Boy Bands and the Performance of Pop Masculinity 2018046292, 2018048465, 9780429027574, 9781138647312, 9781138647329

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Boy Bands and the Performance of Pop Masculinity

Boy Bands and the Performance of Pop Masculinity provides a history of the boy band from the Beatles to One Direction, placing the modern male pop group within the wider context of twentieth- and twenty-first-century popular music and culture. Offering the first extended look at pop masculinity as exhibited by boy bands, this volume links the evolving expressions of gender and sexuality in the boy band to wider economic and social changes that have resulted in new ways of representing what it is to be a man. The popularity of boy bands is unquestionable, and their contributions to popular music are significant, yet they have attracted relatively little study. This book fills that gap with chapters exploring the challenges of defining the boy band phenomenon, its origins and history from the 1940s to the present, the role of management and marketing, the performance of gender and sexuality, and the nature of fandom and fan agency. Throughout, the author illuminates the ways in which identity politics influence the production and consumption of pop music and shows how the mainstream pop of boy bands can both reinforce and subvert gender and class hierarchies. Georgina Gregory is Senior Lecturer for Film and Media at the University of Central Lancashire, where she teaches modules on popular music and youth culture. She is the author of Send in the Clones: A Cultural Study of the Tribute Band.

Boy Bands and the Performance of Pop Masculinity Georgina Gregory

First published 2019 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Taylor & Francis The right of Georgina Gregory to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gregory, Georgina, author. Title: Boy bands and the performance of pop masculinity / Georgina Gregory. Description: New York ; London : Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018046292 (print) | LCCN 2018048465 (ebook) | ISBN 9780429027574 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138647312 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138647329 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Boy bands. | Popular music—History and criticism. | Masculinity in music. Classification: LCC ML3470 (ebook) | LCC ML3470 .G738 2019 (print) | DDC 781.640811—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018046292 ISBN: 978-1-138-64731-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-64732-9 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-02757-4 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by codeMantra

Contents

List of Figures vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1 Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band? 8 2 From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop 16 3 Constructing the Product 37 4 Marketing and Promotion 60 5 Weapons of Mass Seduction: Performing Pop Masculinity 83 6 Fandom, Texts and Practices 101 7 Breaking Up, Making Up and Moving On 122 Bibliography 135 Index 157

Figures

2.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 5.1 7.1

Crosby, Stills and Nash 31 Zodys department store ad for Beatle wigs 63 The Bay City Rollers 67 The Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones 68 The Beatles’ logo 70 The Monkees’ logo on an album cover 70 *NSYNC’s logo 70 The Monkees 73 The Beatles arrive at JFK Airport 75 One Direction 77 The Rolling Stones in concert in Oslo in 1965 81 Harry Styles 83 Westlife 132

Acknowledgements

I would like to draw attention to a number of people who have helped in the production of this book. In particular, thanks go to Genevieve Aoki and Peter Sheehy of Routledge for allowing me the time needed to complete the project. I also wish to express gratitude to the many students I have taught at University of Central Lancashire over the years, whose observations have provided useful insights into the subject of boy bands and associated fan culture. Amongst others Mark Duffett, Tim Wise and the late David Sanjek have provided a combination of scholarly inspiration and support so thanks must go to them. Finally, as writing takes up such a lot of my time and energy, I am grateful to my family – Greg, Holly, Mya, Jack and Georgia – thank you for being there.

Introduction

Throughout the postwar period, groups of young men in their teens or t­ wenties singing romantic songs in harmony have been the bedrock of the popular music industry. In Janice Miller’s words: “Between The Beatles and The Osmonds and after, came many boy-­bands sharing similar characteristics: mainstream manufactured for a teen market with a voracious appetite for this kind of entertainment” (Miller, 2011: 84). Although characterized by ephemerality, the presence of boy bands within the musical landscape significantly influences perceptions of masculinity. In fact long before the Osmond brothers or Take That, vocal groups with a repertoire of heartfelt ballads provided a template for the earnest masculinity we are familiar with today. The popularity of boy bands is unquestionable and their contribution to popular music is significant, yet they have attracted limited scholarly interest. Their unthreatening version of masculine identity has dominated the twentieth century but more attention is devoted to rock, rap and metal masculinity (Weinstein, 2000; Walser, 2015; White, 2011). However, as Diane Railton notes: “One of the ironies of popular music studies is that the music that is the most popular, in terms of contemporary chart success, is rarely discussed by academics writing in the field” ­( Railton, 2001: 321). Some contextual material is offered by Jay Warner (2006), whose historical account of postwar American vocal groups is limited by its geographical boundary and while it contains important detail about doo-­wop and R&B vocal groups, its coverage of groups described as boy bands is limited. Emanating from the music industry where the exceptional success of boy bands is revered, Frederick Levy’s (2000) The Ultimate Boy Band Book is one of the few texts dedicated to unravelling the phenomenon. Writing from the perspective of a talent manager, Levy offers some useful insights into the history and construction of boy bands but fails to locate the groups in a broader

2 Introduction

socio-­cultural or critical framework. Furthermore, as it was written before the successful relaunch of Take That, *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys it does not account for the appearance of ‘man bands’ – well-­k nown groups reassembling as adult versions of their former selves.1 Other industry-­focused literature examines the transformative leadership, personal shortcomings and misdemeanours of pop band managers. A sample includes music journalist Ray Coleman’s (1989) anecdote-­fi lled account of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein’s early life and his closet ­homosexuality. Presumably because there have been some high-­ profile lawsuits stemming from financial mismanagement, Tyler Gray’s The Hit ­Charade (2008) looks at pop impresario Lou Pearlman’s Machiavellian endeavours through the lens of investigative journalism. Louis Walsh’s successful career as a pop manager also comes under scrutiny (Foley, 2002) in a book charting his rise from working as an office boy to becoming a leading pop supremo. There are also studies of music mogul Simon Cowell’s contribution to pop management (Newkey-­Burden, 2009; Bower, 2012), not to mention a wide range of ­biographies and autobiographies about individual artists and groups. In this respect Herbert (2011), McKeown (2006), and Roach (2006) are typical and all add valuable detail and colour to scholarly study. To some extent, the dearth of academic studies on the subject may be attributed to the collective failure of mainstream pop groups to shock or offend. Presumably their wholesome character makes them a less compelling object of study  –  especially when other music artists do so on such a regular basis. Moreover, as Gayle Wald, one of the first to take the group’s seriously points out, critical writing about pop has a tendency to focus on the shortcomings of mass culture rather than any redeeming or instructive qualities it might offer: Among recent trends in youth music culture, perhaps none has been so widely reviled as the rise of a new generation of manufactured ‘­teenybopper’ pop acts. Since the late 1990s, the phenomenal visibility and commercial success of performers such as … the Backstreet Boys, and ‘N Sync has inspired anxious public handwringing about the shallowness of youth culture, the triumph of commerce over art, and the sacrifice of ‘depth’ to surface and image. (Wald, 2002: 1) Nevertheless, boy bands convey important information about gender ­identity, a subject overlooked in the majority of literature within popular music studies prior to the 1980s. However, interest has grown, and among others ­Leonard (2017), Lieb (2013) and Whiteley (2013a, 2013b) explain how gender is constructed, circulated and maintained within the music industry. Their work is informed by, and builds upon the work of Judith Butler (2011) and Jack ­Halberstam (1998) whose observations on the constructed character of gendered identity ­problematize ­essentialist readings.

Introduction  3

Other than Wald (2002), only a handful of scholars have tackled the nature of gender in boy bands.2 Among them Jamieson (2007) discusses the marketing and presentation of the Backstreet Boys to see if the queer subtexts of boy band videos influence the audience. Similarly, Jennifer Moos (2013) looks at groups’ queer potentialities and their role in creating a space for alternative masculinities, exploring the affective responses of fans – notably those engaged in gender parody via drag king performance. Paul McDonald (2013) considers the area of representation by analysing the relationship between gender, body and music video to show how a particular version of masculine identity was portrayed by Take That during the 1990s. Matthew Stahl (2002) also investigates representation but from the perspective of the artists themselves to see if the way they would like to represent themselves differs from how they are depicted by managers and marketing professionals. In doing so he raises issues concerning authenticity, legitimacy and autonomy, all of which are explored by Maria Sanders (2002) who looks at aspirations of autonomy in boy bands assembled by entrepreneurs. A similar theme is tackled from the perspective of discourse by Mark Duffett (2012), who explores how negative discourses underscore the way critics write about boy bands, leading ultimately, to a stasis of critical commentary about market-­led pop. Other valuable texts include Freya Jarman-­Ivens’ Oh Boy! Masculinities and Popular Music (2011), a book that evaluates how masculine identity is negotiated, constructed, represented and addressed within texts and practices ­a ssociated with various music genres. Likewise, Stan Hawkins’ The British Pop Dandy: Masculinity, Popular Music and Culture (2017b) provides important insights into the construction of pop’s masculine identities, expressions of dandyism and camp via various media platforms, showing how performance, gender and ­sexuality are inextricably entwined. With a view to adding to this existing body of knowledge and to augment the limited literature on boy bands and masculine identity in mainstream or ‘manufactured’ pop, this book explores how pop masculinity is produced and consumed. By examining vocal harmony groups from a historical perspective, showing how they reveal prevailing structures of power, it aspires to illustrate Raewyn Connell’s assertion that masculinity is “a historically mobile relation” (Connell, 1995: 77). In their different guises these groups have provided young men with a vehicle for the expression of feelings that may be socially suppressed, allowing them to speak, for example, of men’s desire to nurture or be loved and cared for. This book illustrates how the gender fluidity of contemporary boy bands and the artists’ ‘identikit’ personalities express the performative character of postmodern identity. We live in an era where traditional markers of identity are less stable, and in these circumstances popular music offers access to new ways of being, not least because it “opens up … possibilities for recognising and imagining forms of identity in ourselves and others” (Hawkins, 2017a: 7). In particular, millennial boy bands illustrate how modern masculinity is less

4 Introduction

monolithic than previously, and is fraught with insecurity and instability (Aboim, 2016). Free market rule, the collapse of the welfare state, diminishing worker’s rights and the privatization of essential services are all challenging the traditional gender order. Men and boys are particularly affected because they are now in competition with women and girls who have made major progress in the fields of education and employment. Women are forging careers and supporting themselves, but they also have an optional licence to find purpose and add meaning to their lives through raising children. A girl does not have to, she is not expected to, ‘make something’ of herself. Her career does not have to be self-­justifying, for she will have children, which is absolutely self-­justifying, like any other natural or creative act. (Goodman, 1956: 13) Women today can choose if or when to have a child, establishing a family unit with or without a male partner, whereas men are still inclined to conflate their value with achievements in the world of paid employment. Most young adult males are focused on their need for significance. They are interested in making their way in the world and having an impact. This is not to say they don’t have relationships, start families and create homes. They do, but their priority is typically focused on work. (Olver, 2015) With the growth of zero hours contracts and a lack of ‘jobs for life’, today’s young men face challenges nobody envisaged in the boom years of the 1950s and 1960s when jobs were plentiful and women were still primarily restricted to the home and reliant on a man for economic support. Models of manhood ­provided by men engaged in hard physical labour and skilled craftsmanship, where a sense of community and pride prevailed, have all but vanished in the world of twenty-­fi rst-century employment. At this juncture, pop ­harmony groups are providing a less aggressive, more anxious to please and better groomed model of masculine identity, better adapted to the changing socio-­ economic circumstances. This study seeks to explain how identity politics influence the production and consumption of mainstream pop. At various points throughout the history of boy bands, social class, race and location have all played a role in defining how mainstream pop music is produced, marketed and consumed. In particular, since vocal harmony singing cuts across racial boundaries, the intersection of black and white American styles of performance is examined to illustrate how styles of music are borrowed, adapted and relocated, often in opportunistic plagiarism for commercial purposes. The singing and performance styles of pop vocal groups move regularly between black and white cultures in a tradition of appropriation noted by

Introduction  5

Andrew Ross who asked: “How much of a white component (­country, ­rockabilly) was truly present in ‘white’ R&R’s version of ‘black’ R&B? Did Elvis imitate or did he sing ‘black’ music?” (Ross, 2016: 68). Sometimes the exchange is a by-­ product of the proximity of diverse communities in urban settings, but in other cases it is cynically engineered in forms of cultural theft. As academic studies of popular culture have swung away from their focus on production, there is now a need to reconsider how pop music is created, marketed and presented to prospective audiences. However covertly the ambitions are concealed, the creation, distribution and consumption of commerical rather than mainstream pop is always governed by a desire to minimize risk and maximize profit. Whereas some artists aspire to create music with educational or political significance, mainstream pop’s commitment to generating profit is refreshingly transparent in its reflexive acknowledgement of commercial objectives. By looking at the nuanced nature of pop’s marketing it is possible to see how this ideology is embedded in the design and delivery of boy bands from the outset. Stardom itself is recognized in various quarters as a manufactured ­phenomenon (Franck and Nüesch, 2007; Dyer, 2013), and the construction of pop bands exposes the endeavours of the culture industries to create stars. However, televised talent shows challenge a long-­cherished and ­Romantic ­v ision of artists operating agonistically against a commercial mainstream. Drawing heavily on the notion of musicians as autonomous artists (Frith and Horne, 2016), the perspective of the struggling artist continues to influence perceptions of authenticity or a lack thereof. Hence, unlike auteurs, who occupy a privileged place in the canon and academic literature, identikit pop groups have always hovered on the margins of respectability. In Robert Pruter’s words: “rock fans, led by the rock critics, tended to place [them] outside the critical mainstream” (Pruter, 1996: 246). Only a few such groups have ever been acknowledged within the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and none are representative of the current wave of so-­called ‘manufactured’ bands.3 Their abjection encourages us to join Foucault (1980: 118) in asking if an individual is not an acknowledged auteur, what are we to make of his output? Should we assume the texts and practices of mainstream pop bands have no value or ought we to question why we are only invited to appreciate these artists once they pursue a solo career, reject pop or write their own music? It is true that the majority of modern boy bands do not write their own songs and may not play musical instruments, but this was never a barrier to acclaim for vocalists such as Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra. It seems that reasons for exclusion from the canon are neither straightforward nor consistent.4 If nothing else, boy bands make us question the fetishization of auteurs and virtuosos, inviting us to reflect upon the fragility of masculine authority if it is so reliant on evidence of self-­authored music or mastery of an electric guitar. Music journalist Maria Sherman observes how “historically, teen pop and boy band fandom has [always] existed in a weird space of cultural celebration and

6 Introduction

critical marginalization” (Sherman, 2015). This book explores why if fans can see no wrong with manufactured groups, they are regularly maligned by fellow musicians, music journalists and anti-­fans, all of whom are vocal in ridiculing and dismissing the artists and their music.5 During the 1960s, ‘made for television’ band the Monkees were a popular target. Indeed, at the height of their success, “the nascent rock press and much of the counterculture community that it served, made much sport of reviling the band as ‘prefabricated’ and ‘plastic’” (Ramaeker, 2001: 74). Crawdaddy magazine offered an equally lofty condemnation suggesting that, “After it’s all over, and they’ve outsold everyone else in history, the Monkees will still leave absolutely no mark on American music” (Williams, 2002: 121). If we are prepared to remain open-­m inded, we might ponder why it is acceptable to dismiss boy bands as irrelevant for failing to conform to notions of musical proficiency conflated with the production of rock music? Is it possible that romantic, mainstream pop has vindicating qualities that are all too often overlooked? If so, what are its redeeming characteristics? This study highlights how hierarchies of value promote the dominance of certain genres and artists over others if they are deemed to conform to whatever currently constitutes acceptable taste. Drawing on sociological studies (Gans, 1975; Bourdieu, 1984) we can see that the production of art often speaks less about individual creativity, than it does about shared sets of conventions. Perhaps more than anything the views of critics illuminate the observation that, “Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier” (Bourdieu, 1984: 6). Perhaps this pop masculinity illustrates the way gender, youth and social class are used to position ­musicians, fans and critics within competing hierarchies of power, in a social order where the feminine has always been subordinated to the masculine and within which musical preferences are coded according to socio-­economic status. Whatever their shortcomings in technical skill or political import, boy bands present a powerful example of Max Weber’s paradigm of ‘mediated ­charisma’: indeed, their presence exemplifies “the management of mass responses of ­intoxication and devotion to essentially packaged agents of entertainment” (­Rojek, 2011: 166). By analysing how the discourses of popular music mobilize language to position the groups and their fans, it is possible to gain more understanding as to how the value system operates. With this objective in mind, the study seeks to challenge perceptions of pop fandom as homogenous, young and female. In doing so it draws attention to the presence of a much wider audience which is conveniently ignored to uphold the view that boy bands only appeals to girls and gay men. Far from resembling the “cultural dopes” identified by the Frankfurt School (Horkheimer and Adorno, 2002), they show themselves to be strong-­m inded, imaginative media practitioners who provide evidence of creativity while healthily rejecting preferred readings. This book’s focus on fan culture aims to show some of the virtuous qualities of romantic pop music in an era characterized by aggressive marketing of pornography, broken families and challenging

Introduction  7

labour conditions. With the rise of internet porn and excessive use of sex in the marketing of products and services, young people may well be exhausted by the omnipresence of sexualized imagery (Huston et al., 1998). The boys’ smiling, friendly faces and their evocation of old-­fashioned romance present a refreshing antidote to the pressures imposed by a hypersexualized society. Mild-­mannered youthful masculinity harks back to earlier times where good manners mattered and where chastity had cultural currency. The gender ­neutrality of boy bands invites women to partake in the culture of pop masculinity to the point where it is difficult to distinguish some of the female boy bands (where young women impersonate male artists) from their male counterparts. Thus while it is easy to dismiss mainstream pop as conservative, unlike some more politically informed music genres, it is remarkably tolerant of alternative sexuality and radical in its own way. The study shows how out gay and bisexual performers are accepted within the pop community and how gay fans interpret texts to relate to the music on their own terms. In certain respects, the soft masculinity purveyed by boy bands could even be deemed revolutionary. The boys’ open expressions of vulnerability, the ease with which they express their emotions and their commitment to romantic love set them apart. ­Admittedly the pro-­feminine stance is not universally accepted, mainly because: “The men who are nurturing and caring are kept a distance from masculinity” ­(MacKinnon, 2003: 57). In the next chapter, the social prohibition of feminized masculinity is explored through the medium of discourse to show how discursive apparatus ensures that the value of mainstream pop is diminished and dominant expression of masculinity are secured. It illustrates how, through everyday use of language and the language of popular music, hierarchies of merit and preferred expressions of gender are put into place in an effort to marginalize everything from the culture of femininity to the social power of youths, teenage girls and gay men.

Notes 1 Where bands such as Take That, Backstreet Boys, NKOTB and Westlife have relaunched their careers by regrouping in a more mature incarnation and appealing to a wider demographic. 2 See, for example, McDonald, 2013; Stahl, 2002; Jamieson, 2007; Kumanyika, 2011; Duffett, 2013; Löbert, 2012; McLaughlin and McLoone, 2014. 3 Prejudice against pop harmony acts does not appear to stem from a rejection of choral singing per se, because the Four Seasons, the Ink Spots, the Drifters and the Beach Boys are all celebrated inductees. 4 Vocal harmony groups employed by the Tamla Motown label were controlled as much, if not more, than the average boy band and groups were expected to conform to the company’s interference in all aspects of their careers. The repertoire and backing music was created by in-­house song-­writing and production teams, artists were groomed in etiquette, dressed by stylists and coached by professional choreographers. 5 Mark Duffett has identified a thriving culture of hate pages on Facebook dedicated to target boy bands and their followers (Duffett, 2013: 218).

