If you can't name at least three major boybands post 1990, were you even alive at that point? "Boybands Forever" is a new three-parter from Louis Theroux’s production company that looks at the hard miles the young wannabes in British and Irish boybands had to put in as they chased success.
Here's how to watch "Boybands Forever" online from anywhere with a VPN — and potentially for free.
"Boybands Forever" drops on Saturday, November 16 at 9.15 p.m. GMT on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
• WATCH FREE — BBC Two/ BBC iPlayer (U.K.)
• Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk free
The demands of fame and celebrity on members of boybands received an unwelcome reminder with the death of former One Direction star Liam Payne in Argentina recently. "Boybands Forever" highlights the bands of the 90s and 00s that paved the way but also suffered the same pitfalls and pressures of fame.
In a time before social media when personal appearances counted for everything and interviews had to be done in person, life amounted a whirl of travel, living in hotels, and working hard as well as unwanted sexual attention with little financial reward. Members of Five claimed to be earning £100 a week in the beginning.
This three-part doc talks to everybody concerned – label bosses, managers, stars, journalists etc. It's hard not to feel for the miserable, pushed around pop puppets, but Simon Cowell is present to sum up the case for those that made the most out of the experience.
“There is a contract you sign which says, 'I will be available to shake every hand, to have my picture taken whenever requested and my privacy now has pretty much disappeared,'" he smiles. "If you don’t want that, be an accountant. You can’t have it both ways.”
Read on to find out how to watch "Boybands Forever" online, on TV and from anywhere.
How to watch "Boybands Forever" for free in the U.K.
How to watch 'Boybands Forever' from abroad
Thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network), "Boybands Forever" should be available to Brits no matter where they are. The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you find yourself. Our favorite is NordVPN.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're away from the U.K. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.
3. Sit back and watch the show. Head to BBC iPlayer to watch "Boybands Forever" episodes online and on-demand.
How to watch 'Boybands Forever' around the world
Can I watch "Boybands Forever" in the United States?
There is currently no release date for "Boybands Forever" in the U.S..
However, if you are a Brit in the States for work or on vacation you can catch the show for free by using a VPN such as NordVPN, choosing U.K. from the list and selecting BBC iPlayer.
Watch "Boybands Forever" online and on-demand in the U.K.
If you live in the U.K. then you can catch "Boybands Forever" when it drops on Saturday, November 16 at 9.15 p.m. GMT on BBC Two.
All three episodes are also available to stream for free on BBC iPlayer. You'll need a valid TV licence, naturally.
If you're not in the U.K., you can still catch the show by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN.
Can I watch "Boybands Forever" online or on TV in Canada?
As with the U.S., there is currently no release date for "Boybands Forever" in Canada.
However, if you are a Brit in the Great white North for work or on vacation you can catch the show for free by using a VPN such as NordVPN, choosing U.K. from the list and selecting BBC iPlayer.
Can I watch "Boybands Forever" online in Australia?
There are currently no plans to air "Boybands Forever" in Australia but if you are a Brit working or on vacation Down Under you can catch the show by using a VPN such as NordVPN.
Can I watch "Boybands Forever" in New Zealand?
There are currently no plans to air "Boybands Forever" in New Zealand but if you are a Brit currently there for work or vacation you can catch the show by using a VPN such as NordVPN.
'Boybands Forever' - Cast
- Simon Cowell (RCA Records)
- Nigel Martin-Smith (Manager, Take That)
- Robbie Williams (Take That)
- Louis Walsh (Manager, Westlife)
- Bryan McFadden (Westlife)
- Daniel Glatman (Blue)
- Chris Herbert (Five)
- Steve Gilmour (911)
- Members of East 17 and Damage.
- Plus, those close to the band members, music industry insiders, presenters, and journalists who followed their stories in an age before social media.
'Boybands Forever' - Episode guide
Episode 1: It’s 1990. Poll tax rioters are setting the nation’s capital ablaze, and prime minister Margaret Thatcher is being ousted by her own MPs. But a welcome distraction comes in the twinkly eyed form of a pop phenomenon which will define the decade: the boy band. Taking a cue from the all-singing, all-dancing American pop act New Kids on the Block, the UK’s Take That and East 17 would dance and shimmy their way through the British pop charts in the first half of the decade, clearing the way for a long conga line of other handsome, crooning hunks.
Episode 2: Tony Blair is heading for a landslide at the 1997 general election, signalling the start of a new political era. For the nation’s boy bands, change is also in the air. With the implosion of pioneers Take That, their rivals East 17 see the way clear to clean up in the charts. But after a notorious radio interview in which frontman Brian Harvey confesses to taking 12 ecstasy pills in one night, the band Five, capitalising on the new 'lad culture' of the time, are rapidly catapulted into an unknown world of fame and idolatry.
Episode 3: It's the summer of 2001, and for several of Britain’s biggest boybands, life in the limelight is coming to an end. Despite almost 20 million albums sold between them, East 17 and Take That have called time on their pop dreams. Five-piece Damage has hit a glass ceiling. Tweenager heartthrobs 911 have burned out, and bad boys Five are hanging by a thread. Waiting in the wings are four-piece Blue and Irish balladeers Westlife, whose stars begin to rise just as those of their forebears fade. The bigger threat to the boy bands, however, is the new era of reality TV: Pop Idol, Popstars and The X Factor.
'Boybands Forever' FAQ
Which are the most successful British/ Irish boybands in history?
In 2012, the Official Charts Company revealed the biggest selling singles artists in British music chart history with Take That placed 15th overall and the highest selling boyband act (9.3 million), followed by Boyzone at 29 (7.1 million) and Westlife at 34 (6.8 million).
What else can I watch on BBC iPlayer?
Lots – including "I Kissed a Girl", "The Assembly", "This Town", "The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth", "The Reckoning", "Navalny" and "The Stones and Brian Jones".
