Produced by the award-winning Mindhouse Productions (Louis Theroux Interviews, Lockerbie, Gods of Tennis) and from the BAFTA winning producers Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang, the three hour-long episodes will dive into pop culture in the 90s and 00s, telling the tales behind the success of some of the UK and Ireland’s most celebrated popstars, who were idolised by millions of pop fans around the world. Each episode will follow the life changing reality of new-found fame at a young age, from their early beginnings to hitting the top of the charts, whilst revealing some of the pivotal behind-the-scenes moments that shaped their careers and reflecting on those times decades later.
The series will feature searingly honest interviews with the artists themselves, who share their experiences of the boyband phenomenon, including Robbie Williams (Take That), Brian McFadden (Westlife), as well as members of East 17, Blue, Five, 911 and Damage.
Across the episodes, the series will hear from the music label bosses and band managers that managed their ascent to fame, including Simon Cowell (RCA Records) Nigel Martin-Smith (Take That), Louis Walsh (Westlife), Daniel Glatman (Blue), Chris Herbert (Five) and Steve Gilmour (911), as well as those close to the band members, music industry insiders, presenters, and journalists who followed their stories in an age before social media.
Together with their testimony, rich archive from the time and the music that was so adored by millions of fans both in the UK and around the globe, it promises a nostalgic journey and a thoughtful look at the cultural landscape it emerged from.
Louis Theroux, Executive Producer, says: “I couldn’t be more thrilled about this series. An epic story featuring a cast of stars and star-makers, spanning three decades, it involves some of the icons of modern British pop. We see them through them through their highs and lows, hearing from the key players, as we chart the golden years of boybands. How they came together, the experience of sudden fame, the opportunity and temptations that came their way, conflicts within the groups, between the groups, and between the boys and their managers. It’s a gripping fable about getting everything you dreamed of, and it not being what you imagined, centred on a generation of young men, and their managers, who were wildly successful and also immensely vulnerable, having the times of their lives and also in some cases cracking up. Those boys we all watched singing and dancing in tight formation – Take That, East 17, Westlife, Blue, Five, Damage, 911 and so many others – are now middle aged men who have the time and the maturity to look back and reflect on what they went through. It’s taken us more than a year to make the series. Now I’m just excited for people to see it.”
Jonathan Rothery, Head of BBC Popular Music TV, says: “It feels like yesterday but the Brit Boyband era began 35 years ago, and what a fascinating moment in time and pop culture it was. The series will take us on a trip down memory lane but will also enlighten us, that behind the singing, dancing, double denim and bright smiles were a heck of a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”
Boybands Forever is a Mindhouse production for BBC Pop Music TV and BBC Two. It was commissioned by Jonathan Rothery, Head of Popular Music TV. The Commissioning Editor for BBC Popular Music TV is Rachel Davies. The Executive Producers are Nancy Strang and Louis Theroux for Mindhouse.
The new commission for Mindhouse follows the success of BBC Two’s Grierson award nominated ‘Gods of Snooker’ and also ‘God of Tennis’, documenting the golden age of the sports, and the critically-acclaimed ‘Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth’; also ‘Lockerbie’ for Sky, which won the BAFTA this year for best factual series.