1 Definitions What Constitutes a Boy Band?

Although the term is frequently invoked and used with some confidence, what exactly constitutes a boy band is contestable.1 Do the groups represent a distinct genre of popular music replete with recognizable conventions and codes, or is their existence defined by and dependent on a set of inconsistently applied discourses? We might categorize certain groups as being boy bands without considering why other seemingly similar ensembles are labelled differently.2 Opinions clearly differ, in that one person’s boy band might well be deemed another’s pop/rock or R&B ensemble – so, depending on who is defining them, at different times the Beatles, the Jackson 5, the Bay City Rollers, the Four Tops, NKOTB, Take That, Bros, Hanson and Busted could all fit the descriptor (Benjamin et al., 2015). The aforementioned groups clearly differ in terms of the genres they represent and in the skillsets of their respective members.3 Hence, before any meaningful discussion can take place, the defining terms need some further interrogation. This exercise not only attempts to explain why certain groups are categorized as boy bands, it also provides some insights as to why the label influences critical reception of the artists concerned. Descriptors play an important function in the management of music consumption and critique by presenting a useful shortcut to style, presentation and content. Within this seemingly benign etymological context there are none of the negative connotations implied in the consolidation of hierarchies of taste. Here addition of ‘boy’ to the word ‘band’ turns the prefix into a tool, activating discursive ammunition to enforce the superiority of one type of music over another. In this way, agents, subjects, producers and consumers are all positioned and the discourses function as a conduit through which power is exercised. In John Shepherd’s words: “there are discourses constructed around concrete musical practices” and “those discourses group such practices into categories that

Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band?  9

render the music amenable to various forms of social, political and economic control” (Shepherd, 1993: 49). By way of illustration, the following reflections illustrate how Billboard magazine positions the groups. Boy bands make safe music aimed at young, naive girls, and adults often assume that this music is not worth critical analysis. Teens love them, and most other people dismiss them. If there ever was a type of formulaic music, these boys – often cobbled together in a perfect-­people factory, their high cheekbones and chiselled jawlines at pristine ratios – would be the ones making it. (Sherman, 2015) In this context, the boy band becomes a convenient receptacle for disparaging judgements on everything from the moribund character of mass culture to the demise of true musicianship. Conjuring up images of the talentless alumni of reality television shows, the label invokes well-­worn tropes defining ­mainstream pop as disposable, mass-­produced trash. In the process, binaries of ‘­worthy’ and ‘unworthy’, ‘authentic’ versus ‘inauthentic’ music are activated, as Mark Duffett explains. Recent critical commentaries suggest that four discourses –  youth, exploitation, gender, and fandom – interlock to determine how writers discuss the [boy band] genre. Collectively their result is a relative stasis in critical commentary that helps to allay wider anxieties about the idea that, in a capitalist society, any of us can actively and pleasurably engage with a musical genre led by its own marketing. (Duffett, 2012: 185)

Dictionary Definitions If we turn to dictionary definitions to unravel the nuances of meaning, they are a helpful point of departure, even if only to highlight a lack of consensus in interpretations of the constituent terms ‘boy’ and ‘band’. For example, Collins English Dictionary is unhelpfully vague in that its definition of “an all-­m ale vocal pop group created to appeal to a young audience” (Thomas, 2016) would fit any number of music groups from the 1950s to the present day. The lack of precision means that critically acclaimed auteurs like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys could be placed alongside abject ensembles such as Westlife, Bros or Jedward.4 The catch-­a ll descriptor is less than helpful partly because it rests on the assumption there is agreement as to what constitutes ‘pop’ music in the first place. Here the writer illustrates the potential pitfalls in attempting to marshal cultural texts into specific categories,

10  Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band?

particularly when that means invoking notions of a universally shared definition. Rick Altman elaborates: Because genres are taken to be ‘out there’, existing independently of observers, genre theorists have generally sought to describe and define what they believe to be already existing genres rather than create their own interpretative categories, however applicable or useful. (Altman, 1999: 11) Pop itself is regularly divided discursively into ‘mainstream’ and more highly regarded versions of the genre, a distinction hinted at in Merriam Webster Dictionary, which offers the caveat of a gendered fan base by proposing a boy band is, “a small ensemble of males in their teens or twenties who play pop songs geared especially to a young female audience” (Merriam Webster, 2018). As in other areas of culture, patterns of consumption are seen to “depend on and reproduce particular gender identities, entrench [and] reconfigure traditional gender categories” (Griffin, 2015, 71). By assigning the music to this particular audience, we are guided towards the conclusion that the groups belong in the mainstream solely because teen girls enjoy them. Aligning boy bands to the feminine sphere also supports longstanding debates on the debased nature of female consumption. Following Rousseau’s pronouncement that, “girls love everything visual, mirrors, jewels, cloth”, female consumerism is generally presented as frivolous or degraded ( Jones, 1996: 28). From the nineteenth century onwards, cultural anxieties concerning the spread of unhealthy forms of consumerism portrayed women as the primary culprits. Ignoring male fans or older adult females reinforces the view that boy bands are only enjoyed by teen girls, thereby tapping into a “high/low hierarchy … based around notions of the fickleness, superficiality, and aesthetic bankruptcy of the material forms that girls’ desires take in popular culture” (Wald, 2002: 1). The Cambridge Dictionary implies that the artists concerned do not play instruments, referring to the archetypal boy band as “a pop music group made up of young men who sing and dance” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2018) – a perception endorsed by Jennifer Moos (2013) who states that “band members usually [do] not play any musical instruments”. This commonly held view ignores the fact that some of the artists are capable musicians who, for whatever reason, do not display their technical prowess on stage or in the studio.5 Furthermore an impartial observer might point out that singing in harmony while dancing in unison somewhat precludes the additional task of playing a musical instrument.6 Suggesting that the groups only sing and dance invokes a failure to master external musical instruments, thereby implying a lack of serious musicianship.7 The deficit is used as ammunition in Facebook hate pages targeting boy bands, where one ‘anti-­fan’ describes the groups as “over-­rated, pointless, and t­ alentless manufactured young, insincere, probably gay men” (Duffett, 2012: 186).

Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band?  11

Tara Brabazon is the only scholar to flag up choral singing as a central characteristic, referring to the groups as “young men singing in harmony” (­Brabazon, 2011: 218).8 She is right to draw attention to the practice because choral singing remains quite an important defining element in the presentation of the groups. The close harmonizing of the Beatles, for example, contrasted sharply with the more guttural blues styling of fellow artists such as the Rolling Stones, Them and the Animals – leading to a distinction in pop- versus rock-­oriented groups towards the end of the 1960s. Most observers would have no difficulty in seeing the Beatles as a prototype for bands like Take That and One Direction, but it is hard to imagine the Rolling Stones fulfilling the label’s prerequisites. It could also be argued that dancing distinguishes pop vocal bands from peers, as quite a few classic examples from the postwar era were major exponents. Among others, the Osmonds, Take That, East 17, the Backstreet Boys, Boyzone and the Jackson 5 incorporated dance routines into their acts. Furthermore, only a limited number of rock musicians are recognized as dancers, even though dancing does constitutes an embodied form of musicianship.9 Mick Jagger is an acclaimed exponent, although few of his peers have mastered the skill or dare to submit themselves to a similar degree of onstage objectification. In the words of one seasoned jazz player: “There is a strange phenomenon in the world of musical arts, and that is the mysterious inability for musicians to move their bodies in a graceful manner in response to music” (Eve, 2014). However, the authentication of jazz or rock does not depend upon dancefloor capabilities, therefore dancing is dismissed as irrelevant in value judgements and seldom discussed in the scholarly literature on popular music. The discourses of authenticity are raised by Brabazon’s contention that ­“artifice is part of the [boy band] project” (Brabazon, 2011: 218), a position echoed by Moos who suggests the groups are “artificially made” and “put together in highly elaborated selection processes” (Moos, 2014). Both writers invoke the common critique that instead of evolving organically they are assembled by businessmen for purely commercial purposes. The idea that art and commerce cannot co-­exist was a pillar of modernist thinking, used in popular music circles to elevate uncommercial texts and practices from the mass-­produced ‘dross’. Assembling pop groups for the sole purpose of generating profit is a practice that can be traced back to the formation of the Monkees in the mid-­1960s, but from the 1990s the openness of the casting process and increasingly aggressive marketing led to use of the term ‘boy band’. Perceptions of inherent inferiority arising from the casting process should be challenged. Alumni of ‘constructed’ groups frequently go on to exhibit authentic talent, even achieving critical acclaim – the post-­boy band careers of Justin Timberlake and Robbie Williams illustrate this. In addition to winning a coveted Grammy, Timberlake has received Emmy Awards for his music and television performances, as well as an Academy Award nomination. During his solo career Robbie Williams has sold over 75 million records so far, an achievement

12  Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band?

that places him among the top-­selling artists of all time (Beech, 2016). He has also received more Brit and ECHO awards than any other artist, in addition to his Ivor Novello and BAMBI awards. These collective achievements indicate that mainstream pop idols may possess significant levels of authentic talent yet it is only acknowledged when they work in an autonomous capacity.

Youth and Good Looks The shallow lure of the visual is not used to judge the merits of authentic auteurs; however, journalist Penny Truong describes boy bands as, “composed of young men, marketed based on their looks, explicitly for young women – tweens – in particular” (Truong, 2012). Inevitably aesthetic judgements are going to be subjective, but the definition clearly affirms the centrality of good looks within the culture surrounding pop. Indeed it could be argued that physical attractiveness helps to differentiate pop groups from their rock peers, many of whom are less than handsome while others are frankly ugly.10 It is not a prerequisite for classic rock frontmen to be good-­looking, even though a few are. The genre is much more tolerant than pop of imperfections, accepting individuals who can be deemed rugged, craggy or wasted. The appearance of co-­musicians is also deemed relatively unimportant as their primary role is to support the acknowledged leader musically. Furthermore, while rock singers need to be charismatic, they do not necessarily need to wear fashionable clothing  –  on the contrary they may wilfully reject such signifiers or any obvious collusion with image consultants. In pop, physical appearance and fashion consciousness have more currency and a premium is placed on looking good and being fashionable. For these reasons “When performing live on stage and in their music videos” choreography is accompanied by “frequent changes of clothing” (Moos, 2014: 229). Presenting the boys as models rather than musicians emphasizes their function as fashion brand ambassadors, thereby diminishing claims to musicianship. The emphasis on youth structures media representations of the bands, presumably because the average age of new recruits is low and probably younger than recruits in other genres. The results of a study (Hickey, 2014) show that in 32  boy bands of the 1990s the median age of 132 band members at the point of recruitment was 19. Some of the groups took on children as young as seven as recruits.11 In a society where youth signifies a lack of access to resources, and where teenagers “have little real economic or political power” (Milner, 2015: 4) the fact that they are barely out of school automatically defines the artists as relatively powerless. Hence, they may be admired for their youthful vigour and good looks, but this does not wholly override the subordinate position of young male pop singers in relation to older, more powerful men at the apex of patriarchy. Whatever age they are, each boy must have a distinctive look to set him apart from peers whether it be hair colour, cuteness or a crazy sense of humour.

Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band?  13

The point is summarized by Jarman-­Ivens, who writes that young men are chosen for “distinct physical qualities and personalities, brought together into archetypes, which together make up something approximating a whole” ( Jarman-­Ivens, 2013: 5). In indie, metal or rap ensembles, key figures stand out from the ranks and are not overshadowed by fellow artists; for example, rappers tend to dominate over the rest of the group. In rock bands, lead singers and lead guitarists often form a strong dyad that presents a source of drama, tension and rivalry. Other musicians occasionally take turns soloing, but emphasis is more on musical virtuosity than on looks and personality.

Boyz Will Be Boys If we move to analysis of the constituent terms ‘boy’ and ‘band’ we see how language structures understanding within music discourse. The legacy of patriarchy views youth as a fleeting period on the road to manhood – hence, we rarely refer to male teenagers as boys because to do so would imply that they are still children. Boys may be assigned higher value than girls in many cultures, but being a child is still a subordinate position within an age-­stratified pecking order. Effectively, “The cultural position of the boy is something that contributes to the construction of the cultural position of men and of adult masculinity, and is as defused, pluralized and subalternized as is ‘the feminine’ in hegemonic constructions of masculinity” ( Jarman-­Ivens, 2013: 5). Hence if the word ‘boy’ is used as a suffix, for example, we would anticipate the officeor pot-­boy will be young, inexperienced, in a lowly or junior role like those typically assigned to a woman. Furthermore, in Western society, boyhood represents a limited time in life focused around asexual friendships, permitting boys to enjoy close relationships without the intrusion of the sexual tensions complicating erotic relationships. In this “carefree, homosocial Eden” (Dennis, 2002) experiencing life in a non-­sexual manner is at odds with the contemporary sexually obsessed milieu. Therefore, adding the prefix ‘boy’ to the word ‘band’ connotes a degree of sexual inactivity uncharacteristic within the erotically charged culture of popular music. The chaste representatives of the boy band community are presented as available for romance alone: sexually inactive and therefore unmanly by definition. This sets them apart from exponents of “cock-­rock performance” with its “explicit, crude, ‘masterful’ expression of sexuality”. Moreover rock icons are renowned for being “aggressive, boastful, constantly drawing audience attention to their prowess and control” (Frith, 1981: 227). Referring to an adult male as a boy is especially insulting. During the colonial era, black male slaves and Asian personal servants, regardless of their age, were referred to as boys. By doing so, white colonists effectively stripped them of the dignity associated with forms of address reserved for adult men, relegating them instead to the position of powerless children. En masse, boys fare no

14  Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band?

better linguistically than they do alone, because speaking of boys collectively summons up a herd-­l ike conformity, as when referring to somebody as “one of the boys”. In this context we expect to witness stereotypical behaviours assigned to groups of men within the binaries of gendered identity and age. Typically this means acting irresponsibly or in an immature fashion, especially in the context of the ‘boys’ night out’ where disorder and age-­regressed antics may be anticipated.12 More recently the word ‘boy’ has been retrieved and assigned new meanings, notably in the sphere of R&B and rap music, where it is appropriated by various contemporary artists.13 For example, in the song ‘99 Problems’, rap icon Jay-­Z ends a story about racial profiling and police harassment with the signature soubriquet “It’s your boy”.14 Here his espousal of the word substantiates Foucault’s (1980) contentions regarding the twofold impact of naming. On the one hand, naming is used by those in power to oppress other groups who may eventually reclaim those names to regain dignity and control. In Jay-­Z’s case, ownership and semantic inversion of ‘boy’ effectively reverses the patronizing colonial associations by imbuing the word with a new streetwise edginess.15 When espoused by one so exalted, reverse discourse provides a glamorous aura to the outdated signifier of subservience, automatically instilling an element of cool, The same cannot be said of the word’s use within the mainstream of white pop music, as, for example, when claimed by Irish group Boyzone. Whereas rap is so often a vehicle of dissent, asking the audience to question their assumptions, pop typically conforms to middlebrow values. Jay-­Z, ­Eminem and Kanye West’s confidence in challenging the status quo gives them access to a degree of lexical capital, but white privilege and the uncritical stance of pop-­oriented boy bands fail to confer similar cultural currency.

The Discourse of Musicianship Finally, use of the term ‘band’ is somewhat problematic when associated with men who have failed to provide any evidence of technical competence playing musical instruments. In Merriam Webster Dictionary, ‘band’ describes “a group of musicians organized for ensemble playing”, which implies those involved will be playing some form of external instrument. In the gendered discourses of popular music, singing tends to be viewed as a lesser form of musicianship than playing a guitar, keyboard or drums. Hence male vocalists occupy a problematic position as Ian Inglis explains, arguing that, “Although Bowie plays several instruments, he appeared initially only as a singer, a feminine position in rock” (Inglis, 2013: 75). This means the appellation ‘band’ is generally reserved for time-­served musicians, which helps to explain why ‘pop group’ or ‘pop band’ are labels normally reserved to distinguish vocal/dance groups from more accomplished musicians.16 The nuanced use of language illustrates how discourse shapes and conditions our thinking around the subject of music and why boy bands are seldom taken

Definitions: What Constitutes a Boy Band?  15

seriously in discussions about popular music. However, the abject critical status of contemporary groups reflects the specificities of the cultural moment, as in previous eras young men singing in harmony were viewed very differently. When the groups are placed within a historical context it is possible to see how perceptions of pop music and more particularly vocal harmony groups, have changed in response to the evolution of new technology, genres and audiences. The continual reinvention of male vocal groups shows us the extent to which popular music production is a form of cultural reproduction and that any innovations are inevitably the result of a process of struggle.

Notes 1 Alternative wordings include boyband and boy-­band. 2 For example Bekiempis (2013: 74) states that the Beatles were “the first modern boy band”, yet others would argue that the manufactured boy bands of the 1990s are more suitable representatives of the term. 3 Hanson, Take That, East 17 and Bros, for example, wrote some of their own songs. 4 Identical twins John and Edward Grimes fused their names to form duo Jedward. In 2009 they came sixth in The X Factor and despite accusations of an overall lack of true ability, they went on to become one of the most financially successful alumni of the programme. 5 Hanson and the Jonas Brothers are labelled in some quarters as boy bands but in both bands the members are competent musicians, writing some or all of their own songs. One Direction’s Niall Horan played guitar during some of the group’s concerts and played on the Midnight album. 6 Although the task was mastered to some extent, by the Jacksons 5 and the Osmonds. 7 Examples of non- ­d ancing boy bands include the Wanted and One Direction. 8 Alf Björnberg (1985) elaborates this point, proposing that: “In general it can be argued that harmony is a less important parameter of musical expression in rock music than, for instance, rhythm, melody and timbre.” 9 By feeling and understanding rhythm, phrasing, melody and harmony through the body. 10 Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, Motörhead’s Lemmy and Meatloaf were all voted as ugly in a Gigwise poll. See www.gigwise.com/photos/36742/the-­20ugliest-­people-in-­rock [Accessed 28 November 2018]. Different websites dedicated to identifying rock’s ugly men cite Ric Ocasek of the Cars, Bill Berry of REM and Phil Collins among others. 11 Two of the members of Hanson were aged seven and nine when the band was first formed. 12 In a contemporary source the Victorian traveller Lady Duff- ­Gordon writing from South Africa said, “it is shocking here how people treat the blacks. They call quite an old man ‘boy’, and speak so scornfully” (Duff-­Gordon, 2010: 334). 13 Examples include the Texan rap group Geto Boys, Chicago based artist Soulja Boy and white New York rappers the Beastie Boys. 14 A salutation to the record producer Rick Rubin. 15 In the aftermath of slavery, black blues artists rejected the racist connotations of being referred to as ‘boy’ in the blues standard ‘Mannish Boy’. 16 The British groups Wham, Steps and the Human League illustrate the point.

