time the four Liverpool lads hit big time to their downfall in the 80s, The Beatles was one band that had a consistent fan following wherever they went. Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon had immense sex appeal and were poster boys for girls who just wanted more of them. The catchy ballads, short and sweet pop melodies filled with great hooks, harmonies combined with their marketability made them popular. After Lennon was shot dead by an estranged fan, the band dwindled and each went their own way with solo careers.

Solo careers were successful for George Harrison until his death in 2001 and Paul McCartney who still has a very firm foothold in the music industry and has many solo albums to his credit., while Ringo Starr never really made it after the band split.

THE MONKEES:
Formed in 1965, the band was a pop group that would sing on regional television and also doubled as actors in television series. The band came to fame in late 60s. Other groups in this era included The Temptations, The Bee Gees, and Earth, Wind and Fire.

The 70s

THE JACKSON 5:
They were a family band that featured soul music and catchy pop hooks. Their influences were The Beatles. The unique part of the band was that all members of the band sang, which is one of the main criteria in a boy band, as opposed to having a front man and the rest on musical instruments, so that no one person dominated the stage. Michael Jackson who was the youngest in the group, however opted out of band in the mid - eighties to embark on a solo career. This saw the end of the Jackson 5 days.

What he is doing now?
Michael Jackson’s exit paved a way for a very strong career graph. Michael Jackson is today regarded as the King of Pop. Despite his list of controversies, his fetish for children, face packs, disturbed childhood stories, accusations and more…….he is still a legend that just cannot go away without making a mark when his albums are released. His music speaks his personality and lives on even 25 years later. Most of his lovable, humable tunes nevertheless came from one of his best albums to date – ‘Thriller’. 2008 marked the albums 25 years and a special edition ‘Thriller 25’ featured all the original tracks from the album with even contemporary singers of this decade also pay tribute to the album by adding their masala to hits like ‘The Girl is Mine’ and ‘P.Y.T’ (Pretty Young Thing)’, ‘Wanna be Startin’ Something’, Beat It and ‘Billie Jean’ MJ’s music videos were to die for. Videos of ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Beat it’, ‘Thriller’ were amazingly produced. After the success of ‘HIStory’, MJ’s last studio album was ‘Invincible’ an album was well received by all his fans, which also happened to be his last album ever until his untimely death on 25th June 2009.

MENUDO:
There was also Latino boy band Menudo which was founded in 1977 and produced Ricky Martin in the late nineties. Menudo was a hugely successful Latin-American singing group. In English, Menudo means "something small" or "change".
As for Ricky joining in, the road was not easy. It was only after a couple of rejections that Ricky got a chance to be in the band. When group member, Ricky Melendez left, and after a search for his replacement for two whole years, that Martin was given a third audition, and absorbed into the group to replace him at the age of 12. He was known as Little Ricky, Kiki or Ricky II as there used to be two Ricky's in the group. Martin soon became a member of Menudo, whose singing, dancing and stage presence electrified young audiences worldwide.

Although Martin remained with the band for exactly five years, he moved on to search for what he was looking for sometime in 1994.

Where he is now?
Today Ricky Martin is one of the most persuasive male vocalists of the 90's that have managed to set afire every young girls heart in a short span of time. His lyrics are personal and quirky, melodies eccentric enough to entice and simple enough to be catchy. Blessed with charisma, charm and a multi – cultural appeal, as a performer he is refreshingly humble about his success and grateful that hard work, talent and fortune have taken him so far. These qualities and his emotional fearlessness, make Ricky Martin a musical treasure years after his first taste of success. With multi – platinum solo albums, Grammy awards, sold out concert dates and success in live theatre, television and film – including the highest accolade for the Mexican motion picture industry and making a jump from the Spanish market to the North American – Ricky Martin has established himself in both environments with success and fame becoming a bonafide superstar in the end. His songs ‘Maria’ and ‘Viva La Vida Loca’ were floor burners. He continues to record and sing popular music, much as he always did, though he now concentrates almost entirely on Latin markets (which was where he was successful long before his brief flare of mainstream popularity).

(To be continued........)

-- By Verus Ferreira