Bands Reunited

Bands Reunited
Genre Reality television
Written by Greg Heller
Directed by Steve Jones
David Charles Sullivan
Presented by Aamer Haleem
Country of origin  United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 19
Production
Running time 44 minutes
Production company(s) Evolution Film & Tape
Release
Original network VH1
Original release 19 January 2004 – 1 January 2006

Bands Reunited is a television program produced by VH1 in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documented an attempted reunion of a formerly popular musical ensemble for a special concert in either London or Los Angeles.

A show normally consisted of the crew first hunting down the ex-members of the band (often first in disguise) one-by-one, and convincing them to agree for the one-time concert; the members were "contracted" by signing a record album by their former band. The band members were then interviewed, usually focusing on the reasons of the breakup. The final segment would consist of the formal reunion of the band in the rehearsing studio, and a joint interview about why the group parted ways. If the reunion was successful, the episode ended with the final performance.

In 2005, VH1 attempted to reunite the British band The Smiths, but the show abandoned its attempt after Aamer Haleem was unsuccessful in his attempt to corner lead singer Morrissey before a show.

Bands which have appeared

Note: The bands that did the reunion performance are noted, as well.

Band Formed Disbanded Result
A Flock of Seagulls 1979 1986 All members reunited,[1] performed "I Ran" & "Space Age Love Song".
ABC 1980 1990 Only Martin Fry and David Palmer reunited, performed with Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo.[2]
The Alarm 1981 1992 All members reunited, performed "68 Guns".
The Beat 1978 1983 David Steele and Andy Cox refused to participate, the remaining members did not perform although Dave Wakeling did perform with the current version of The Beat at their own concert.
Berlin 1982 1987 All members reunited including original drummer Rod Learned,[3] performed "The Metro" and "No More Words."
Dramarama 1983 1994 All members reunited, performed "Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)," inspired band to get back together permanently.
Extreme 1985 1996 Nuno Bettencourt refused to be filmed on camera. After a conversation with Gary Cherone (who was not sure on participating either), they ultimately decided that it was not a good time to reunite, citing issues that had been unresolved since disbanding as the main reason. Since then, they have reunited in 2004 and 2006. A full reunion occurred in 2008.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood 1980 1987 All members reunited, but Holly Johnson refused to perform.
Haircut One Hundred 1981 1983 All members reunited,[4] performed "Love Plus One" and "Fantastic Day".
Information Society 1982 1997 All members but Kurt Harland reunited, no performance. The band was eventually reformed in 2006 by Paul Robb and James Cassidy, with Harland occasionally participating (he has since rejoined full-time).
Kajagoogoo 1981 1986 All members reunited.[5] Attempted to stay reunited, initially failed. Recently succeeded and, as of late, are currently touring with an album in the works.
Klymaxx 1979 1990 Five members reunited (Robbin Grider could not be located), but Cheryl Cooley did not participate in the performance due to friction between her and the other bandmates for forming her own version of Klymaxx, and trademarking the band name without permission. As of 2011, there are two versions of Klymaxx performing: One led by Cooley, while the other is led by Bernadette Cooper, Joyce Irby and Lorena Stuart.
The Motels 1971 1987 All members reunited.
New Kids on the Block 1984 1994 Brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight agreed to reunite, but Joe McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood declined to participate in the reunion. McIntyre cited that the only way he would rejoin the group was if the group made the decision to reunite permanently. Wahlberg and Wood declined on-camera interviews. All 5 members reunited in 2008.
Romeo Void 1979 1985 Original saxophonist Benjamin Bossi was unable to perform, due to hearing loss; Sheldon Brown filled in. He met with his former bandmates, however, and watched the taping of the band's reunion performance from a nearby trailer.
Scandal 1981 1985 All surviving members reunited.[6] Bassist Ivan Elias died of cancer in 1995. Kasim Sulton of the band Utopia played bass in the reunion performance.
Squeeze 1974 1999 Did not reunite after lead vocalist/guitarist Glenn Tilbrook expressed reservations, keyboardist Jools Holland refused to participate, and drummer Gilson Lavis was unable to commit to it. Oddly, after Holland declined, the show did not pursue any of the keyboardists who had replaced Holland during the band's original tenure: Paul Carrack (who provided lead vocals on the original version of the band's best-known record, "Tempted"), Don Snow, or Steve Nieve.
Squeeze reformed in 2007 with a revised line-up, including original members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook and early 1980s bassist John Bentley.
Vixen 1980 1991 All members of the famous lineup reunited and performed.

Criticism of the show

The artificial nature of parts of the show and the contractual arrangements behind it have been criticised. Kurt Harland of Information Society detailed his own negative experiences with the program, and how his experiences differed from the portrayal of events as broadcast, on his website; citing examples of poor background research by VH1 and difficult interactions with the television crew.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Shennan, Paddy (22 March 2004). "The Seagulls have landed.". Liverpool Echo. p. 10. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  2. ↑ "ABC Reunite With Kajagoogoo Pal". World Entertainment News Network. 10 September 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Iwasaki, Scott (30 July 2004). "Berlin vocalist catches her breath". Deseret Morning News. p. W08. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Spencer, Kathryn; Carpenter, Julie; Bohdanowicz, Kate (6 October 2004). "Nick's smart Haircut". The Daily Express. p. 37.
  5. ↑ "Kaja chance to go goo goo...". Wigan Evening Post. 12 April 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  6. ↑ Shanahan, Mark (4 February 2005). "Revisiting Scandal Suits Smyth She Doesn't Regret This Scandal". The Boston Globe. p. C12. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "InSoc vs. TV!". 2007-12-30. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved 2015-10-30.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.