2 From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

If we move next to look at how harmony singing groups evolved from an amateur setting to the commercial sphere, any attempts to trace the origins of contemporary boy bands are hampered by a dearth of literature devoted specifically to the contribution of male vocal groups to popular music history. Music historian Jay Warner (2006: xi) suggests that whereas histories of blues, jazz and country music abound, the evolution of pop vocal groups is still relatively uncharted territory. Although they evolved from respectable musical traditions linked to jazz, rhythm and blues, the ‘descent’ into pop seems to have diminished their potential as an object of study. On the surface they may appear to offer less interesting subject matter but the persistent presence of these groups on the popular music landscape points to a versatile model capable of adapting to suit the demands of changing markets for romantic pop. The nature of the audience for mainstream music also evolves so that what was acceptable in the past may not resonate with contemporary tastes: as ­Matthew Stahl observes, “Boy band members, the impresarios and entrepreneurs behind them … must contend in their work and relationships with the social and symbolic conventions of their historical moment” (Stahl, 2002: 307). With greater openness regarding pre-­marital sexual relations, for example, the genteel repertoire of the doo-­wop era probably appears alien to modern music fans more accustomed to the expression of raunchier sentiments. In the past pop musicians and fans were forced to conceal their true identities, but the openness of ‘out’ gay pop singers reflects an ongoing battle for sexual rights. As ambassadors of mainstream pop, boy bands are sometimes labelled conservative, yet their positive associations with the LGBT community have done a great deal to promote acceptance of minority sexuality. Moreover, the assertive and sometimes aggressive behaviour of female followers illustrate how feminine culture has responded in the wake of

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  17

women’s ongoing battle for equality, by contradicting and subverting submissive images of femininity promoted in more masculine-­coded music genres. In addition to the insights they give on changing gender relations and attitudes to sexuality, the construction of these groups and their reception provide useful information regarding the nature of racial politics at any given time. Hawkins suggests there is a tendency in popular music studies “towards prescriptive categorizations of race into white or black music” with an emphasis on difference (Hawkins, 2017a: 168). In the book Sound Effects (1981) for example, Simon Frith advanced the argument that “black music” is essentially “body music” and that the phrase still has currency in the music industry. However both Phillip Tagg (1989) and Paul Oliver (1990) propose a less essentialist approach regarding any claims of specific, inherent or natural qualities of ­‘blackness’. Common stylistic characteristics and overlapping traditions link black and white boy bands and over the years the evolution of the groups demonstrates the nuanced dynamics of cross-­cultural appropriation. As hybrid cultural forms, at different historical periods, black, white and mixed-­race groups illustrate the slow process of racial integration and the extent to which racial politics inform genre categorization within the marketing of popular music. Now they are no longer restricted to the parameters of Western popular culture and the template has flourished elsewhere to suit the specificities of local custom, the history of boy bands throws light on the process of globalization. During the 1960s, the model of young men singing romantic pop in harmony was restricted primarily to the West, but with widening access to global markets and the growing accessibility of World Wide Web, bespoke versions are surfacing. In Iraq, members of the multi-­faith pop quartet UTN1 have adapted the Western archetype, singing romantic songs in both Arabic and English to reach out to an international audience in hostile political circumstances.1 During the 1990s vocal group Awaz were labelled the “Pakistani version of Take That” for their catchy songs, glossy videos and upbeat pop sensibilities (Mahmood, 2015).2 The group’s style draws on a fusion of Eastern and Western musical traditions and among varied sources of inspiration, they reference the Beatles as a major influence. In the same way, since the 1990s, the Korean K-­Pop phenomenon fuses Eastern and Western sounds, alluding to synchronized ­choreography and sharp fashion styles typically seen in ­Europe and North America, while customizing performances by incorporating local traditions to appeal to local audiences. K-­Pop is now accompanied by J-­Pop – Japanese chart music with mainstream appeal – and together these initiatives threaten the hegemony of Western pop. In all cases, although there are significant differences between these hybrid pop vocal groups, they share stylistic elements that link them to a heritage going back to nineteenth-­century Europe and America. Taking into account the diverse manifestation of the aforementioned groups, producing a definitive history presents a significant challenge. However, despite the respective differences, certain shared qualities bring them together

18  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

across historical, geographical and cultural boundaries. These are the youthful, good looks of the band members, their up-­to-date fashion sensibilities and a repertoire of simple, heartfelt romantic ballads and up-­tempo dance numbers. In all cases, harmony singing and/or synchronized movement are a feature of the groups’ performances, and in many cases they have been manufactured at the behest of pop impresarios whose vision and business acumen propelled the young protégés towards success.

Amateur Harmony Groups While processes of recruitment, marketing and promotion may be different, the Backstreet Boys, JLS and the Wanted could be viewed as current exponents of a longstanding tradition of vocal art. The influence of vocal harmony groups from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century can be detected in the content of songs, their delivery and aspects of performance styles we are familiar with today. Richard Pfefferman elaborates, arguing that: “*NSync, ­Boyzone and Take That could easily be taken for 1990s counterparts of doo-­ wop groups like The Flamingoes, The Crows, and The Penguins or even barbershop groups like The Bartlesville Barflies, The Edison Quartet or The Buffalo Bills” (Pfefferman, 2013: 147). Even earlier amateur barbershop quartets provided a model, with catchy singalong melodies, easily understood lyrics and heartfelt delivery. The concept of a group of boys singing in harmony and moving as one, each with unique skills and charm, has roots in the African-­A merican diaspora, described by Harry Shaw as a “hotbed of America’s popular culture” (Shaw, 1990: 3). Organized around social hubs such as churches and barbershops, the local community provided a training ground for young black men to hone their performance skills. Whereas nowadays it is unusual to hear amateur groups of teenage boys singing on the streets this is only because the practice has fallen out of favour. In the words of one observer: “we live in a culture where male singing is more the exception than the rule and has been declining since the 1930s” (Demorest, 2000: 38). For various reasons, harmony singing currently lacks street credibility today but prior to the invention of television, radio and computer games, young men would amuse themselves by assembling on street corners to “crack up a chord” (Abbot, 1992: 289). Although the singers were essentially amateurs this does not imply a lack of competence as most had experience of singing in church, a major cornerstone in the history of post war vocal art. Skills developed in a non-­secular environment were used to perform wholesome, melodramatic ballads for friends and neighbours or to challenge rival vocal groups in singing battles not unlike the rap battles seen today. In the absence of karaoke machines and television talent shows, neighbourhood churches offered young black men a safe space to showcase their vocal skills. Due to racial segregation they were denied access to

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  19

mainstream music venues, but local barbershops helped to promote the practice of harmony singing, offering young men a performance platform to entertain others as they waited for a haircut (Pruter, 1996).3 The popularity of this type of entertainment led to a situation where the art flourished to the point that “every barbershop seemed to have its own quartet” (Tyler, 2007: 51) but it was not long before the vocal style transcended its humble neighbourhood origins. [T]he ‘barber-­shop-chord’ is the foundation of the close harmony method adopted by American musicians in making arrangements for male voices … first on the minstrel stage, then in vaudeville; and soon white young men, where four or more gathered together, tried themselves at harmonizing. ( Johnson and Johnson, 2002: 36) In addition to singing at church or in the barbershop men would sometimes perform at private house parties, where according to one account: “as soon as the small games were exhausted, the proposition to sing was gladly accepted and nature’s musical instrument filled the places with pleasing harmonies”. Moreover, we are told, “the love of singing was so universal and highly appreciated that, even after the dispersion of the social gathering the gentlemen would unite and for hours make the night melodious with their tuneful voices” (Abbot, 1992: 289). The sweetness of the singing was complemented with an uncomplicated repertoire characterized by easy listening, creating the template for subsequent music associated with pop harmony groups enjoyed by fans today. In The Continental Vocalists Glee Book, a publication comprising quartet songs, the lengthy list includes titles such as: ‘Tis the Last Rose of Summer’, ‘We Miss Thee at Home’ and ‘In This Old Chair’ – homely themes which give some indication of the character of the shared repertoire (Warner, 2006:  1). Typically the songs included a combination of “understandable and sentimental lyrics, heartfelt themes and images, melodies suited to easy sing-­a long and healthy doses of minor dominant and dominant seventh chords” (Pfefferman, 2013:  147). When performing them, quartet singers followed a set of conventions, with a lead vocal taking the melody while tenor, bass and baritone provided harmonies. It wasn’t long before the sound was commercialized and amateur quartets enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the professional groups who helped to make the style popular with a wider audience. Acapella vocal harmony ensembles soon became a regular feature in blackface minstrel shows where, “For well over a century, white Americans were fascinated, even obsessed, with exploring racial and cultural difference through the medium of theatrical presentations by whites in blackface” (Averill, 2003: 33). Unfortunately these clumsy attempts to imitate black culture introduced white audiences to a distorted portrayal of

20  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

African-­A merican identity but they also established a theme of appropriation which continues. Just as white groups like the Osmonds copied their black counterparts the Jackson 5 in the 1970s, during the early twentieth century the Manhansett, Peerless and Edison Male Quartets were quick to re-­present music made popular by black peers the Standard and Unique Quartets.4 There is evidence that white groups plundered elements of African-­A merican heritage, but Frederick Döhl points to a more complex and nuanced picture, taking account of European influences on American popular music. Rather than emerging from a direct connection with black America, he suggests the origins of harmony groups were more diffuse. The current models that chart the birth of barbershop harmony are diverse and often contradictory with regard to categories such as race, gender, regional context, social environment, amateur or professional, impromptu or composed-­arranged, and highbrow or lowbrow. (Döhl, 2014: 123) He claims that both black and white music traditions overlapped in a cultural melting pot, with roots in a European tradition of hymn singing among various hybrid sources.5 Other historical texts support his contention, confirming that the origins of barbershop singing can be traced to multiple locations. Indeed the celebrated English diarist and amateur musician Samuel Pepys alluded to making “barber’s music” while at home in the 1600s (Pepys, 1660–69). Furthermore it could be argued that due to longstanding colonial ties, ­A merican music was already heavily influenced by European folk and vernacular traditions. Evidence confirms that vocal harmony singing travelled to North ­A merica via Europe in the 1830s, at which point Austrian and Swiss singing troupes conducted a series of tours performing German part songs and Tyrolese folk music, showing how the musical traffic flowed in more than one direction (Shepherd, 2003: 123).6 Irrespective of which community was responsible for the creation of the style and how it was interpreted, the uncomplicated and inoffensive content provided an enduring model for the form of mainstream entertainment which persists in the charts today. However, whereas record sales, brand synergies and merchandise are currently the main source of income, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the success of popular songs was dependent on sales of sheet music to be consumed mainly for home entertainment ­( Whitburn, 2005). Hence with the amateur performer in mind, songwriters took care to ensure that any music would suit the average vocal range and with this objective, simple melodies and arrangements were designed for modest levels of competence on piano or ukulele. Nevertheless, the acapella singing styles gradually evolved, particularly with the arrival of radio, prompting songwriters to create more sophisticated melodies better suited to technically accomplished,

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  21

The Mills Brothers Beginning their career as a barbershop quartet, the Mills Brothers were one of the most popular vocal harmony groups in American popular m ­ usic. Originally billed as Four Boys and a Guitar, even with such sparse accompaniment, they were able to create the sound of a full jazz band by imitating musical instruments. Each of the brothers specialized in copying the sound of an instrument and between them they imitated trumpets, the tuba and trombone. The combination of vocals and instrument sounds in songs such as ‘Tiger Rag’ and ‘St. Louis Blues’ sounded more like a Dixieland jazz band than a vocal group. In addition to hit records and live performances the group appeared in the films The Big Broadcast (1932) and Broadway ­Gondolier (1935). The group’s phenomenal success could be l­ikened to that of contemporary pop vocal groups in that by 1932, when all members were under 21, the Mills Brothers earned a phenomenal $125,000 a year (­Goldberg, 1998: viii).

professional vocal artists. Moreover, as the fashion for jazz, placed greater ­emphasis on rhythm, subsequent popular songs were less suited to the i­diosyncratic ­harmony style of barbershop and street corner acapella groups. As it was anticipated songs would provide a background for social dancing rather than static listening, a new wave of vocal groups including the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers responded by using their combined voices to replicate the sound and rhythm of musical instruments.7 The new direction created a wave of vocal artists collectively responsible for moving harmony singing further in the direction of rhythm and blues, producing a template for subsequent black vocal groups working at the Tamla Motown and Atlantic record labels during the 1950s and 1960s.8 It also established a schism between more pop-­ oriented harmony groups and the those influenced by rhythm and blues. Where Boyz II Men, Blackstreet, East 17 and Dru Hill for example, are representatives of the latter vocal harmony tradition, the Bachelors, Westlife and Boyzone lean more towards the direction of the pop-­acapella style.

Low-­Cost Production Values If groups like the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers helped to push vocal groups in the direction of rhythm and blues, doo-­wop groups of the 1940s propelled the musical style into the popular music mainstream with a sound that gained significant currency at Tamla Motown records in the 1960s. In particular, the Miracles promoted doo-wop in early recordings such as ‘Who’s Loving You’, the upbeat answer song ‘Got a Job’ and slow, melodramatic ballads like

22  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

‘Ooo Baby Baby’. ‘Bird’ doo-­wop groups of the 1950s and 1960s also introduced a bluesy element to vocal styling, often showcasing the bass voice in lead vocal parts (Burnim and Maultby, 2015). Others such as the Orioles, the ­Swallows, the Penguins and the Five Keys popularized the use of nonsense syllables in the repertoire, using bass inflected phrases such as ‘doo-­doo-doo-­ wop’ and ‘doo-­doo-doo-­doo-doo’, to add a sense of rhythmic movement to the performance of romantic songs (Koskoff, 2005: 231).9 Like raw recruits today, the young men may have possessed basic performance skills but lacked the financial resources to buy expensive musical instruments – a significant barrier to musical virtuosity for working-­class youths. Furthermore, whereas the voice is a low-­cost and easily transportable resource, heavy equipment must be transported from place to place, necessitating access to a vehicle, The voice is also capable of mimicking the sound of most musical instruments, a factor influencing the considerable emphasis placed upon singing at the time when the humble acapella vocal style evolved to imitate absent instruments.10 Four guys could walk down Main Street in the rain singing “Every time it rains it rains,” and, of course, the bass voice would take over with “Pennies From Heaven.” The key? No instruments. Doo-­wop could be sung anywhere, by anyone, at any time. All you needed were some voices, but a street corner was an added bonus. (Marder, 2011) Without requiring the services of an orchestra, the doo-­wop sound created a low-­budget production aesthetic, making the process of recording songs relatively quick and inexpensive. Wordless onomatopoeia, could be used to fill in verses, with a ‘doo-­wop’, ‘sh-­boom’ here, and a ‘bow-­wop’ there.11 In a classic and early example, the Turbans chant the vocables ‘doo-­wop’ repeatedly in the chorus of ‘When You Dance’ (1955), and in another memorable song, ‘In the Still of the Night’ (1956), the Five Satins sing ‘doo wop, doo wah’ across the bridge. Simple, easily copied nonsense phrases have gone on to inform the work of subsequent pop harmony groups, to the point that in a sample of over 1,000 songs recorded by boy bands, vocables significantly outnumber other words or phrases (Hickey, 2014).12 For instance, in ‘Shang-­A-Lang’ (1974) by Scottish boy band the Bay City Rollers, the lines: “Well we sang shang-­a-lang as we ran with the gang. Doin’ doo wop be dooby do ay”, are repeated in the chorus and the Hanson song ‘Mmmbop’ (1997) includes the nonsense mantra “Mmmbop, ba duba dop, Ba du bop, ba duba dop, Ba du bop, ba duba dop, Ba du yeah”. More recently in ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ (2011), millennial boy band One Direction repeat the syllables “nana nana nana nana”, adding nothing to the song’s meaning but creating a catchy and rhythmically inspired chorus line. In doing so, the group’s performance is closely aligned with doo-­wop heritage and a tradition that characterizes mainstream pop from competing genres.

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  23

Doo-­Wop’s Identity Politics Social divisions in American society during the first half of the ­t wentieth century ensured that white radio stations rarely played black music, making it hard for African-­A merican artists to reach out to a mainstream audience. In doing so Jason Toynbee (2000: 119) suggests “the industry helped to amplify class and ethnic solidarity”, but the intentions of record companies and radio stations could easily be subverted by music lovers. Doo-­wop groups were generally expected to appeal to audiences of corresponding race, but some managed to maintain a crossover appeal with a racially mixed audience. Moreover the mixed racial profile of urban neighbourhoods ensured that there was an element of diversity among the musicians, and people of colour from various ethnic backgrounds contributed to the overall musical community. Bill Millar explains: By WASP standards, ‘white’ is really a misnomer since it was the Italian, Hispanic and Polish kids who took to the subways in search of the perfect echo. Many of the Puerto Ricans, next to the blacks the lowest on the social scale, were recruited from street gangs and black/Puerto Rican combinations, like Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, were not uncommon. (Millar, 1982)13 Nevertheless, once they embarked on tours, strict segregation led to practical problems for these mixed-­race groups and “[a]t best, black and white members in the same group could expect separate sleeping and meal accommodations; at worst, the offending band member would be expected to take a hike, lest the gig be cancelled for the entire band” (Rodriguez, 2006: 100). The major labels took advantage of prevailing social divisions by using white artists to cover songs made popular in the African-­A merican community by black performers. This form of appropriation usually involved an element of diluting or sanitizing the original look, sound and performance style. In the view of some observers, the process of imitating nuances of music and dance derived from black popular culture effectively trivialized the struggles and marginalization of black musicians. White performers could be “black for a day” and in doing so, construct a social identity “without having to understand the significance and consequences of racism and patriarchy that are part and parcel of the package of capitalism” (Huntington, 2007: 180). Some examples of popular race covers include the Chords’ song ‘Sh Boom’, reinterpreted in a more traditional version by the Crew Cuts in 1956, and the McGuire Sisters’ pop copy of the Moonglows’ rhythm and blues hit ‘Sincerely’, released the following year. In most cases the watering down of the songs was designed to make them more acceptable to white audiences but the appropriation should not be viewed as an entirely neutral exchange. Instead Simon Jones argues: it was, “politically charged, complicated by economic and cultural

24  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

power relationships, and rendered problematic by racism” ( Jones, 1993: 103). As mentioned earlier similar comparisons can be drawn in the competition between all-­white group the Osmonds and their black contemporaries the ­Jackson 5 (although the latter group did cross over to appeal to a racially mixed audience). At the time, the Osmonds effectively “stole the Jackson 5’s thunder”, even going on to record a song originally earmarked for their ­r ivals (Cashmore, 2006: 118).14 While these were not cover songs per se, major similarities in sound led some listeners to mistake one group for the other. Eventually, by exploiting key elements of the Jackson 5’s identity, the Osmonds eclipsed their competitors, offering a safe and sanitized version more suited to the tastes of the white mainstream audience. A front cover of a copy of Teen World magazine features both artists, illustrating how at the time, they were in direct competition for the same audience. Judging from the amount of space given to Donny Osmond, we might assume that by this time the white group had overtaken their rivals. Related incidences of imitation or outright theft continue to plague the history of boy bands where styles of singing and dancing are self-­consciously purloined. Chris Rojek (2011) notes how Michael Jackson’s style of dancing was heavily imitated by Take That, Boyzone, Westlife and New Kids on the Block. More recently during the 1990s, Lou Pearlman’s protégés the B ­ ackstreet Boys modelled their identity on those of rival black groups Boyz II Men and Blackstreet (Moos, 2014: 244).15 The primary aim of these ploys is to use imitation as a weapon for capturing any markets demonstrating resistance to black music; however, any success is tarnished by its history of exploitation. In M ­ ichael Campbell’s words: Because white covers often outsold black versions, cover versions have acquired racial baggage; some commentators have viewed them as white acts riding on the coattails of black acts and enjoying the success that should have gone to the black acts. (Campbell, 2018: 168) The situation is gradually changing as artists of colour achieve success within the popular music mainstream. In the 1990s, for example, Boyz II Men achieved international recognition during a lengthy career and were awarded four Grammys, reflecting the significance of their multi-­platinum stature (­Recording Academy, 2018). At the height of a highly successful career, all-­black British boy band JLS attracted a multicultural audience, selling ten million records worldwide. In terms of achievement, the group’s achievements represent a major move forward because as Simon Webbe of British mixed-­race group Blue explains, “I don’t think an all-­ black boyband like JLS would have been signed in the days when we were starting out” (Rogers, 2009).16 During the noughties when Blue started out, black groups with such significant crossover appeal were few and far between.

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  25

Young, Gifted and Expendable According to Keir Keightley (2001: 115), “doo-­wop performers tended to be groups of young, inexperienced men, who … made a record or two before disappearing”. Regardless of racial or ethnic origin, a characteristic shared by pop vocal groups throughout their history is the expendability of the young singers, many of whom were viewed as entirely interchangeable. Some, like Anthony Gourdine of Little Anthony and the Imperials, began singing in high school, achieving chart success while still in their teens: for example, members of New York group the Mello Moods, were just 13 and 14 years old when they first performed. Similarly, Frankie Lymon of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, was just 14 years of age when he recorded the hit single ‘Why Do Fools Fall in Love’ in 1956. Small independent labels capitalized on the boys’ youthful naivety by exercising a production-­l ine aesthetic and disposing of anyone who presented problems or was no longer useful. A version of planned obsolescence redolent of the Fordist production line aesthetics ensured that performers with little life experience or sufficient maturity to deal with the stresses and strains of touring were quickly replaced by other fame-­hungry hopefuls. Once the initial excitement of recording and touring wore off, young protégés frequently suffered burnout, many disappearing without trace when their singing careers ended.

