My 90s Boy Band Infatuation

As I write this, I appreciate for some the news of Zayn Malik leaving One Direction is still raw, painful and quite frankly, unthinkable but it’s happened. I’ll be honest; I have never suffered the trauma of witnessing my favourite boy band(s) splitting up or a key member leaving, I will also admit that I am not a fan of One Direction; I’ll leave that to the younger generation. That’s not to say however that their songs aren’t a guilty pleasure of mine when they come on the radio!

I got into popular culture quite late against the rest of my friends so I completely missed the trauma of Take That splitting. I was though gripped by Spice Girls mania, obsessed in fact but in regards to boy bands, the first boy band I remember loving, believe it or not, were brother trio Hanson. Yes everybody I knew judged them on their long hair and for that they were not well received at all so I was a minority fan but I think that’s why I liked them so much. Tell me though that hit, Mmm Bop isn’t one of the best songs to come out of the 90s and their first album, Middle of Nowhere is still up there with my all-time favourites.

In my third year at University, I studied a module on Fandom and it’s a shame One Direction madness hadn’t quite taken grip as the fans (Directioners?) would have been great to study rather than The Beatles. I remember seeing a documentary about the fans of One Direction and it was fascinating, almost solely for how a love for a boy band goes far beyond their music, I mean, getting braces just because one of the band members does, how crazy is that and how did a Dentist actually allow it?! Now, fandom builds communities and social media allows fans to come together and stir each other up in their open sharing and even communicate directly with the boys themselves. During my Hanson heyday, I had their documentary (Tulsa, Tokyo and The Middle of Nowhere) on video which I watched countless times over and that’s as close as I got to them. I often wonder -my friends included- what our school days would have been like had social media existed then.

21^st century Fandom has no limits and for some, that can seem dangerous and it is but only to the extent when that fan/s is/are going as far as travelling to random places and smuggling themselves into hotels and other property for the sake of a glimpse or to touch their idols. I can understand why, but it’s still stalking and social media opens the door too widely for this. All my information gained about Hanson and other bands at the time was available almost solely through magazines such as Smash Hits! and Top of the Pops, the internet was only in the midst of being born then (man, I am making myself sound so old, ha!). But teenage boy band infatuation is all part of growing up and should only be expected.

Plastering every inch of your bedroom walls with posters is for me the foundation to traditional fandom and it’s something you look back on fondly and compare with friends in later life when looking back on your childhood. I still have some of my favourite posters and pictures saved in the loft. I wonder what fans of today will look back on and remember in years to come?

Which bands did you guys love?

Until next time x