Boy Bands

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(Vocal group, 1996–2001) The launch point for the career of Justin Timberlake, *NSYNC formed in Florida in 1996. J.C. Chasez, Chris Kilpatrick, Joey Fatone and James Lance Bass scored their first hits in Europe with ‘I Want You Back’ and ‘Tearing Up My Heart’. America fell for their good looks and vocal charms in 1998 and by No Strings Attached (2000) they were platinum-selling artists. Timberlake and Kilpatrick even enjoyed a ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1992–present) Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (left 2006). An American boy band, their first taste of success came in Europe in 1996 with soft-focus ballads like ‘Get Down (You’re The One For Me)’. They conquered the US in 1998, and albums like Millennium (1999) – the obligatory Christmas album – and Black & Blue (2000) sold in their millions. ‘Quit Playing Games (With ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1993–2000) This Irish answer to Take That racked up seven Top 10 singles and spawned an equally successful solo star in Ronan Keating. Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch, Stephen Gately (1976–2009) and Keating were mustered by future X-Factor svengali Louis Walsh in 1993. Their first UK hit was a cover version of The Osmonds’ ‘Love Me For A Reason’. After that, hits and photo-shoots came thick and fast ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1992–97, 2006–present) Named after their Walthamstow postal district, Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell were a ‘bad’ boy vocal band who took style and attitude from America. Musically they racked up an impressive number of Top 40 hits between 1992 and 1997 – mostly penned by Mortimer – ranging from dance rap to balladry. Harvey was thrown out in 1997 for comments about drugs. When Mortimer ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1986–94) Manufactured by producer Maurice Starr, this white vocal group of Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jon Knight, Danny Wood and Joey McIntyre were one of the most successful American teen bands. Formed in 1986 they hit their peak between 1988 and 1990, scoring hit single after hit single with safe pop/rap/ballad numbers. There was the obligatory Christmas album as well as a line of New Kids comic books. Hit ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1990–96, 2006–present) Formed in Manchester around vocalist and songwriter Gary Barlow with Jason Orange, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams providing totty appeal. Debut single ‘Do What U Like’ was released on their own label in 1991 leading to a deal with RCA. From that point Take That dominated the charts and teen magazines generating devotion amongst their fans not seen since the heyday of The Beatles and ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal/instrumental group, 1990–96, 2006–present) After considerable success in the early Nineties, British boy band Take That reunited without fifth member Robbie Williams. A tour in 2006 encouraged them to record their first studio LP in a decade and Beautiful World went eight times platinum in the UK. The band took a more mature approach, while lead singer Gary Barlow gained plaudits for his songwriting talents on hits such as ‘Patience’ and ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocal group, 1998–present) Fourteen UK No. 1s and albums sales of over 45 million perhaps say more about the obsessive (and young) nature of Westlife’s fan base than their actual music. A clean-cut Irish boy band – Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and (originally) Brian McFadden – formed in the image of Boyzone and Take That before them, they produce radio-friendly, often ballad-driven pop that does little to ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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Groups of fresh-faced young men singing catchy tunes have been one of the mainstays of commercial pop since The Beatles. In the last two decades, manufactured boy bands such as New Kids On The Block and Take That have ruled the roost. Although their musical legacy bears no comparison to that of The Fab Four’s, the devotion they inspired was just as fervent. Marketing is everything for the modern boy band. ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer
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West-coast city Seattle was the unanticipated epicentre of 1990s music as grunge, the biggest ‘back to basics’ movement since punk, shook traditional American rock – Nirvana was to enjoy iconic status for a spell until Kurt Cobain’s death. In the UK, the dance-rock of The Stone Roses, a holdover from the late 1980s, put Manchester briefly in the picture, but it was American bands like Metallica, the Red Hot Chili ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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After the seismic shifts of the previous decade, the 1970s reflected faster-moving, less permanent crazes, beginning with glam rock and ending with the new wave. Glam rock saw the likes of Alice Cooper and Kiss taking make-up to extremes, while the comparatively anonymous Eagles and Bruce Springsteen respectively updated the blueprints established the previous decade by country rocker Gram Parsons and singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. As Motown moved from Detroit to the West ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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