The Demise of Doo-­Wop Appreciation for doo-­wop vocal groups eventually waned, partly because the genre’s relative simplicity made it so easy to copy, leading eventually to “broad parody, mediocrity and to many critics, a creative cul-­de-sac that caused pop music to move without it” (Pruter, 1996: 249). By the early 1960s, nonsense lyrics had reached almost baroque proportions in songs like the Marcels’ ‘Blue Moon’ (1963) and the Edsels’ hit ‘Rama Lama Ding Dong’ (1961). Despite its gradual demise, Richard Pfefferman suggests the genre’s influence continued, undeniably informing mainstream pop vocal groups throughout the 1960s and 1970s: Even after doo-­wop’s popularity started to wane, its influence could be seen in soul, pop and rock groups of the 1960s, including The Four Seasons, The Beach Boys, and the Osmonds, continuing into the 1970s with groups like the Jackson 5ive and Menudo, and on into the 1980s with bands like New Edition and New Kids on the Block. (Pfefferman, 2013) The music’s legacy remained in aspects of form as well as the content of romantic songs centred around love, loss, desire and longing. Among others, the Beatles paid homage to doo-­wop, incorporating it into their repertoire both in the presentation of harmonies and content but also in the structure of some

26  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

early songs. Circular chord changes in the composition of ‘This Boy’ (1963) exemplify their debt to the style as the song has noticeable parallels with the doo-­wop hit ‘You Don’t Understand Me’ (1960).17 Doo-­wop structure and ­harmonies also inspired the work of Jan and Dean, Jay and the Americans and in the recordings ‘Surfin’ (1962) and ‘Surfer Girl’ (1963). The Beach Boys also pay homage to the earlier genre: in particular Toop (2011) observes a connection in their album tracks where the voice is used to imitate musical instruments. They may have alluded to doo-­wop musically but the Beatles and their contemporaries in the early 1960s also helped to establish a template for the emergent pop genre. Any attempt to understand the origins of boy bands and pop masculinity needs to take into account the role played by pop in defining a particular masculine identity. However, understandings of pop are hindered by the instability of the descriptor itself. Where the term was once used to describe the meta genre of ‘popular music’, over time the meaning has changed to refer to inauthentic or low quality mainstream music texts. During the 1960s, artists as diverse as the Beatles, Tom Jones, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch, Gene Pitney and the Moody Blues were classified under the umbrella term ‘pop’.18 Nowadays pop is considered a form of music enjoyed primarily by girls, but early 1960s pop had universal appeal and was appreciated by male and female audiences alike. Pop groups of the 1960s took a lead from the Beatles, who: “perfectly fused the ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ strains of rock ‘n’ roll in their music, their appearance and their style of performing” (Douglas, 1995: 116–17). Indeed, the fact that they “mocked the distinctions that bifurcated the … landscape into ‘his’ and ‘hers’” (Ehrenreich et al., 1992: 535) was central to their appeal with both sexes.

The Decline of Earnest Masculinity The Beatles’ subsequent rejection of romantic pop illustrates how music coded as feminine is all too readily jettisoned in the pursuit of authentic masculinity. When the group’s career progressed they moved towards and helped to consolidate the emergent rock genre, cementing doo-­wop’s decline no doubt because the earlier sound failed to resonate with “the hard, masculinist aesthetic privileged in dominant accounts of rock as a musical style” (Keightley, 2001: 115). Moreover, taking a lead from rock and roll, rock music promoted ­hedonism, sexual freedom and youthful rebellion – values at odds with the more conservative, traditional standpoint of doo-­wop. The new generation of musicians were also able to be more adventurous because they rejected mainstream popular music – “one of the consequences of the rise of rock in the 1960s was that mass success was no longer necessarily based on the respectable conventions of show biz” (Frith and McRobbie, 2017: 46). Although the distinctions between rock and pop became more entrenched with the ascent of rock, the division between earnest and rebellious masculine identity can be traced back further to

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  27

the 1950s. Rock and roll singers of the era provided a rough and ready image, countering the earnest boyishness of singers such as Pat Boone, Paul Anka and Fabian, whose repertoire connoted traditional values of honesty, decency and modesty. In doing so, contemporary middle-­of-the-­road singers created a safe cultural space for girls and a role model for conservative young men, establishing many of the qualities we associate with today’s feminized pop masculinity. Even earlier, Frank Sinatra’s soft, sentimental crooning, his diminutive endomorphic stature and song repertoire featured masculine vulnerability, ­challenging postwar stereotypes of red-­blooded, all-­A merican manliness. Like pop groups of the 1960s, Sinatra attracted a hysterical fan following more than capable of matching the screaming mob pursuing millennial boy bands. Referred to at the time as ‘bobby soxers’ due to their habit of rolling socks down to the ankles, in many respects the young girls resembled modern teen pop fans with their emotional volatility.19 Recalling the intensity of feeling, columnist Earl Wilson describes how he was, “caught in these ‘swooning’ panics or riots, as they came to be”, confirming that Sinatra generated just as much sexual excitement among his fans as the Beatles or Elvis Presley ever did (Fuchs and Prigozy, 2007: 40). A legacy of vulnerable pop masculinity continued into the 1960s, influencing groups like the Beatles, one of the first pop groups to gain international recognition for rejecting the aggressive, individualistic masculine mode of performance typically seen in rock and roll at the time. By prioritizing the emotional aspect of men’s identity they paved the way for greater openness among their male counterparts. The group’s early music suggested that men could feel just as trapped, helpless and emotionally entangled in relationships as women did, allowing them to extend their repertoire of feelings. To some extent these expressions of fear and powerlessness served to align them by association with women’s lack of power and, in doing so, challenged masculine authority. Collectively pop masculinity’s semiotic apparatus threatened everyday manly conventions, notably so in what has been referred to as “The Great Masculine Renunciation” of fashionable dress (­Flugel, 1971: 111). Challenging the idea that matters pertaining to dress were either ‘queer’ or unmanly was a shift largely accomplished by the Beatles, whose long hair was a very obvious signifier of femininity to a generation conditioned to the tradition of ‘short back and sides’.20 As a result, young men happily embraced the clean-­ shaven, fashion-­conscious, gender neutrality their peers like the Small Faces, the Action and the Herd offered. In addition to revolutionizing menswear, pop helped to establish the emotional revolution of the postwar period. A significant aspect of the appeal of boy bands rests on their capacity to offer “a safe alternative to the misogyny and mistreatment that many girls find and expect in adolescent relationships” (­Halberstam, 2005: 178) and a platform to talk about feelings.21 From the early 1960s, groups like the Beatles transgressed gender norms, showing affinity to girl’s

28  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

culture by producing covers of romantic songs originally recorded by girl groups. Yet when rock emerged as a manly antidote to pop towards the end of the 1960s, they abandoned formerly feminized, boy-­next-door identities and were automatically taken more seriously by male critics. As the decade progressed, a schism opened between polite, romantic pop and the emergent rock style that eventually propelled pop groups like the Beatles and the Beach Boys in a new, more cerebral direction.

From Beat Group to Boy Band A distinction between highbrow rock and unsophisticated pop began to influence discourses informing the respective genres, determining reception of production values, aesthetics and performance style. Eventually the separation of rock from pop affected the terminology used to describe artists involved in the respective genres; however, the expression ‘boy band’, with its associations of mainstream pop masculinity, did not appear for some time. Although the Beatles are sometimes labelled the first boy band (Levy, 2000: 1), the term only entered the lingua franca of popular music in the 1990s, at which point the phrase was used to differentiate between bands playing musical instruments and purely vocal groups. According to record producer and manager Lou Pearlman, the label can be dated “back to the times of New Kids on the Block and it also dates back to Take That … because they didn’t play instruments per se, they called them boy bands” (Levy, 2000: 9). During the first half of the 1960s it was customary to refer to popular music ensembles as ‘beat groups’, ‘pop music combos’ or more simply as ‘pop groups’. Brian Longhurst (2007: 98) suggests that when the popularity of rock and roll waned at the end of the 1950s, the word ‘beat’ was employed to describe a new, backbeat-­d riven form of dance music. Beat group instrumentation typically consisted of rhythm, lead, bass guitar, drums, and the style comprised catchy tunes, many of which featured vocal harmonies (Shepherd, 2003: 78). The label ‘beat group’ was also given to pop and dance groups, distinguishing them from pop balladeers or rock and rollers. At the time beat and pop groups would not be categorized as ‘boy beat groups’ or ‘boy combos’, even though girl groups were a recognizable gendered performance sub-­category. To a great degree this simply illustrates the default status of male artists at a time when there was no need to differentiate boys from female opposites. Beat or pop group remained the preferred descriptor until the second half of the 1960s, when the ‘rock’ genre entered popular music’s vocabulary. Characterized by harder sounding electric guitar-­d riven music and controversial, sometimes politically informed themes, rock effectively “reinvented pop’s known rules of language”, showing how “a pop song could be about any subject a writer was smart or daring enough to tackle” (Gilmore, 2012).

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  29

Soon a hierarchy emerged, with high-­m inded, experimental rock music aspiring to attract discerning or educated ‘listeners’, whereas pop was consigned to appeal in the sphere of lightweight mass-­entertainment. The dichotomy was further embedded by the coding of rock as a masculine genre, leading rock journalists to assume they spoke to and on behalf of, a male audience. S­ imon Frith explains, arguing that: “Rock forms of production and consumption were perfected between 1967 and 1970, as an increasing number of bands and performers aimed their music at an album buying market of hip, mostly male, music freaks” (Gillet and Frith, 1996: 145). By the early 1970s, it was customary to refer to guitar groups as ‘bands’, thereby widening the division between pop groups and rock bands, ensuring pop was relegated to the role of background music or family entertainment. As ambassadors of the pop genre, the career of Irish group the Bachelors helps to illustrate some of these divisions, because in many respects the group’s trajectory and image could be likened to that of earnest, pop-­inflected boy bands of the present day. Even their formation in 1957 as the Harmonichords, following the group’s appearance on the television programme Opportunity Knocks, paved the way for a tradition of talent show recruitment. They reportedly changed their name to the Bachelors because “that’s the kind of boy a girl likes” (­Witcomb, 2018), flagging up Decca Record label’s intentional marketing of the group towards teen, female fans. Indeed one of the Bachelors’ trademarks was to include popular girl’s names in song titles via examples such as ‘Charmaine’ in 1963, ‘Diane’ and ‘Ramona’ in 1964. Their music and presentation were at odds with the burgeoning psychedelic scene, but they had many hit songs in the UK and internationally. At a time when contemporaries were growing their hair long, sporting beards and dressing in jeans, the Bachelors continued to present a clean-­cut image with neatly clipped hairstyles and matching blazers. Rather like their Irish descendants Westlife and Boyzone, they seemed to promote old-­ fashioned values and family-­f riendly entertainment, continuing to enjoy success throughout the 1960s. Some measure of the group’s popularity is reflected by an appearance on the family variety show ‘Sunday Night at the London P ­ alladium’, where they achieved the highest ever recorded audience (­Gambaccini and ­Taylor, 1993). However the Bachelors’ chart success declined towards the end of the 1960s, at which point they progressed onto the cabaret circuit, presenting a template for subsequent boy bands in search of a career change.

Enter the Popular Music Auteur Despite being highly successful, the Bachelors were of no interest to rock music journalists who focused instead on solemn discussions about the intellectual qualities of rock and the rock scene’s significance as a site of cultural communication. In the media, rock artists were expected to offer everything from opinions about politics to deliberations on the direction of youth culture and

30  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

the rock scene. By way of contrast, pop magazines featured information about artists’ personalities, love life and fashion sensibilities, providing readers with a steady stream of lightweight anecdotes, gossip and trivia. Pop singers were not thought to have anything of consequence to say, either about music or matters political. Where rock artists were expected to write their own material, pop singers were more reliant upon the services of industry songwriters, none of whom would tackle the controversial themes undertaken by rock musicians. Professional songwriters working behind the scenes, were capable of writing songs to order, less as an expression of deeply held convictions and more to fulfil the requirements of a given brief. A songwriter who could not sing up to professional standards would never have dreamed of recording his or her own material. Nor was the material itself necessarily an expression of personal feelings: it was often written to meet the needs of a specific audience or market. (Carlin, 2002: 139)22 Rock music’s focus on an artist’s unique viewpoint made song-­w riting a much more personal quest and to gain respect fans expected rock musicians to authenticated their skill via live displays of virtuosity. In consequence, the music press elevated the stature of rock artists above that of pop peers, who were less highly regarded due to their use of anonymous backing dancers and session musicians.23 Having sacrificed the authenticating potential of playing an instrument or performing songs written by themselves, male pop singers soon found themselves aligned with equivalent female singer/dancers.24 As part of a chorus, singers in pop groups lack sufficient individuality to be deemed auteurs, a predicament magnified by the fact that some representatives have been caught miming to backing tracks in live performances.25 The newfound rock aesthetic led auteurs to favour challenging subjects more reflective of a society in the grip of social change, a cultural shift that prompted some rock harmony groups to introduce themes of personal growth and secular spirituality, existential topics normally verboten in the pop community. Calls for free love and increased access to birth control challenged traditional rules concerning sexual relationships, making simple ‘boy meets girl and one day gets married’ narratives sound naïve and old-­fashioned. The new breed of rock harmony groups also transcended the musical simplicity of the doo-­wop legacy by introducing complex and sophisticated minor harmonies, a shift seen in the mature work of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Crosby, Stills and Nash, among others. In a climate of individualism, rock harmony groups were quick to abandon any signifiers of uniformity such as matching haircuts and suits, mainly due to their associations with the world of show business and values of the corporate sphere (see Figure 2.1). Rock ensembles did not feature dance routines either, because the genre’s emphasis on intellectual expression did not fit well with

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  31

Figure 2.1 

Crosby, Stills and Nash.

the corporeality and light-­heartedness of the pop/dance aesthetic. Instead rock fans preferred idiosyncratic solo styles of movement more synonymous with the genre’s demand for personal expression. As a result, pop-­inflected harmony groups found themselves ejected from ‘intelligent’ youth culture and relegated to the world of teen pop and mainstream, family-­oriented entertainment, leading to a clear division between rock harmony groups and singing and dancing outfits such as the Osmonds or the Jackson 5.

Song and Dance Men Perhaps because dance is viewed more as a physical than mental activity, there is a tendency to privilege music-­m aking in the analysis of popular music culture. Yet as Longhurst points out: “the body (and its movement) is not simply a natural phenomenon, but is subject to modes of social and cultural constitution, with the idea that the body and its movement have a degree of materiality” (Longhurst, 2007: 184). Dancing adds layers of meaning to popular music, which are all too often overlooked within discourses of musicianship. In ­Lawrence Pitilli’s view dance presents a form of “visual music” or “visible speech”, which helps to convey a song’s emotional content as well as its overall mood. Pitilli, a singer from the Del Satins, explains how he felt physical movement added an important dimension to the experience of music: The clapping leads to more excitement. On swaying, it’s a feeling you get when you start singing and you want [the group] to be visual, moving

32  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

their hands together at the same time, moving their feet together at the same time. It’s just as important as singing. (Pitilli, 2016: 59) To some extent financial restrictions on early vocal harmony groups amplified the importance of featuring rhythmic movement. The sparse instrumentation of acapella and doo-­wop demanded an element of embodied rhythm that could be supplied by finger pops, hand claps and synchronized steps. These movements provided an added visual spectacle, a dimension of sensory pleasure too often overlooked if excessive emphasis is placed on the aural aspect of music appreciation. Although solo performers have a licence to exercise a degree of onstage individualism, group dance necessarily takes on a more uniform presentation. Uniformity of movement also helps to communicate egalitarianism and the strength of a group’s identity. Complex routines require careful rehearsal and a considerable level of commitment, even though the skill involved is typically underplayed by music critics. According to Robert Rodriguez the additional chore of practicing dance routines placed an extra burden on harmony groups because: “It wasn’t enough to carry a decent tune [when] in addition to your vocal chores you were expected to be in step with the others at all times” (Rodriguez, 2006). Nevertheless, the ability to dance gave vocal groups an advantage over competitors, but only if they were prepared to find time within busy schedules. For those who had little training, the pressure was greater still: Reggie Smith of doo-­wop group the Five Chances describes a typical day’s timetable. We used to rehearse eight hours a day dancing and the next day would rehearse singing eight hours a day. We learned a lot of dance steps from different shows we were on … We also got a lot of dance routines from different chorus girls that were on the shows. That’s what got us on most of the package shows we were on. (Pruter, 1996: 50) The inclusion of dance within performance not only helped to provide a conducive environment for courtship rituals, it gave the audience a licence to take their place on the dancefloor. Whereas up-­tempo numbers invited them to dance energetically, showing off youthful physical fitness and vigour, slower numbers created a space for greater intimacy, allowing young people to touch one another. In the 1950s and early 1960s, young people were keen to put wartime hardship firmly behind them and slow, romantic songs provided a background for physical intimacy. People wanted to become close. Their loved ones were coming back from the war … The theme was trying to get close to each other. You can’t

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  33

get close to nobody on the dance floor jitterbugging, so ballads were the best medium. (Burnim and Maultsby, 2015: 255) Towards the end of the 1960s, rock’s preoccupation with matters political and social diminished the importance of the dancefloor as a site of romantic interest, undermining the role of partner dancing in promoting a culture of romance. As the decade progressed, the influence of psychedelia and progressive rock raised the status of individualism in new, free-­form dance styles that were much less reliant on backbeat-­d riven rhythms. Additionally, the culture of rock and psychedelia rejected the convention of dancing in couples. Instead, festival and concert footage shows young people dancing, seemingly in isolation from one another, using movement to express their innermost feelings to the point that there are few signs of dance being used to promote physical closeness.

Tamla Motown: Revitalizing Social Dance The ideology of romance and the practice of social dancing were revitalized by soul harmony groups working for the Tamla Motown record label, where dance was used to enhance the presentation of vocal harmony singing through the introduction of sharp synchronized moves that helped strengthen the music’s visual dimension. Many of the dance moves evolved from existing traditions established by black artists in vaudeville theatre shows in the same way the ­Motown vocal style, with its emphasis on call-­and-response and gospel harmonies, can be traced back to dance styles made popular by African-­A mericans in the 1920s. Notably, the work of the Nicholas Brothers, who established a heritage of rhythmic movement, was modified by the record label’s choreographers to maximize the artists’ appeal with a mainstream audience. As sons of musicians, the Nicholas Brothers grew up in the vaudeville theatre, both learning to dance by imitating renowned exponents of tap such as Leonard Reed and Bill Robinson (Hill, 2002: 46). The brothers developed an acrobatic technique known as “flash dancing” (Malone, 1996: 94) with which they impressed audiences using a combination of “spins, twists, flips, and tap dancing” to contemporary jazz songs (Nicholas Brothers, n.d.). Due to high calibre artistry and innovation, the boys were ranked among the greatest tap dancers of the day for performances such as the ‘Jumpin’ Jive’ with Cab ­Calloway in the film Stormy Weather.26 Motown founder Berry Gordy employed the services of a vaudeville veteran, Cholly Atkins, to teach inexperienced singers dance routines adapted from the chorus line. While the moves were less acrobatic than those employed by the Nicholas Brothers, they typically included a mixture of, “Charlestons, shimmies, tight turns, and simple, tap-­derived slides and glides”, all of which added dynamism to what might otherwise be, a rather static stage performance (Pugh, 2015).

34  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

The small, restrained steps, turns and hand signals quickly became synonymous with the label’s vocal groups as contemporary footage of the artists illustrates. The Motown dance routines not only helped to amplify an intensely rhythmic sound, they offered audiences a repertoire of easily copied steps and gestures, a point elaborated by soul DJ Ian Levine, who recalled the character of dancing in British soul clubs during the 1960s. He remembered the styles had stemmed from “the kids with a sense of rhythm trying to copy the routines of the American groups: the steps, the finger-­clicks, the spins: The Temptation walk, the Jackie Wilson backdrop” (Constantine and Sweeny, 2013: 34). ­Motown’s legacy continues today in classic dance moves such as the elbow thrusts and box steps practiced by most boy bands, whose routines draw on those of their Detroit predecessors. Motown music also heralded a return to simple, heartfelt love songs, drawing heavily on classic gospel excitement and vocal techniques used in black church services where most of the organization’s artists initially learnt to sing. Nevertheless, Gordy was careful to avoid alienating the white audience and although his integrationist strategies were criticized in some quarters, the label was successful in crossing over to white audiences. He achieved this musically by bringing together “the strong emotional drive of black religious music with

The Miracles A highly influential act in the history of pop vocal groups, the Miracles were one of the first to cross over from R&B to mainstream pop, achieving chart success in both genres. They were founded in 1955 by William ‘Smokey’ Robinson at high school in Detroit. Originally going under the name of ­Robinson and the Matadors and prior to that the Chimes (Warner, 2006: 423), the group performed locally and were spotted by Berry Gordy, who was already an accomplished songwriter. When he established the Motown label he helped to promote their career, and by the 1960s, renamed as the Miracles, they achieved crossover chart success with a number of iconic songs including ‘Shop Around’ (1960), ‘What’s So Good About Goodbye’ (1962) and in 1965 ‘Ooo Baby Baby’ and ‘The Tracks of My Tears’. By 1967 they were renamed Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, but continued successfully as a band even after Robinson left in 1972. In 1975 they reached number one in the US pop chart with the song ‘Love Machine’. The Miracles raised the profile of dance at Motown by requesting that choreographer Cholly Atkins work for the company. In total they released 57 singles and 25 studio albums. The legacy of their smart, polished performance style and signature moves can be seen in the dance moves of many subsequent vocal groups.

