Produced by award-winning Mindhouse Productions (Louis Theroux Interviews, Lockerbie, Gods of Tennis) and BAFTA-winning producers Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang, the three one-hour episodes delve into the pop culture of the 90s and 00s and tell the stories behind the success of some of Britain and Ireland’s most famous pop stars, idolised by millions of pop fans around the world. Each episode follows the life-changing reality of newfound fame at a young age, from their early days to reaching the top of the charts, revealing some of the pivotal behind-the-scenes moments that shaped their careers and looking back on that time decades later.
The series features brutally honest interviews with the artists themselves sharing their experiences of the boy band phenomenon, including Robbie Williams (Take That), Brian McFadden (Westlife) and members of East 17, Blue, Five, 911 and Damage.
Each episode features the voices of the label bosses and band managers who helped guide the band’s rise 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). It also features people close to the band members, music industry insiders, presenters and journalists who followed their stories in a time before social media.
Together with their testimonies, the extensive archive from the period and the music so revered by millions of fans in the UK and around the world, it promises a nostalgic journey and a thoughtful look at the cultural landscape from which it emerged.
Louis Theroux, Executive Producer, says: “I couldn’t be more excited about this series. An epic story with a cast of stars and star-makers, spanning three decades, featuring some of the icons of modern British pop. We see them through their ups and downs, hear from the key players as we chronicle the golden years of boybands, how they came together, the experience of sudden fame, the opportunities and temptations that came their way, conflicts within groups, between groups and between the boys and their managers. It’s a gripping fable about getting everything you dreamt about and it not being what you imagined, centred on a generation of young men and their managers who were incredibly successful and also incredibly vulnerable, having the time of their lives and, in some cases, going crazy. These guys we all saw singing and dancing in close formation – Take That, East 17, Westlife, Blue, Five, Damage, 911 and so many others – are now middle-aged men who have the time and maturity to look back and reflect on what they’ve been through. It took 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, said: “It feels like yesterday, but the era of British boy bands began 35 years ago. What a fascinating moment in time and pop culture that was. The series will take us on a journey down memory lane, but will also show us that behind the singing, the dancing, the double denim trousers and the beaming smiles, there was a hell 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 the BBC’s Grierson Award-nominated series Gods of Snooker and God of Tennis, which documented the sport’s golden age, and the critically acclaimed Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth. Also for Sky was Lockerbie, which won the BAFTA for Best Documentary Series this year.