From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop  35

the sophisticated sound of American studio pop” (Fink, 2012: 14). The pop inflection was not appreciated by some critics who accused the company of being too ‘industry-­slanted’ and inauthentic (Guralnick, 2002: 1–2). However the record label’s driving dance rhythms and straightforward lyrics presented a source of identification for anyone who failed to engage with rock and hippie culture while continuing the heritage of doo-­wop. Since the 1980s both black and white acts have incorporated hip-­hop culture’s athletic body rolls and back flips into their routines, allowing for greater displays of individuality and physical prowess. Vocal groups began to foreground dance when increasing access to television in the 1960s ensured that “the meaning of popular music would always to some extent, be dependent on its visual economy” (Mundy, 1999: 51). Furthermore, with the arrival of MTV, the introduction of the music video placed an imperative upon artists to strengthen and enliven their visual presence. Artists worked with professional choreographers who ensured their dance routines would offer maximum visual appeal and a young performer’s potential as a dancer had to be taken into account. When music was communicated primarily via radio, the physical appearance of singers could be played down, but growing visual literacy presented new challenges and pressures to look good on screen. The eminence of visual media linked the to the emergence of pop video led to greater emphasis on the selection for videogenic purposes and inevitably a casting process, not unlike that imposed by Hollywood cinema on would-­be screen stars, became common.

Notes 1 The band’s website is available at http://utn1.com/ [Accessed 28 November 2018]. 2 Their song ‘Janeman’ became the first ever Urdu/Hindi pop song to air on MTV Asia on 20 April 1992. 3 Singing was not restricted to the barbershop – bar rooms and street corners were other popular sites for this type of community harmonizing. 4 The Manhansett Quartet are credited with being the first to reach a wider audience via commercial cylinder recordings in the 1890s (Whitburn, 2005: 293). 5 There is some evidence (McNeil, 2013: 24) that supports the view that barbershop can be traced outside the US to English barbershops of the seventeenth century. 6 Contemporary sources report American audiences being impressed by the smooth harmonies and the challenge of distinguishing one voice from another. 7 The Ink Spots are credited with paving the way for both rock and roll and doo-­ wop. Between them, the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers are credited with paving the way for a legion of similar outfits including the Delta Rhythm Boys, the Four Vagabonds and the Golden Gate Quartetto. 8 Motown artists Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin and bass vocalist Melvin Franklin are all clearly indebted to their Ink Spots counterparts Bill Kenny and Hoppy Jones. 9 Keightley (2001: 115) suggests that the term ‘doo-­wop’ derives from the Turbans’ 1955 hit ‘When You Dance’. 10 According to Grove Music Online (2018) the term ‘acappella’ can be traced to the Italian ‘in the manner of the chapel’. The term can also be used to describe the vocal track(s) when separated from a multitrack recording originally including

36  From Barbershop to Mainstream Pop

11 12 1 3 14 15 16 17

18 19 20

21

22

23 24

25 26

instrumentation. The imitation of absent instruments was taken to the highest level by the vocal group Naturally Seven who refer to their musical practice as “vocal play”. The band imitates the sounds of a wide range of instruments including drums, electric guitar, harmonica and keyboard. See www.naturallyseven.com/ [Accessed 28 November 2018]. For instance in ‘Count Every Star’ (1950), members of the Ravens can be heard imitating the plucking sound of the double bass. Hickey analysed the lyrics of all the songs recorded by 31 of the 35 most popular boy bands of the 1990s. Other notable mixed-­race groups include the Del-­Vikings and the Crests. Popularized by the Osmonds, the song ‘One Bad Apple’, originally written for the Jackson 5, was turned down by Motown boss Berry Gordy in favour of a similar song ‘ABC’, which the Jackson 5 recorded in 1970. There are strong similarities between the Backstreet Boys’ ‘I’ll Never Break Your Heart’ and Boyz II Men’s ‘End of the Road’, recorded four years earlier. X Factor alumni JLS were an all-­black British boy band who had major success between 2008 and 2013. Other observers liken the song to the Teddy Bears’ doo-­wop hit ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’ (1958), MacDonald (2007) records Paul McCartney citing the song as a source of inspiration. It was a number one hit on the Billboard charts and sold over a million copies at the time. Superstar producer and song writer Phil Spector was a founding member of the Teddy Bears. In Rave magazine (20 September 1966: 44) for instance, a news report on the ‘pop scene’ talks of the Beatles, the Walker Brothers, the Byrds, Cliff Richard, Sonny and Cher and the Rolling Stones. The term ‘bobby soxers’ may also refer to the label given to girls who were encouraged to take off their shoes at ‘sock hop’ dances to avoid damaging the floor. The ‘short back and sides’ described a men’s hairstyle, popular in the first half of the twentieth century. It symbolized a clean-­cut masculinity redolent of an era when, unlike the women in their lives, men prided themselves on taking little interest in their appearance. Barter et al. (2009) found that 11 per cent of teenage girls experienced severe physical force and admitted to being punched, beaten up or hit with objects in relationships. In the UK, a National Union of Students survey found that 37 per cent of female student experienced unwanted groping or inappropriate touching and 36 per cent received unwanted sexual comments about their bodies (Weale, 2014). Performing music written for them by a songwriter began to define pop singers as craftsmen than artists, relegating them to a lower level in hierarchies of value. Music followed the template established at the Bauhaus design school, where founder Walter Gropius made a clear distinction in his opening manifesto that “There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. The artist is an exalted craftsman” (Kaes et al.,1995: 455). Rock music also relies on the use of session musicians when making records but their presence is carefully concealed. In pop, expectations are different and the contribution of anonymous musicians is customary. These exceptions include the dancer Stacia Blake who was employed by British rock band Hawkwind to perform her interpretive dance routines in their live shows. Mick Jagger’s signature dance moves are also widely imitated and both Ian Curtis and Axl Rose are cited as influential movers. In the UK, for example, the Musicians Union banned miming on the television show ‘Top of the Pops’ during the mid-­1960s. See: www.muhistory.com/contact-­ us/1961-­1970/ [Accessed 28 November 2018]. Stormy Weather (1941), directed by A. Stone. Hollywood: 20th Century Fox.

3 Constructing the Product

Having considered the historical evolution of the groups, this chapter looks at the way pop vocal groups are assembled, how this influences the perception of their music, and whether recruitment strategies differ from those employed elsewhere in the industry. One of the most common objections to the current wave of bands is the openness of their manufacture, notably so in the case of those put together in full view of the public on television talent shows, where they are subjected to the popular vote. Summarizing the root cause of negative perceptions of boy bands, Sanders argues that whereas groups emerging organically expect to have a say in how they are presented and produced, in mainstream pop “the creator and members of his production and management team control everything from songwriting and selection of songs to wardrobe choices to the timing of releases” (Sanders, 2002: 527). However, the process circumvents well-­t rodden discourses of musicianship, which insist that a lengthy struggle and triumph over adversity, differentiates ‘authentic’ music from the mass-­produced dross (Moore, 2002: 209). Undoubtedly these discursive expectations influence critical perception of boy bands and the way they are judged in relation to more venerated peers, When boy band ‘haters’ were recently asked to reveal if they might admit to liking the Beatles, an outraged respondent posted the following message, complaining that the group should not be categorized as a boy band. Boy bands belong to a whole other tradition than the Beatles, that of groups like the Shangri-­Las. They are boy instead of girl groups but that’s incidental, the genre is the same; producer-­d riven music, written by the producer or by professional songwriters, performed by a group whose members are more like employees than a real band. (Moe_Shinola, 2016)

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Here the writer highlights some important considerations frequently employed in debates on the relative merits of popular music, and in certain respects the lowly stature of the groups clearly does mirror that of girls in pop, whose marginal status was exposed in feminist studies (Steward and Garratt,  1984; O’Brien, 2012; Warwick, 2007). Effectively, by defining girl groups as ‘employees’, the writer enforces a set of binaries distinguishing manufactured/­ artificial from natural/authentic and masculine from feminine. In the chasm of meaning opened up by the distinctions lies a further set of assumptions, some of which are rarely challenged, notably the idea that performers emanating from reality shows are happy to be controlled by others. Yet as Stahl contends, young stars may well crave legitimacy and autonomy but find it hard to accomplish this when hovering in the chasm between being a ‘musician’ and ‘employee’. Effectively he suggests, they are constrained by “the external push of TV and music producers, network, record label and marketing departments for rational, predictable products and behaviours that fit within an overall business plan” (Stahl, 2002: 307). Perhaps more than anything, negative comments about the ‘identikit’ construction of contemporary pop ensembles reveal that music-­m aking is a contested field where “the dynamics of cultural production always result in privileging of certain practices, products, sectors, producers and publics over others and simultaneously, the separation of these from one another” (­Negus, 1999: 175–6). Luck, robust financial backing, careful management and shameless opportunism are carefully written out of the narratives of ‘genuine’ musicianship and fame, when in fact, these variables play a part in most success stories. The mythical self-­d irection of auteurs tends to be exaggerated in arguments concerning the quality of popular music, where a degree of distance from the machinations of the business is all too readily viewed as inherently virtuous. With the growth of downloading and the unpredictability of record sales, assuming an air of indifference to business matters represents a form of commercial suicide for all aspiring artists. Strong sales help to promote confidence in future investment because from an industry perspective, “If traditional record label profits are slowly eaten up by falling record sales, [the] incentive to invest in new talents is also reduced” (Galuszka and Bystrov, 2014: 234). Commercial popular music artists irrespective of genre, are faced with irrefutable evidence that popularity matters. This is reflected by the fact that in recent years the number of artists on record label rosters has diminished exponentially, amplifying the competition and lack of opportunity in an already competitive industry (Wikstrom, 2009: 128). Some musicians are attempting to sidestep corporate constraints by flocking to internet discovery or crowdfunding platforms, but while there are some powerful success stories, as yet only a minority have managed to break through this way. In any case David Hesmondhalgh and Leslie Meier (2015: 94) suggest that

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self-­promotion is unlikely to be successful long term because large corporations will continue to flourish in an economic environment which “disproportionately rewards big hits … and the creation of stars who effectively act as brand names”. This means anyone hoping to break into the charts needs a modicum of respect for the economic realities of cultural production, however harsh they may be. Buyers struggle to know in advance what pleasures a new product will offer, and although smaller record companies can survive on lower record sales than the majors, they are less likely to have sufficient resources to launch an unknown artist into the mainstream. It is quite likely that those signed to record labels are not necessarily the most talented, because talent by itself does not necessarily guarantee record strong sales. Thus, although commercially acknowledged artists are recipients of 87.3 per cent of the likes on Facebook pages at any given time, they only represent 1.1 per cent of practicing m ­ usicians (Alloa,  2014). Successful commercial artists exemplify a selection chosen in response to commercial judgements based on who is likely to succeed in a challenging market  –  and even then, only a minority are successful. After a high-­profile launch and an initial flurry of interest, all too often, new artists disappear without trace.1 In these circumstances, the industry is usually blamed for the cavalier treatment of vulnerable, young performers but in mitigation, David Sanjek holds the record-­buying public equally accountable for what he sees as a failure to take a long-­term interest in performers (Sanjek, 2008: 117). The public is fickle and record labels cannot, by themselves, enforce buyer commitment or long-­term loyalty to a recording artist. It could be argued that in its efforts to mitigate risk and exercise control in unpredictable circumstances, the music industry operates along a similar rationale to other organizations identified by George Ritzer in The McDonaldization of Society (1983), where he cites efficiency, accountability, and predictability as key to informing operations. A risk-­averse approach to launching new artists, reduces waste, delivering goods as efficiently as possible – hence the popularity of initiatives such as ‘trial by interactive television’, a process designed to discern public opinion in advance. This approach saves money which might otherwise be wasted on launching an unsuccessful act, and while it is not a perfect solution, it is becoming more widespread. Furthermore, as a number of highly successful artists were recruited this way, it could be argued that the programmes only extend the parameters of the existing talent show format, which has featured prominently in the history of popular music.

Sibling Bands and Friendship Groups The talent show is only one of the routes to stardom, and a small but influential number of groups classified as boy bands stem from closely knit family units or friendship fraternities, often achieving fame through association with a pop impresario who guides them towards success. In families, the management role

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may be taken on by ambitious parents, as witnessed in the case of the Jackson 5 and the Osmonds. Classic examples of sibling groups include the Mills ­Brothers, the Everly Brothers, the Bee Gees, Hanson, the Moffatts, and in the case of the Beach Boys, brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, formed a group with cousin Mike Love and a close family friend, Al Jardine.2 Perhaps the greatest strength of working with family members, is that unlike acts assembled on reality television, who may be total strangers, relatives already know each other’s musical strengths and weaknesses.3 Moreover, it is acknowledged that the combined voices of close relatives have unique qualities. According to David Power of Utah University: “Siblings who sing together a lot develop a very special sound that comes simply from singing together … the blend of voices sets up overtones and creates harmonies that are intriguing” ( Johnson, 1999). He attributes genetic similarities in vocal apparatus as key to the creation of this unique character, a natural asset further enhanced by endless opportunities to practice together in the home. His observations are illustrated by the career of the four Mills Brothers who grew up listening to their father’s barbershop chorus and learned to sing together as children. When one of the brothers died prematurely, his father was able to step effortlessly into the role to replace him. Similarly, Don and Phil Everly’s father taught his sons to play guitar and the whole family toured as a singing group under the name the Everly Family.4 Michael Jackson’s subsequent psychological problems no doubt stemmed from limited opportunities to play as a child or have time to express his own identity. Reflecting on early childhood experiences with the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson described his childhood as ‘mostly work’. In a typical day he would, “come home from school and … only have time to put my books down and get ready for the studio” and “Once there, I’d sing until late at night” ( Jackson, 2010: 9). Donny Osmond recalls an equally tough daily routine: “Normality to us was rehearsing hard on new routines … with schoolwork via home tutoring squeezed around that schedule” (Lewis, 2017). While arguably cruel and psychologically harmful, strict practice regimes imposed by ambitious parents have produced some impressive results. They also prepare children for some of the harsher realities of working life as a commercial artist.

Trial by Talent Contest Unfortunately record companies cannot rely upon groups of siblings as a source of raw material, therefore other means of recruitment are employed. In particular, talent competitions in one form or another, present another tried and trusted route to finding suitable recruits (Holmes, 2004). Surprisingly considering the important role they have played in establishing pop careers, the history of talent contents is a neglected area of popular music studies, an omission perhaps reflective of aversion to the practice in some quarters. Nevertheless, long before The X Factor, various successful pop singers first

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appeared on similar programmes including Carroll Levis’ Discoveries, Opportunity Knocks and New Faces.5 Other notable forerunners include Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour and Star Search (Brown and Mansfield, 2008: 1). Successive talent shows take the model a step further by drawing on the conventions of reality television, even involving audiences in the casting process by allowing them to determine the contestant’s fate. Frith (2007: 10) suggests that Pop Idol established the current tradition of showing ordinary people being groomed into stardom and introducing audience participation as part of the process. Since the 2000s numerous boy bands entered the industry on the back of similar primetime shows including The X Factor, Making the Band and ­Popstars: The Rivals. Over time, the reality format was adopted globally, leading to bespoke versions and bands emanating in different countries. Competitive talent shows are clearly a valuable tool for assessing public opinion in advance, but their associations with light entertainment sit uncomfortably alongside popular music’s discourses of fame. The reflexive process of turning ordinary people into stars, in full view of an audience, letting the public decide who will win the competition, effectively demystifies the nature of stardom, and in doing so potentially diminishes much of the cultural capital and aura traditionally assigned to stars. It could be argued that allowing viewers to take part in the selection process democratizes recruitment while engaging capricious consumers, but reality shows also overturn a much-­vaunted notion of stardom as the sole domain of extraordinarily gifted individuals (Marshall, 1997: 9–11). Hence, rather than stars, we see nervous performers forgetting lyrics, losing confidence and being chastised by judges – effectively behaving less like icons and more like mere mortals with limited abilities. The fact that they appear to be moulded into shape by coaches and fashion stylists makes the whole process far too transparent for those who prefer their stars to maintain an aura of mystery. Even though programmes like these produce impressive success stories, the model sits uneasily alongside ideologies of musical autonomy and the notion that musicians should strive for artistic freedom by achieving “independence from external interference and control” (Keightley, 2001: 134). Instead, we are treated to a carnivalesque mockery of the pretensions of stardom, where the highs of being discovered are cruelly juxtaposed with the lows of being rejected as a nobody (Hackley et al., 2012: 452). It may seem brutal but ­Nashville Star judge and seasoned performer Anastasia Brown offers the following defence, arguing that: “In the music business, you’ll be judged every day and judged every bit as harshly as you would by Simon Cowell. The higher up the ladder you go, the blunter it gets” (Brown and Mansfield, 2008: 3). Whether or not this is the case, musicians who are prepared to submit themselves to being publically judged in this manner while obeying diktats from industry moguls, are depicted by critics as puppets devoid of any creative ambitions.6

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Critiques of the Reality Format Public dismissal of boy bands and the television programmes responsible for creating them emanates from various quarters, academic as well as popular. Moreover, the critiques of the cultural pessimists are far from measured: for example, in the opinion of one irate pop-­cult blogger, The X Factor is dismissed as, “a shit stain on the pants of culture” (Scott, 2013). An equally stern dismissal from the academic camp blames reality shows for promoting pseudo-­individualism, a consumerist ideology and the “equation of identity with brand” (Meizel, 2011: 2). Rather than working to combat the ‘false consciousness’ identified by ­Marxist ideologues, TV talent shows are accused of promoting the Warholian mantra, “that everybody can be famous for fifteen minutes” (Solina, 2004: 105). In doing so they are accused of distracting individuals from declining social mobility and the polarization of wealth and opportunity. Echoing Adorno’s dialectics on the moribund character of modern mass-­produced popular music, other naysayers label alumni and their music as “bland, homogenous, unsophisticated, undiscerning and uncultured  …  low, inauthentic, fake, commercial, conservative [and] conformist” (Huber, 2002: 428). Amplifying scholarly concerns, musicians happily add further fuel to the critical bonfire. Damon Albarn of Britpop band Blur, called for an end to The X Factor on the premise that the programme suggests status and fame are too easily acquired (NME, 2009). Going a step further, in a particularly inflammatory direction, Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher proposed the X Factor judges Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell, should be shot “for crimes against music” (Mallon, 2017). Undoubtedly these lofty judgements and angry rhetoric have a detrimental effect on the reception of TV talent show alumni, a point emphasized by Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor who note how: “The rejection of music that is labeled contrived … artificial or overly commercial has played a major role in forming music tastes and canons with wide ranging consequences” (Barker and Taylor, 2007: ix). Tainted by the soiled hand of commerce, it is hard for boy bands to gain canonic status, and when individuals later attempt to launch a solo career they are not always taken seriously. Critical reception of the Monkees illustrates the impact of having ‘inauthentic’ origins. Unlike rival band the Beatles, whose members came together organically after performing together as teenagers in local bands, the Monkees were artificially assembled for a television series. Producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider wanted to create a series about a fictional group modelled on the successful portrayal of the Beatles in the film A Hard Day’s Night. The original advert placed in Variety called for: “Madness!! Auditions. Folk and Roll Musicians-­Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17–21 Want spirited Ben Franks types.” 7 Following a national search, out of 400 hopefuls, the actors Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork were eventually chosen (Sandoval, 2005: 26). From the outset, the boys were given little say in either songwriting

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or record production and they were labelled by the media as fake and lightweight in comparison with the Beatles (Barker and Taylor, 2007: 159). However, the group’s success was undeniable as between 1966 and 1968, 58 episodes of their eponymous TV comedy series led to Emmy awards, six hit singles and four number one albums in the Billboard 200 (Sandoval, 2012). Even so, few observers were prepared to give credence to the group and due to their formative associations with family entertainment, they still hover on the margins of critical respectability.

The Hegemony of the Visual Miller makes the important point regarding the growing currency of good looks and the hegemony of the visual in mainstream music where “to fulfil the needs of this market … focus has been placed as much on the appearance of the young men in [boy bands] as their music” (Miller, 2011: 84). On first seeing Westlife, Simon Cowell made his thoughts regarding the importance of appearance clearly evident, telling a fellow impresario to fire at least three of the boys on the grounds: “They have great voices, but they are the ugliest band I have ever seen in my life” (Cowell, 2004: 52). Only two members of the band had musical backgrounds but the boys’ looks and musical ability were deemed as being of secondary importance because personalities were considered far greater assets (Harrison, 2011: 30). However, Cowell’s advice highlights how when it comes to aesthetics, male pop singers are judged harshly and are expected to conform to industry norms concerning visual appeal which are not necessarily applied so rigidly in other music genres. Hence it is unusual to see anyone with a noticeable weight problem, unattractive features or physical defects singing pop. In particular, when it comes to the matter of body mass, the genre is very unforgiving of those with above average BMIs. Over the years Gary Barlow struggled with the issue of weight gain and even from the outset when music mogul Simon Cowell was offered the chance of managing Take That he allegedly said, “Fire the fat one and I’ll sign the band” (Lewis, 2013: 38). The rationale underpinning his suggestion is reflected by the fact that when Take That dolls went on sale, the Gary doll had to be given as a free gift to fans who were expected to pay for figures of other band members (Barlow: 2006). In this regard, like women, the boys are judged more on their appearance than on their musicianship skills. No doubt much of the ire directed towards the boys by male critics reflects distaste that men could be judged like women and the fear that masculine identity might be reduced to shallow aesthetic standards.

Can’t Play, Won’t Play Observers are keen to dismiss the skills of male pop singers for a lack of musicianship deliberations on competence and practitioners’ deficits therein are

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imposed inconsistently at best. Many noted rock singers are technically limited and some genres have even made a fetish of minimal musical competence. For example, in the case of punk rock, at a time when virtuoso musicianship had reached baroque proportions, the inability to play an instrument well was interpreted as a virtuous intervention. It seems that pop’s bland sensibilities and the willingness of its practitioners to conform so meekly to industry demands are the main source of offence. However, since the young men involved are primarily recruited on their looks and possibly the ability to dance, they should not be judged on any shortcomings as musicians. Simon Webbe explains how from the outset his vocal ability was discounted in an audition to join Blue: I was never a singer. I’d trained to be a footballer, kicking a ball from dawn to dusk, so I missed Top of the Pops, Going Live, all that stuff. Then I had a bad injury, so I became a model. Some managers came to me and said: “You’ve got a great look, can you sing?” Singing seemed an odd thing to do, so I was like: “No, not at all.” Then I did an audition with the boys who became Blue. (Rogers, 2009) Nicky Byrne recalls similar limitations in his own technical ability at the point of recruitment to Irish group Westlife. I was 18 and my girlfriend’s auntie heard an advert on the radio for a boyband audition. I loved singing, but rarely did it – except on the karaoke after a few Guinnesses. But she badgered me about it, so I went, and there was Louis Walsh, who had put Boyzone together. After I sang, I thought he said: “You’d be good in a pub band.” I was like, thanks, you cheeky sod! Then I realized he’d said: “You’d be good in a pop band.” I was shocked. (Rogers, 2009) Pop managers know that a lack of skill is not necessarily a barrier to success because intensive training and vocal processing tools can ensure these deficiencies are corrected.8 In this respect new recruits are encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Tamla Motown artists, whose boss Berry Gordy established the practice of referring inexperienced artists to seasoned professionals. These respected teachers hone raw talent, enabling young people from deprived backgrounds to gain confidence and strong performance skills (Gulla, 2008: 271). Take That’s manager Nigel Martin Smith pursued a similar approach when he found some of the band lacking in basic performance skills and prior to sending them on tour, he “threw the boys at stylists, vocal coaches, dance teachers and choreographers” (Lewis, 2014). The approach demystifies the mythology surrounding

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stardom but it illustrates that young artists are perfectly capable of developing talent in the right hands. Moreover, Gary Barlow already demonstrated proven capability as a song writer at the age of 15 when he entered a television contest writing ‘A Song for Christmas’ (Roach, 2006: 22). Both he and Robbie ­Williams went on to have considerable success as esteemed auteurs, suggesting that both had an above-­average level of talent in the first place.

Averting a Crisis of Proliferation Rather than seeing talent shows as a fast track to an inferior version of stardom, casting calls and talent competitions might be viewed more objectively as an attempt to thwart the “crisis of proliferation” predicted by Jacques Attali, who argued that saturation of the market creates, “a decrease in the efficiency in the production of demand” (Attali et al., 1985: 127). With too many similar pop acts circulating at any given time, it makes sense to try and assess in advance who is most likely to succeed. In doing so, the recruitment of young singers exemplifies Attali’s argument that initiatives taken in the music industry predict future economic developments. As an example, he cites eighteenth-­century composer George Frederick Handel’s decision to sell concert tickets as a strategy to end his reliance on royal patronage: a move that signalled the rise of capitalism and new ways of monetizing popular music. It could also be argued that evaluating the popularity of artists before launching them enables entrepreneurs to support any sales of music by lining up potential sponsorship and merchandise deals in advance. Early signs of audience approval suggest the newcomers could fill the economic hole created by self-­promoting musicians and illegal downloading by acting as ambassadors for a range of products and services. Moreover while the talent show format may be anathema to those committed to notions of ‘art for art’s sake’, some highly regarded artists used this route to fame. During the early 1960s for example, John Lennon entered TV Star Search, an ABC talent show organized by the Canadian impresario Carroll Levis (Goodden, 2018).9 Similarly the careers of international pop giants ABBA were cemented following the group’s success in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974, hardly a site of eminence for a budding auteur (Björnberg and Bossiu, 2017: 6). Likewise, celebrated singer/songwriter/ producer Pharrell Williams’ potential was first spotted at a talent contest in 1992 (Burling, 2015: 29). Critics of the talent show format will be relieved to know that the selection practice is far from foolproof. A study (Brown and Mansfield, 2008) revealed that many famous music stars were in fact rejected by the judges of talent contests, and winners are not always the most successful in the long run. For instance, the Backstreet Boys were rejected on Star Search, One Direction did not win The X Factor, ending up instead in third place, which suggests that other variables are at play. Ultimately, the audience decides which bands they wish

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to follow and no matter how hard the industry tries to promote new recruits, if they fail to resonate with consumers they will be rejected. There are other advantages to entering talent competitions, not least as a form of preparatory work for those who wish to experience harsh rejection. A guide for industry acolytes reminds would-­be singers that although “Auditions are unknown, uncomfortable situations. The more you place yourself in those kinds of situations, the more comfortable they’ll become to you. The more you sing off the cuff in a pressure cooker environment, the better you’ll be” (Brown and Mansfield, 2008: 8). Prospective performers are advised that however nerve-­ wracking the contest may be if they fail to win, the next port of call would be showcasing for a record label, where pressure is even more intense.

The Ideology of the Workplace Even if they are selected, competition winners are unlikely to experience the unfettered creativity they may have envisaged, and in this respect the careers of manufactured pop singers seem to follow a reverse pattern to that of musicians in loftier musical fields such as jazz, where it is customary to pursue one’s art before deciding whether to ‘go commercial’ (Becker, 1963: 109). Like Hollywood child stars who were typically presented to audiences as innocently enjoying stardom as a form of recreation, with “no conception nor interest in the financial rewards that their performances might bring”, pop singers are depicted this way even when they are callously exploited to maximize profit (­Addison, 2015:  1252). They may be portrayed performing a rhetoric of redundant playfulness but from the outset, working life is framed by a set of commercial constraints designed to actively discourage experimentation, creative play or independence. Indeed, in almost every respect, mainstream pop challenges the mythology of creative industries as privileged realms of freedom, untarnished by the constraints of a nine-­to-five job. Instead, working life represents the worst aspects of employment in the creative industries, where conditions can be Dickensian: [C]ontrary to the original expectations of those who enter them, these occupations expose their workers to some of the hazards of the contemporary work world in their most extreme form. Rather than being a refuge from some of the alienating aspects of work in advanced industrial society (the moulding of work and the worker to meet the market’s shifting demand, rapid occupational change and the consequent early obsolescence of work skills), they [endure] particular virulent forms of such experience. (Adler, 1975: 362–3) One of the governing factors underpinning the pop regime’s harshness is the project life cycle’s brevity – a recent study showed that a boy band’s career length,

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discounting reunions, lasted for an average of just 6.8 years (Hickey,  2014). ­Careers are brought to fruition as early as possible and certainly before interest wanes on the advent of the next wave of similar artists. There are exceptions of course, notably where longevity is achieved through reincarnation into a ‘man band’ or, perhaps for the fortunate, in a post-­band solo career, but for the majority a short lifespan leaves just enough time to burst into the charts and accumulate revenue from touring, merchandise or sponsorship deals before the inevitable break up. In the past vocal groups were allowed more time to perfect their craft, ­developing strong performance skills and a repertoire of memorable songs before being launched, whereas today’s competitive global market makes gradual introduction less feasible. Patrick Wikstrom suggests that the industry’s lack of patience creates a situation where, “Artists have to be continuously profitable; otherwise they will be dropped from the [record label’s] roster” (­Wikstrom, 2009: 128). Even though they were subject to exploitation not all of the 1950s doo-­wop groups evolved at such a frantic pace. The Flamingos first began singing together at high school before gravitating to house parties and nightclubs, only achieving chart success a few years later (Warner, 2006: 194). In a similar manner, the Moonglows started out singing together as teenagers in 1950, only reaching the top of the R&B charts several years later (Warner, 2006: 261). Some of the artists recording for the Tamla Motown records had many years of experience prior to being signed – for instance, it took the Four Tops over a decade to gain commercial success and a contract with the label.

Star-­Makers and Pop Svengalis In most cases a successful popular music act will have strong management, but despite playing such an important role as star-­makers, Kathy Foley (2015) alludes to the limited literature on the subject pop managers. Moreover, when they are discussed, the contribution of these entrepreneurs is largely restricted to the organization, control or mismanagement of finances and exploitation of artists. Although they are essentially businessmen, the personal lives and management style of pop Svengalis are sometimes more colourful than those of their youthful charges. Unlike Brian Epstein who was happy to remain in the shadow of the Beatles, some were far more conspicuous. The Bay City Rollers’ manager, Tam Paton, was a ‘Mr Big’ on the Edinburgh drug scene, taking copious amounts of alcohol, cannabis and cocaine before dying in his bath of a heart attack (Spence, 2016). Lou Pearlman, the flamboyant manager of the Backstreet Boys, O-­Town and *NSYNC, received a 25-­year prison sentence for money laundering and conspiracy after defrauding investors out of $300 million. New Kids on the Block’s manager Maurice Starr was sued for ‘musical fakery’ on the grounds the group contributed less than 20 per cent of the vocals on their recordings, a task generously undertaken by Starr and his brother (Rule, 1992).

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It is probably fair to say that more than a few unethical and self-­serving individuals are associated with the management of boy bands, but this does not mean that the groups would necessarily be better off without any guidance whatsoever. They need to learn about the challenges of the mass market and compromising creative aspirations could be viewed as a formative step for novices: “[T]he art/profit dichotomy can sometimes prove problematic, but it is seldom irreconcilable. Even extremely uncompromising artistes quickly realize that without adequate profits the confidence of record companies, booking agents, publishers, producers … cannot be retained” (Rogan, 1989: 383). ­Entrepreneurs like Take That’s manager Nigel Martin-­Smith are shrewd strategists, who use a combination of instinct and knowledge to identify and develop raw talent, taking risks to make protégés famous. In fact, as Sanders reminds us, typically: the creator-­m anager conceives the idea and image for the group before knowing its members, seeks each boy’s participation separately through some form of audition and trains them to perform a predetermined set of songs and dances prepared for, not by, the boys. (Sanders, 2002: 527) The impresario’s unique vision can make or break a putative act, particularly bearing in mind that they are likely to be very young. Extreme youth makes the artists more vulnerable to exploitation and they are unlikely to have either the business skills or industry awareness to manage themselves.10 As minors they may even need the services of a proxy parent who can act on their behalf, organizing everything from finances and passports to record deals. In Take That’s case when they were signed to Martin-­Smith’s management company, “because some of the group were so young – Robbie was 16 – parents were encouraged to attend the meetings” (Lewis, 2014).

Transformational Leadership Due to this high visibility, managers tend to be foregrounded in discussions about boy bands, but even if their presence is played down in the literature concerning other genres, managers play a significant role in the careers of the majority of music artists.11 With such a focus on Machiavellian traits, the creative input and strategic direction of pop managers is sometimes overlooked. The best offer a management style described by Burns (1978) as “transformational leadership”, an approach designed to effect change by enhancing followers’ morale and sense of identity. Brian Epstein’s awareness of fashion and social class enabled him to envision how the Beatles might best be dressed to reach an audience beyond their local following. Coming from a business background he was particularly mindful of the need for the type of “impression management”

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Goffman (1990) identified in his dramaturgical analysis of human interaction. He encouraged the boys to look smart and present themselves professionally in interviews, using his middle-­class credentials to help them feel at ease in encounters with the media. In doing so he was teaching them to make use of the ‘region behaviour’ which Goffmann suggested, helped differentiate between everyday behaviour and that designed to impress or convince an audience when operating in a professional capacity. His observations shows how professionals are likely to act quite differently when communicating with peers than clients because “when one’s activity occurs in the presence of other persons, some aspects of the activity expressively accentuated and other aspects, which might discredit the fostered impression, are suppressed” (Goffman, 1990: 114). In these circumstances, signifiers such as clothing, hairstyles, embodied gestures and demeanour convey important messages about one’s expressed intentions. The production of image is used by experienced pop managers to transform callow youths into seasoned professionals. To convey the correct image, young men are carefully dressed to avoid discrepancies between their own identity and the one created by the management. In Westlife’s case, manager Louis Walsh used his skills to move the band from local obscurity to international acclaim by creating a desirable, commercial Irish identity. He began by dressing the band in aggressively bland menswear to create a blank canvas with minimal potential for the negative connotations associated with subcultural style. They were also given a repertoire of well-­k nown songs to cover, effectively minimizing scope for distinctiveness. According to Sullivan (2007: 184) by relying on tried and trusted cover songs and presenting his artists as bland, apolitical representatives of Irish youth, Walsh created an image of stability and reliability aligned to the “Celtic Tiger” identity Ireland wanted to convey as the country moved towards a new era of foreign investments and tax breaks. It is easy to dismiss his interventions as unimaginative but at a point when UK artists were flagging up their national identity in the Britpop phenomenon, he successfully used his instincts to reduce obvious signifiers of Irishness.

Playing with the Politics of Identity National identity is only one aspect of a boy band’s image that management may or may not decide to flag up. During the initial phase of constructing a band other aspects of identity play an important part in influencing who will be chosen to form a band in the first place. This is because social class, race and ethnicity all inform the decision-­m aking process. For example racial identity is identified as significant by Hawkins who suggests that “when it comes to theorising identity in popular styles [of music], the question of race cannot be ignored (Hawkins, 2017a: 168). In the US, boy bands have always tended to be marketed towards audiences of corresponding colour, hence, mixed-­race

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groups are still relatively unusual. To attract the widest audience in a global market, signs of difference are minimized hence the racial identities of exotic artists are diluted, which means that representatives from “Latin, Asian, Polynesian or mixed-­race backgrounds, share dark-­haired, dark-­eyed, relatively fair skinned looks that suggest ethnicity while still adhering to European standards of beauty” (Austen, 2005: 223). This tendency is particularly noticeable in K and J-­Pop where artists are chosen to conform to physical requirements admired in the West  –  hence performers are likely to have a light-­skinned, wide-­eyed appearance. Socio-­economic standing also has a bearing on the construction of pop vocal groups whose members are likely to be drawn from quite humble backgrounds, especially in the UK where class credentials and neighbourhood connections have always provided a strong sense of identity.12 Music journalist Simon Price offers the following explanation: “Pop music, along with sport and certain other strands of the entertainment industry, was one of the few avenues through which a bright spark from the working classes might escape their background and attain success” (Price, 2014). In other words, young and socially disadvantaged youth are motivated by poverty and unlike middle-­class peers will be more likely to take a risk on a pop career. In this respect, their motivations are not dissimilar to those of young men who joined rock bands in Sara Cohen’s study of Liverpool music-­m aking. She found the boys wanted to become musicians due to a combination of social and cultural factors, not least because music offered an opportunity for a way out of challenging economic circumstances. By joining a rock band “there always existed the possibility of ‘making it’, that is earning a living from the band in one way or another [at which point] the quest for success became a major motivation and preoccupation, a ray of hope in a grim reality” (Cohen, 1991: 3). Although the chances of being signed to a record label are somewhat remote, a lack of other realistic options traditionally propelled a larger proportion of disadvantaged youths than middle-­class peers into the popular music industry. According to Jim McGuigan, fantasies of wealth and success are fuelled by the pre-­eminence of leading celebrities who “operate in the popular imagination as models of achievement for the aspiring young”. He points out that although these models are seldom emulated in real life “their famed lifestyles and heavily publicized opinions provide guidelines to appropriate conduct in a ruthlessly competitive and unequal world” (McGuigan, 2014: 233). Limited educational qualifications and a dearth of opportunities were at the heart of Tony ­Mortimer’s decision to form East 17. I still remember the day I had the idea to form a working-­class boyband. I was 19 and obsessed, but I didn’t tell my mates straightaway, because I didn’t want a kicking. This was Walthamstow in east London, and there

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was crime and crap everywhere. You could either deal drugs, do sport or try music. (Rogers, 2009) Fuelled by fantasies of success, Simon Webbe of Blue experienced an equally coveted, upwardly mobile trajectory. In his words: “I was brought up in ­Manchester’s Moss Side, by a single mum who had holes in her shoes, in a place where drugs were a way of life. Suddenly I was in my early 20s with a million in the bank” (Rogers, 2009). The situation is gradually changing in that the underprivileged are increasingly faced with competition from their economic superiors whose omnipresence in formerly avoided risky careers is growing. Charlie Simpson auditioned to join Busted not because he wanted to be in a boy band but because he wasn’t doing very well at an exclusive private school. His music teacher encouraged him to audition for a pop group and eventually: During October half-­term Simpson travelled to London and auditioned alongside 30 other wannabes in a hotel near Hyde Park. Matt Willis and James Bourne were already in the line-­up and the songs were written. The next day Simpson was offered the gig as Busted’s lead singer. (McLean, 2011) Within two months he had signed a record deal and went on to achieve four UK number one hits, before going on to form the boy band “supergroup” ­McBusted with Brit Award winners McFly. Working-­class youths previously faced little competition from affluent peers, who were under-­represented in pop music partly because they have always had other opportunities and also because the career lacked the respectability of the professions. Yet according to a recent UK survey (Price, 2014) today’s well-­heeled millennials are attempting to oust disadvantaged young people in what has been referred to as the “poshification” of pop.13 Poorer teenagers are finding it even harder to break into the arts because their social superiors are using a combination of family connections and financial clout to get a foothold in pop music.14 The high-­born have descended in their droves upon what would once have been viewed as “low” culture. Since the millennium, wave after wave of privately educated rock and pop acts have come through, Coldplay, Lily Allen, Jamie T, Jack Peñate, Florence Welch, the ­Maccabees, Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons being just a few prominent examples. (Price, 2014)

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Furthermore, to access a modicum of much-­needed street credibility and to avoid accusations of going ‘from riches to riches’, the privileged backgrounds of the new breed of pop singers can be coached to appear more ‘ordinary’.15

Getting the Archetypes Right Whatever social background boys come from, the number chosen to join a band varies considerably, from just two or three in groups like Wham, Bros and the Walker Brothers, to much larger ensembles such as London-­based ten-­piece Blazin’ Squad, X Factor octet Stereo Kicks, and 12-­strong K-­Pop juggernaut Exo.16 In Louis Walsh’s opinion, the numbers make a difference to long-­term success and he suggests that there is even an ideal figure, arguing that: “Five is the magic number: it gives people just enough to look at. BBMak and 911 have three, and it doesn’t look right” (Walsh, 2001). If the group is too big then it is difficult to know each member as an individual, a key consideration for all-­ male pop groups.17 The perfect package will hook as many fans as possible, so you need five different looks: blond, dark, cheeky, camp and macho. Girls like guys from Eminem to Ronan Keating, so you have to include something for everyone. If someone didn’t like Take That, they might have had a soft spot for Robbie because he’s a character. (Walsh, 2001) Boys are chosen to conform to common archetypes drawn from a list including bad boys, jokers, rebels, older-­brother figures and angelic blondes. Jarman-­ Ivens suggests that the individual characters are used to evoke fantasy relationships in that: “Each archetype is designed to bring about some kind of desire on the part of the audience, be that a desire for friendship, a desire to ‘understand’, a desire to ‘mother’, a desire to be, a desire to have, and so on” ( Jarman-­Ivens, 2013: 6). Like the mysterious and potentially dangerous women in film noir, bad boys are archetypically dark-­haired. They usually display a hint of facial hair to show that they are more grown up and possibly sexually experienced in comparison to the other boys. In One Direction Zayn Malik was the band’s bad boy, affirming his identity as dangerous by wearing a T-­shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Fuck You’ when on tour. Similar tactics were employed by other artists in the groups *NSYNC and NKOTB, where the role was allocated to J.C. Chasez and Donnie Wahlburg respectively. Impresario Louis Walsh offers his own rationale for introducing such a risky archetype. I like to have one guy in the band who has a bit of an edge because he’ll attract the girls who fancy baddies, but a group full of bad boys, like Five or East 17, will never do big business. It’s best if they look like every

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young girl’s boy next door, with the difference that he’s able to smile and dance and sing. (Walsh, 2001) The dark features of bad boys also contrast well with the angelic, blonde innocent types – often younger, baby-­faced youths whose vulnerability inspires fans to take care of them. Take That’s Mark Owen naturally filled this position, while in Backstreet Boys it was occupied by Nick Carter and in *NSYNC ­Justin Timberlake was a natural candidate. Strong, silent types have parallels in the world of cinema where they possess qualities aligned to a traditional version of masculinity Timothy Shary suggests that the archetype’s strength is predicated first on a combination of profound anti-­ intellectualism and a rejection of the loquaciousness of more learned or garrulous men. Moreover, he proposes: “Basic to the image is emotional self-­control, with the assumption that the male in fact has nothing he needs to contain. His emotions are healthy precisely because they are in check” (Shary, 2012: 166). The anti-­intellectual stance has a particular resonance in pop. Whereas rock and rap’s men are expected to have opinions on matters political and social, pop singers are generally discouraged from entering any serious discussions. Within this context, strong, silent types can be an asset in a pop band. They are also likely to be inscrutable and therefore difficult to read – in One Direction, Liam Payne filled the position and in the Beatles George Harrison was always quieter and less inclined to take the limelight – a role more likely to be given to jokers and rebels. The joker archetype is usually designated to the least physically attractive group member by way of compensating for any aesthetic deficits. This is b­ ecause being funny is viewed as an acceptable masculine activity because: “To be funny, even to be described as acting ‘dumb’ or ‘goofy’, is high praise for male characters” whereas women comedians are rarely identified as favourites (Lapp, 2000: 13). Therefore jokers fulfil normative gender expectations while offering light relief from pop masculinity’s earnest intensity; moreover, their disposition gives the others a reason to partake in fun. Like rebel archetypes, they disrupt excessive predictability and stop a group’s clean-­cut identity from becoming too boring. As the group’s rebel, Beatle John Lennon was never averse to making controversial statements, notably arguing that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”. However, as the group’s official joker, Ringo acted as a convenient foil to his rebellious bandmate, using the role to avert pomposity or pretentiousness. In Take That, Robbie Williams veered precariously between joker and rebel, eventually opting for the latter role prior to exiting the group, at which point he bleached his hair and openly engaged in substance abuse (Heath, 2005: 44).

Naming Conventions Popular music’s naming conventions reflect the character of individual artists or groups and usually adhere to genre conventions ensuring that a homology

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exists. Therefore, politically charged or controversial music will be signified via unconventional or challenging names. We might anticipate iconoclasm, creativity and a rejection of mainstream values from artists with names like King Crimson, Mother of Invention, Pink Floyd or the Grateful Dead. In the earnest sphere of country music, down-­to-earth names like Hank Williams, Garth Brooks and Glen Campbell signify a lack of pretence and traditional, conservative values. On the other hand, the appellation of rap stars confers street-­credibility through glamourous and sometimes grandiose pseudonyms. In rap a sense of power is conferred by assuming “the names of superheroes and villains, fictional characters and personas”, in a tradition of “boasting, signifying and masking” (Partridge and Moberg, 2017: 312). Thus, we do not anticipate that anyone called the Game, Ja Rule or Ace Hood is likely to be a country singer or, indeed, someone committed to democratic individualism. Rather we imagine they may be arrogant social misfits who have led a chequered existence somewhere on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’. It is already acknowledged that boys are discouraged from opining on matters social or political as this may alienate fans and draw the wrong kind of attention. Subscribing to the view that “Every performer is to some degree ‘faked’  –  nobody goes out on stage and sings about exactly what they did and felt that day” (Barker and Taylor, 2007: xi), pop managers present male pop singers as carefree, unquestioning and conformist, whether or not this accurately represents their identities. This is reflected in naming conventions symbolizing the order and efficiency of mass-­manufacture with band names connoting the impersonal character of the corporate sphere and a production line aesthetic. Alluding reflexively to their manufactured origins, they embrace the ideology of an industry where. “Standardization extends from the most general features to the most specific ones” (Goodwin and Frith, 1990: 256). At a time of rapid globalization, record companies are keen to target the international market and numbers are easy to translate or learn in most languages. Hence names such as A1, 5ive, 911, G4, 98 degrees and Seventeen. Furthermore, shortened names like NKOTB, LFO and *NSYNC appeal to a generation of young consumers conditioned to minimalist use of language in text messaging or social media, and while traditionalists abhor the infiltration of ‘text speak’ in everyday language, young people are increasingly conditioned to communicate in this way (BBC, 2003).

Signifying Youth and Regional Identity A tried and trusted route towards securing fan loyalty involves the practice of anchoring the artists to a specific location: a strategy capitalizing on the link between music and location identified by Cohen (1991) and Finnegan (2007). For example, the names O-­Town, Westlife, East 17 and the Bay City Rollers signify allegiance to a town, region or district.18 These allusions may even be

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extended to song lyrics and videos where familiar locations are emphasized. Doo-­wop group the Dovells possibly initiated the tradition by referring to their home town of Bristol, Pennsylvania in chart-­topping record ‘The Bristol Stomp’ (Murrells, 1978: 134).19 More recently in the 1990s British group East 17 drew heavily on their east London origins in an album entitled Walthamstow (1993) and via images of the district in a video accompanying the song ‘West End Girls’ (1992). Since they are young and male it is not surprising that these characteristics are flagged up in names like Boyzone, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys, which simultaneously signify their identification with fellow artists in the community of boy bands. Masculine identity is also highlighted via filial associations, fabricated or otherwise – a tactic employed in naming the Walker Brothers, Bros, the Righteous Brothers, the Everly Brothers and more recently the Jonas Brothers. By connoting brotherly love, the names highlight unity, a theme also used more directly by *NSYNC, One True Voice, Union J, One Direction and All-­4 -One, where naming reinforces group identity by highlighting a common purpose to diminish notions of individualism.

Creating a Repertoire Any new artist needs a repertoire of songs but for boy bands this will invariably include at least a few cover songs, even if they invoke the “stigma of contamination” associated with unoriginal material (Morrow, 2006: 182). As Moynagh Sullivan points out, “Boy bands reproduce the sounds and harmonies of others in cover versions [because it is] a musical mode that emphasizes safety, stability and the repetitive reliability of tried and tested formulae” (Sullivan, 2007: 186). The practice can be primarily attributed to the risk aversion of record labels and although pop singers are stigmatized for doing so, it is not at all unusual for others to use cover songs at some point, whether at the start of their career or as an interesting departure after years of creating self-­authored music. When they first set out, respected auteurs the Beatles had to intersperse self-­authored music with covers. It is suggested the group only resorted to original song-­w riting to deter imitators, but at the time original writing was unusual. Only a handful of performers ever wrote their own material before The Beatles and Bob Dylan appeared, neither of whom set out on their careers with the explicit intention of supplying themselves with their own songs. Dylan had little idea when he started writing songs that this would become his life. (MacDonald, 2007: xi) In the openly inauthentic world of mainstream pop, the idea of using professional writers is perfectly acceptable, not least because the job is far too risky

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to be left to a group of inexperienced young men. There are some notable exceptions to the rule including the output of Ivor Novello Award winners Gary Barlow of Take That and East 17’s Tony Mortimer, but in most cases, the artists are too young to have a strong and commercially viable catalogue of catchy songs. As pop’s production practices are geared around maximizing profit, artists unable to fulfil this ambition are either disposed of, forcefully guided in the right direction or their work is delegated to a proven expert.20

The Role of Professional Songwriters Opportunity for creative experimentation is strictly limited because management tend to prefer using songwriters with a strong track record. The ­Monkees’ song ‘Daydream Believer’ (1967) was written by accomplished singer and guitarist John Stewart and the celebrated songwriter Neil Diamond wrote another four of the group’s hit singles.21 During the 1990s, even though ­A merican teen idols Hanson had plenty of song-­w riting experience prior to being signed, their debut album was performed and written by experienced musicians. ­Professional songwriters are necessarily versatile enough to write to order and while they are not always household names, like others working behind the scenes, their contribution is crucial to a band’s success. When it comes to the songs themselves, they tend to be formulaic: typically, there will be a verse, chorus, verse, middle eight or bridge and perhaps a double chorus with optional key change. Phil Coulter and Bill Martin worked quietly in the background writing hit songs for a diverse portfolio of artists including the Bay City Rollers,22 and Swedish songwriter Max Martin has written and produced material for *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys and Westlife (Cragg, 2016). In another more recent example, Wayne Hector is credited with writing at least 30 number one singles, turning his hand to creating songs for numerous boy bands such as Blue, JLS, Westlife and One Direction. Critics who despise pop’s production line aesthetic might be surprised to know that Hector has also worked with indie icons Blur or that esteemed singer songwriter Ed Sheeran wrote songs for One Direction.

Upholding the Codes of Romance Unlike serious popular music texts where “the lyrics are often considered to be carriers of poetic, oral, political and other ‘serious’ meanings” (Regev, 2013: 35), pop songs are normally less intellectually challenging. Themes about love, loss, breaking up and making up appeal to the core audience who use the messages to define themselves and others in their lives (Vannini and ­Myers, 2002). The teenage years are characterized by a preoccupation with relationships – a context where pop provides a “conversational language for use in dating and courtship” (Horton, 1957: 569). Similar themes appear in other genres but the quest

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for love and its character may be interpreted differently: in pop, for example, there is a tendency to idealize romantic love, whereas R&B and rap place more emphasis on the sexual aspect of intimate relationships. ­Attitudes to love and romance also differ in rock where “the ideology of rock rebelliousness treats the comfort and security that steady relationships offer with profound ambivalence”, whereas pop’s earnest efforts try to avert insecurity by cementing love relationships (Warwick, 2007: 196). As they are addressing an assumed audience of young girls, references to sex are carefully encoded, and the quest for true love is articulated in the parameters of quite traditional values – such as getting married, establishing a family or staying together.23 Song narratives chart age-­old themes of unrequited love, teenage breakups and a desire for reunion, mirroring the themes of romantic individualism stories embedded within the storylines of teen girl magazines studied by Angela McRobbie in 1978. Rather than promoting careers, education or the value of friendship with other girls, the discourses foregrounded the pursuit of a boyfriend, encouraging girls to compete with peers (McRobbie, 2000). Forty years later, despite the fact girls outperform boys in many areas of life, these hackneyed ‘girl meets boy’, ‘break-­up and make-­up’ tropes are still boy bands’ stock in trade. It is as though the groups are living in a hermetically sealed time warp, where love and romance are the only things on a young girl’s mind.24 Like the songs themselves, the process of forming a boy band has become increasingly contrived, to the point that groups from the doo-­wop era, would be unlikely to succeed today. Intolerance of imperfections, coupled with relentless pressure on looking good make it harder than ever to break in and the industry’s failure to invest in the long term threatens survival of all but the fittest. Establishing a look, an identity and a set of songs are the first steps towards establishing a career but in the contemporary climate, all aspects are carefully controlled at every point.

Notes 1 For example British boy band One True Voice were launched on the back of the television series Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The group released a double A-­side for Christmas that year and split up acrimoniously the following summer, despite being heralded as the next big boy band. 2 In the British group Bros, twins Matt and Luke Goss joined forces with friend Craig Logan, and at different times the Puerto Rican group Menudo has contained two sets of brothers. 3 In One Direction, each of the boys had originally entered the competition as solo artists, only being assembled as a band at the behest of Nicole Scherzinger. 4 For a history of the group see: www.shenandoahiowa.net/pdfs/everly_history.pdf [Accessed 28 November 2018]. 5 Carroll Levis’ Discoveries ran from 1935 to 1939 and 1953 to 1956; Opportunity Knocks first appeared in 1949 but resurfaced repeatedly in 1956, 1964–78, 1987–90; New Faces ran between 1973 and 1978.

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6 A point reflexively enacted by *NSYNC in the video accompanying their song ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’, where the boys are depicted as puppets under the control of an evil puppetress. 7 Ben Franks was a Los Angeles rock and roll diner frequented by long-­haired types. 8 With pitch correction software such as Auto-­Tune it is possible to smooth out imperfections when recording. Auto-­Tune can even be used in live performance to correct flaws and in X Factor season 7 viewers complained because it was used so much. 9 The Quarrymen ended up in second place, being pipped to the post by a Welsh skiffle group. 10 For these reasons a family member can be a natural choice for initial management. In the case of the Jackson 5, the boys’ father Joe managed the group initially. 11 Paul McGuinness guided U2 as a raw post-­punk band, towards international success and Peter Grant’s contribution to the fame of Led Zeppelin is undeniable. 12 It is difficult for anyone unfamiliar with Britain to understand the close relationship between social class and location. Certain regions and accents are automatically labelled as lower-­class, which may lead artists to deliberately modify the way they speak to mirror hegemonic speech. 13 Price (2014) found that of 17 British acts in the 1990 chart, 16 and a half went to state schools and only one member of one group was privately educated. By 2010, three out of 17 of the artists went to fee-­paying schools (plus a further two groups contained privately educated members). 14 To gain some ‘street’ credibility, middle-­class pop singers are even resorting to fabricating narratives of destitution. There are exaggerated reports that Ed Sheeran lived rough on the streets of London when in reality he was sofa-­surfing with support from his parents. 15 In a recent example, the upper-­class, Cambridge-­educated musicians in Clean Bandit featured Jamaican dancehall legend Sean Paul on the single ‘Rockabye’. 16 Agius (2015) reports that the group split just one year after their appearance on the television talent show. 17 The list includes Take That, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Westlife, Boyzone and the Jackson 5. 18 East 17 is the district number of the Walthamstow area of London where the group formed. Although none of O-­Town came from Orlando, the band was named after the city. Westlife are from Sligo in the west of Ireland. 19 According to Murrells (1978) the Bristol Stomp was the name given to a dance practised in the area. Within youth culture, dance plays a major role and as dances tend to spread to other locations, by associating the stomp with Bristol, the group secured its stature as a local dance. This might seem a trivial gesture but young people are notoriously territorial, as much of the early work on subcultures has demonstrated. 20 Hence the pre-­packaged musical output of The Monkees was carefully controlled by manager Don Kirshner and studio musicians played instruments in recordings (Sandoval, 2012). 21 In an interview, Diamond said that although the songs ‘I’m a Believer’, ‘Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)’, ‘Love to Love’ and ‘A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You’ were written for himself, they were made famous by the Monkees (comments made on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, 23 May 2008, BBC1). 22 The duo wrote some of the group’s most memorable songs including ‘Saturday Night’, ‘Remember’ and ‘Shang-­A-Lang’. 23 In a 2011 song by British boy band the Wanted, the lyrics of the song ‘So Glad You Came’ could be interpreted as referring to the female orgasm but the single’s official video suggests that the song refers to a girlfriend’s appearance at a beach party.

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24 An analysis of the lyrics of Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘50 Greatest boy band songs of all time’ reveals that declarations of love, desire for physical union with the beloved, sorrow following rejection by a lover and regret after a breakup are central themes. For the complete list see: www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-­g reatest-boy-­ band-songs-­of-all-­t ime-20150924/mindless-­b ehavior-my-­g irl-2010-­2 0150923 [Accessed 28 November 2018].

4 Marketing and Promotion

Historical examples demonstrate that popular music has always relied on clever marketing (Ogden et  al., 2011) but the practice today is much more sophisticated and reflexive than ever before. The growing sophistication relates to economic changes influencing sales of recordings and a need to find alternative sources of income. During the heyday of vinyl consumption, the Beatles released 15  top selling albums and 17 number one singles in the UK (Officialcharts. com, 2018) – in April 1964 alone, they occupied the top five spots on the US ­Billboard 100 chart, earning them $25 million – a figure representing something in the region of $188 million today. These impressive earnings were exceeded by transatlantic peers the Monkees in what was a golden era of record-­buying. Even in the worldwide economic recession of the 1970s, record sales remained remarkably buoyant: indeed the Bay City Rollers’ hit single ‘Bye, Bye, Baby’ was the biggest selling UK single of 1975 (Roberts, 2006: 45). By the decade’s end, the Osmonds had sold an estimated 100 million records (Telegraph, 2014). Physical sales of music have declined to the point that most musicians cannot rely solely on this income stream – bearing in mind that the global record industry’s market share shrank from a value of $37 billion, to $15 billion between 2000 and 2013  –  the economic vacuum needs to be filled somehow (IFPI, 2016).1 The dilemma of making money from record sales is further problematized by changing consumer demographics which are shifting purchasing power in favour of older music fans. As Frith explains, postwar pop was originally aimed at young consumers but, “In material terms … the ‘rebellious teenager’ – is no longer the central market figure” (Frith, 1988: 127). This means the tastes of older consumers have to be carefully accommodated by marketing professionals, because young people represent a small fraction of a broader

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consumer group. Nowadays they share their passion for popular music with parents and grandparents. The arrival of the ‘man band’ phenomenon where former boy bands are repackaged to appeal to the over-­thirties, illustrates this drift towards middle-­aged music consumption. For anyone launching a new act ostensibly designed to appeal to a young audience, this shift presents particular challenges, more so when twenty-­ first-century consumers prefer to download music for little or no cost via ad-­ supported services such as Spotify and YouTube. In the first three months of 2015 alone, Warner Music Group’s income from streaming increased by a third and the company now earns more from this service than from downloading (Fields, 2015). Additionally, consumers are demanding greater freedom in accessing and consuming recorded music, preferring to make their own choices rather than accepting those of record company executives.2 The need for additional sources of income, has led to various solutions including 360 deals3 capable of providing revenue from live performance and music publishing to augment record sales. Record companies are also recouping their expenses and maximizing revenue by licencing music with corporate sponsorship, media licensing and sales of merchandise.4 Indeed, the merchandise aspect of the live sector has grown to the point that some concert promoters now operate their own merchandising divisions, licensed for sales of artist-­endorsed products. Organizations like Live Nation work hand in hand with major retail chains, gift shops and independent stores to provide an array of merchandise: sourcing everything from keyrings to luxurious bespoke VIP gifts, and using e-­commerce to maximize online marketing opportunities.

Branding Essentials A study carried out on behalf of WPP (the world’s largest conglomerate of advertising agencies) found that music is an ideal vehicle for selling a variety of products (Bashford, 2008). In the UK, music consumption outweighs other leisure activities, making it an especially attractive medium for brand associations and sponsorship. The situation is mirrored in other countries and is accelerated by a move towards global music marketing. In the words of a seasoned executive: Today’s music audience is global. Concert tours are worldwide in scope. Internet downloads are available the world over. An artist’s albums are distributed internationally. This globalization of the music audience – of the business  –  represents a gold-­plated opportunity for musicians and sellers of music. (Lathrop, 2013: 6)

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The demands of a post-­d igital, global economy force record companies to employ innovative strategies, even if their efforts are carefully concealed to preserve an illusion of anti-­commercialism in the case of artists who prefer to eschew consumerism. Hence although the process is more transparent in mainstream pop, Brian Longhurst argues all signed artists are marketed in some way and in most cases there are strong imperatives for brand associations (­ Longhurst, 2007: 58). In the ephemeral world of pop where artists are young, their potential as brand ambassadors is identified and put into practice at the earliest possible opportunity.5 Uncertainties surrounding the likelihood of success compound financial imperatives, a point elaborated by Keith Negus. For many years, despite numerous changes of organization and corporate ownership, the same statistic has circulated in the music industry: a claim that only one in eight of the artists acquired will sell enough recordings to recoup their initial investment and be considered a financial success. (Negus, 2013: 32) The ability to articulate and circulate a strong and memorable identity is a prerequisite for anyone attempting to bring a new act to the market, which is why the job is handed over to marketing experts. In the words of one of the most successful impresarios, Louis Walsh: You can’t leave it up to luck that five talented people will find each other and make it. You need a whole team around the band to groom them, bring them songs, choreography, styling and get them on all the big TV and radio shows. They’ve got to be able to sing and project some personality. (Walsh, 2001) With the right identity bands can effectively become brands, acting as commercial vehicles to sell products and services beyond the sphere of popular music, which only represents a small area of income generation in total. In this context, branding helps consumers identify, recognize and differentiate one popular music act from another, ensuring that consumption is as efficient as possible. Compared to other music artists, boy bands have always had strong and visible associations with the practice of branding. The symbiotic relationships can be traced back to the 1960s when the Beatles’ management, NEMS Enterprises, granted licences to hundreds of companies, allowing them to manufacture official memorabilia such as figurines, wigs, wallpaper and stockings. In 1963, Staffordshire-­based Washington Pottery obtained a worldwide licence to produce a range of mugs, plates, eggcups and cereal bowls replete with autographed images of the band. By the time the products flooded the market, the Beatles already had a significant fan base from touring the UK and beyond, making it easy to attract customers of either sex.

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Figure 4.1 

Zodys department store ad for Beatle wigs.

Official branded products were generally geared to appeal to young girls in the grip of Beatlemania, but male fans were not ignored in the clamour to generate sales of unofficial merchandise. Adverts for wigs, Chelsea boots and Beatles-­styled clothing were targeted directly at young men keen to gain access to the group’s significant cultural capital through imitation of their style.

From Boy Band to Brand During the 1960s in a less cluttered media landscape the process of marketing progressed at a comparatively leisurely pace. Nowadays performers reach fans much faster via a diverse web of interlocking digital platforms which, in conjunction with more traditional broadcast media and social media sites, offer fans constant and instant access. For pre-­d igital fans, communication with artists was restricted to screaming within concert halls, writing fan mail, queuing for autographs, sending gifts or waiting outside the stage door in the hopes of a brief encounter. At the time film, radio, television and appearances were augmented by the content of print media: notably fan magazines and the music press, all of which helped to communicate an artist’s identity. When it comes to generating an income, public perception of brand identity is just as important as any music being produced. As Wade Morris writes: “Consumption of music extends beyond sound and involves an entire collection of symbols, images, emotions and beliefs” (Morris, 2005: i). Studies of the iconography of punk and heavy metal (Laing, 2015; Weinstein, 2000) reveal that in addition to the music itself, fans strongly identify with associated aspects of the music’s visual culture. In the 1970s both punk artists and their fans favoured clothing derived from the world of sexual fetishism, wearing bondage collars and handcuffs, fishnet stockings, leather and studs, to resonate with the genre’s ideology of anti-­conformist individualism (Leblanc, 1999: 204). Likewise, metal music’s promotion of long hair, satanic imagery, tattoos and ubiquitous black

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T-­shirts presented an alternative, anti-­feminine identity for disaffected young men albeit with different stylistic apparatus (Weinstein, 2000: 128). Even within the individual music genres themselves, subtle distinctions between artists allow audiences to embrace the specificities of unique brand identities which to an outsider may appear minimal. For example, fans of Westlife did not necessarily warm to Boyzone, even though the two groups shared a variety of characteristics. Both were of Irish origin, smartly dressed in high-­ street casual clothing or suits and their song repertoire of covers and ballads was quite similar. Similarly, during the 1990s East 17 and Take That both appealed to mainstream fans of pop, but the former group’s edgy, streetwise image and R&B songs encouraged boys to join a predominantly female fan base, whereas Take That’s camp sensibilities attracted gay fans to augment teen female followers. A strong brand identity will monetize popular music and even though it is an imprecise science, careful marketing conditions audiences to align with any products or sponsorship arrangements associated with the ‘band as brand’. Since the rewards of a successful campaign are likely to be significant, this sphere of business is handed over to teams of experts whose knowledge and understanding of current trends provides protégés with a lifestyle and look that fans can relate to. Their services add substantially to the overall cost of launching a new act, a factor substantiated by findings in a recent music industry report. Marketing and promotion costs are the largest single item of spend for a record company on emerging artists. Breaking an artist to a significant audience unlocks a wide range of revenue opportunities, from live to merchandising. This requires a significant investment. (IFPI, 2014) The investment secures a brand’s strength and visibility via ‘integrated music marketing’, a practice encompassing, “all aspects of a particular artist’s campaign, including touring, merchandising, press, radio, retain/distribution, internet/mobile, video and any ancillary marketing” (King, 2009: 3). As part of a specialized remit, marketing executives will typically go beyond addressing existing fans and actively construct audiences, carefully aligning them with the identity of any bands they represent. Ultimately the group’s brand identity will conform to a broader set of visual and sonic semiotic codes, within which signs of incongruence are minimized because: “The key requirement that must be fulfilled for the maintenance of credibility is brand coherence” (Rossolatos, 2012: 59). Fans are expert interpreters of popular culture and through the process of “discursive elaboration” they draw on aspects of messages communicated by the brand to define and support their identities (Elliott and Wattanasuwan, 1998: 17). They are also capable of rejecting brands that fail to resonate for whatever reason. If a brand’s internal logic is effective

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then it can be used to convey internal and external messages within and beyond the parameters of whatever music subculture it represents.

Branding, Taste and Social Class Taste and social class are closely aligned within the subtle process of fashioning a brand image, illuminating Bourdieu’s observations on their role in constructing and maintaining identities. In his words: “Taste is an acquired disposition to ‘differentiate’ and ‘appreciate’ … in other words, to establish and mark differences by a process of distinction” (Bourdieu, 1984: 466). Music taste can be used to predict fans’ cultural pursuits and consumption practices. For instance, a ‘bands as brands’ study found that that while outdoor brands might profitably make associations with the ‘rugged’ values of metal music, artists such as U2 and Coldplay were appropriate vehicles for any products carrying messages of social responsibility (Bashford, 2008).6 Successful branding pays attention to nature of the core demographic, as sponsorship and merchandise partnerships need to be age-, gender- and culturally appropriate. Typical metal fans are male, somewhat older than their pop counterparts and therefore likely to enjoy drinking alcohol. Hence Kiss promote Destroyer lager; Motörhead are ambassadors for Bastards beer and Iron Maiden’s Trooper Ale is named “one of the most successful metal beers of all time” (Hartmann, 2017).7 In a similar alcohol-­related initiative, the global content platform Future ran a successful four-­month campaign across Metal Hammer magazine, uploading videos relating to Kraken rum on the magazine’s website and Facebook.8 Typically aimed at a younger demographic, pop draws on visual, sonic and other sensory modalities designed to engage young, female fans and a gay male audience. Hence mild suggestions of laddish behaviour are acceptable whereas outright machismo is not. A target market of underage pop fans cannot be invited to make positive connections with alcohol consumption, therefore fashion, accessories, makeup, food and soft drinks are more appropriate brand vehicles. Thus, rather than launching branded ‘alcopops’, the boys promote age-­appropriate merchandise such as lunchboxes, bedding, junk food, T-­shirts and posters, all of which play a significant role in teen and pre-­teen culture. The economic returns can be significant: NBC and Columbia made enormous profits by emblazoning the Monkees logo and images across T-­shirts, lunchboxes, calendars, cups, rings, puzzles, books, posters, cards, puppets, cornflake ads, cologne ads, beach towels and jewellery (Sanders, 2002: 536). Similarly by selling signature products such as dolls and hair-­straighteners, millennial boy band One Direction managed to capture the tween and teenage audience, but those with a significant male following need to use alternative strategies. In 2010, for example, at the height of their fame, British boy band JLS teamed up with condom manufacturers Durex, to front a range called “Just Love Safe”. Each of the members had a signature condom box, an approach

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mirrored in the range of JLS hoodies, available in colours to represent the individual personalities (Bull, 2010). Using their appeal as fit, attractive, responsible role models, the boys extended their brand identity to appeal to slightly older, sexually active male fans. Other bands manage to broaden their appeal by engaging middle-­aged music lovers. Addressing mature fans makes perfect sense in an economic environment where adult spending power outweighs teen consumption. According to one source; teenagers don’t buy as many tunes as people think, accounting for only seven percent of CD sales and just 12 percent of downloads – that means adults are buying Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande albums. Also, dudes used to buy most of the digital downloads, but now women buy around 54 percent of digital albums. (Coker, 2014) In 2007 reformed ‘man band’ Take That joined forces with the British retailer Marks & Spencer, a household byword for middlebrow taste, to appear in the company’s print and television advertising. The group made onstage references to the brand at each event of a sell-­out tour and their Beautiful World album was available for purchase in Marks & Spencer outlets (Moore, 2007). Here the marketing strategy took account of original fans, now grown up and heading towards middle age. As older and wiser consumers, a relatively conservative British brand perfectly matched their current life stage and consumer profile. In another marketing initiative aimed at the ‘mum-­pop’ audience, Irish group Westlife released a stream of romantic ballads designed to intersect perfectly with the growing availability of cut-­price CDs during the 1990s, thus forging a pan-­generational romantic coalition tapping into an audience lost to pop.

Establishing a Regional Fan Following Fans are unlikely to identify with a brand unless they have a degree of emotional investment. Young people tend to have limited experience of life beyond their home town and, like football fans, they have deep emotional ties to the area they growing up in. Just as location informs the construction of boy bands, the deterministic relationship between music and place is a powerful premise in a brand identity, therefore “Links are regularly made between artists and their environment throughout interviews, on album covers and in documentaries” (Connell and Gibson, 2007: 92). During the 1990s promotional material clearly signified the ‘Irishness’ of Boyzone and Westlife and the Scottish origins of the Bay City Rollers were clearly signalled with copious use of tartan insignia and the lads’ refusal to drop their thick regional accents (see Figure 4.2). Likewise in the US narratives of regional belonging differentiated Orlando groups *NSYNC and Backstreet

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Figure 4.2 

The Bay City Rollers.

Boys from the Philadelphia band Boyz II Men, allowing each to develop a strong local following. In his capacity as manager of both *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, Lou Pearlman deliberately established rivalry between the two groups, forcing fans to cement allegiance to one or the other (Gray, 2008). The origins of the approach can be traced to the early 1960s when from the outset, differences between the Beatles and southern rivals the Rolling Stones were either fabricated or overstated. Northern fans, unswerving in their support, saw the Beatles as representatives of Merseyside, an identity conveyed via warmth, humour and cheeky, approachable sensibilities. Furthermore, although ‘received pronunciation’ dominated mainstream broadcasting, the boys never dropped their strong Liverpudlian accents. In John Lennon’s words: [T]he first thing we did was to proclaim our Liverpoolness to the world and say, “It’s all right to come from Liverpool and talk like this.” Before, anybody from Liverpool who made it … had to lose their accent to get on the BBC. (Ali, 2005: 363)9 To instil difference, southern rivals the Rolling Stones were presented as mean, moody and potentially dangerous, a distinction observed by journalist Tom Wolfe when the band first arrived in the US. Neatly summing up the difference he wrote that whereas, “The Beatles want to hold your hand  …  the Stones want to burn down your town” (Kozinn, 2014: 91). Furthermore, rather than singing in Estuary English, Mick Jagger espoused a faux-­A merican accent to gain transatlantic cultural currency.10 John McMillian highlights the important role played by pop Svengalis, in the book Beatles vs. Stones (2014), showing

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Figure 4.3 

The Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones.

how managers carefully controlled each group’s image. Although the Beatles initially wore denim and leathers, Brian Epstein encouraged them to don suits to look more professional, whereas Andrew Oldham adopted the opposite look by persuading the Rolling Stones to drop smart, matching suits in favour of individualized outfits signifying a rebel image. A similar dichotomy was engineered in the 1990s when UK fans of the boy bands Take That and East 17 were asked to support their local group. In the ensuing battle, as Londoners, East 17 were presented as the bad boys: They shaved their heads, and had tattoos, and were a lot, lot cooler than the nancy boys of Take That. In the great five-­year battle that dominated British pop, East 17 were also on the winning side. Their music was sharper and more streetwise. It was infused with hip hop and sold by the bucketload: 18 million records across Europe, compared with Take That’s paltry 17 million. (Adams, 2007) Take That assumed a Beatlesque identity of good natured, loveable, n ­ orthernness – making it difficult for fans to identify simultaneously with the characteristics of both groups. If you passionately followed chart pop in the early 1990s, chances are you found yourself in one of two rival camps: as either a Take That fan or an acolyte of East 17. One from the north, one the south; one with ballads enough to soundtrack a thousand first dances, the other a clutch of swaggering, R&B-­indebted cuts which got listeners hot around their school shirt collars. (Diver, 2013) Pitting boy bands against each other in this way provides source material for rivalries to be exploited across media platforms such as teen magazines or

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newspaper articles, where the competition underpins storylines and the content of interviews. The ‘battling band’ model is employed used to good effect in MTV’s Battle of the Boybands where fans decide who should receive the award of ‘Greatest Boy Band of All Time’. When classic bands are set against contemporary rivals, the nostalgia of older fans resurfaces, attracting a cross-­generational audience as the battle progresses. Reigniting allegiance in this manner helps to stimulate interest in back catalogues and vintage merchandise, creating a ‘win-­ win’ situation for artists, brand managers, record companies and the television channel.

Transcending the Limitations of Regional Identity The emphasis on regional identity, while useful in the early stages of a band’s career, can eventually become a handicap because music executives are increasingly drawn towards international marketing: “The sheer number of potential customers worldwide, the variety of markets that global commerce offers, and the increasing ease of doing business around the globe make thinking globally a natural extension of any music marketing plan” (Lathrop, 2013: 69). This involves moving beyond the local market to attract an international fan following. When UK boy bands the Wanted and One Direction were sold to American audiences, careful identity management helped fans to establish a relationship with each group. The Wanted were portrayed as risk-­t aking, international partygoers to distinguish them from the virginal boys in One Direction. Thus, in the video accompanying ‘Glad You Came’ (2011), the Wanted are seen flirting with women, engaging in the risky pastimes of tombstoning and speed boating on the holiday island of Ibiza.11 The song’s ambiguous title could be interpreted as alluding to orgasm, suggesting that boys may even be sexually active. Moreover, the Wanted’s leather jackets referenced the history of American rock and roll rebellion, giving the group a bad boy template, whereas One Direction were given a clean cut image of smart casual, international fashion labels. Modest signs of subversion are acceptable but the overall look needs to be reasonably inoffensive, hence, fashion, media and imagery used in branding foregrounds reassuring affiliations with the middle-­of-the-­road.12 A homology with the fun-­loving, carefree but inoffensive image is maintained within the design of logos, one of the most important statements in a pop group’s brand identity. A mere glimpse of the Beatles iconic “drop-­T” logo, is enough to signify the group’s legendary stature.13 The design’s mild eccentricity subtly aligns with the group’s reputation as playful jokers, but it is still neat, and business-­ like – moreover, there are none of the threatening sexual connotations invoked by the Rolling Stones’ “tongue and lip” logo design.14 The Monkees’ guitar emblem – created by Ed Justin, head of merchandising at Screen Gems – is another memorable logo that somehow manages to encapsulate the group’s youthful playfulness. The use of the guitar symbol situates

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Figure 4.4 

The Beatles’ logo.

Figure 4.5 

The Monkees’ logo on an album cover.

Figure 4.6 

*NSYNC’s logo.

the band’s identity firmly in the mainstream of postwar popular music, a genre synonymous with the instrument. Yet presenting the band name in stretched out letters within a wordmark provides a zany touch, and the bold red lettering draws on the lively association of primary colours with childhood play. In *NSYNC’s logo (see Figure 4.6) the choice of Helvetica, a font associated with numerous global brands, forges a direct connection between the group and the corporate sphere. Its international associations reach out to audiences beyond Europe and North America, and by combining forward-­leaning blue Helvetica with a trademark star symbol, the design cleverly connotes youthful optimism, stardom and success.

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No Sex Please, We’re in a Boy Band Since brand managers usually assume a boy band’s primary consumer will be “female, in a specific geographic region, between the ages of 7 and 15” the conservative approach extends to marketing sexuality (Twilley, 2016). Young girls are invited to see the boys as youthful, wholesome, big brother or future boyfriend material rather than the sexually voracious youths they might well be. Consequently signifiers of adulthood are minimized. According to music producer Steven Thompson, the best way to present a boy band to the audience is to suggest the boys will make no sexual demands: Boy bands if you look at them  –  they’re very non-­threatening, non-­ sexual. That’s done very deliberately because little girls would feel threatened by someone too sexy. I mean, they’re not looking at Kid Rock and Tommy Lee going “Oh La La!” cause they’re very masculine looking. Little girls don’t identify with that. (Lieb, 2013: 92) Westlife and Boyzone manager Louis Walsh explains how, “The girls must believe in the backs of their minds that one day they’ll go out with him. It doesn’t help the fanbase if one of the boys is in a relationship or having a baby” (Walsh, 2001). Depicting the artists as innocent, attractive and romantically available yet sexually inactive is not an easy task, especially when dealing with testosterone-­ fuelled young men on the brink of adult sexual maturity. Chaste young men also present something of an affront to heteronormative masculinity, which views non-­penetrative sex as dysfunctional because under patriarchy “metaphors of sexual prowess and virility permeate notions of ‘healthy’ and ‘normal’ manliness” (Potts 2014: 134). From a marketing perspective this is a major challenge, particularly at the beginning of a career when a fiction of chastity is carefully cultivated. In the words of a music journalist reflecting on media coverage of the Beatles: “It was decreed that the Beatles should be portrayed as incredibly lovable, amiable fellows, and if one of them, without mentioning any names, wanted to have a short orgy with three girls in the bathroom, then I didn’t see it” (McMillian, 2014: 91). Maintaining the illusion of availability means band members need to appear single as any signs of ‘settling down’ with a romantic partner could invoke the collective wrath of fans: Take That’s Mark Owen said that due to the prohibition on relationships, the band were forbidden from embarking on any serious or long-­term commitments, whereas “casual sex was positively encouraged by their management” (Lewis, 2014). Once established, the boys may cautiously reveal that they do indeed have ludic inclinations – they may even admit to being homosexual, a potentially dangerous move according to out-­g ay artist Lance Bass of *NSYNC, who explains how “[t]he market is 100 percent young women and they fantasize about

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these guys. Then you have the record labels and everyone kind of grooming you to make sure that you don’t even mention that you have a girlfriend” (Huffington Post, 2013). Being in a relationship risks jeopardizing the close bond with fans, many of whom have traditionally expressed intense hostility towards wives and lovers. When Ringo Starr’s wife-­to-be Maureen made a public appearance by visiting him in hospital, she was quickly added to the hate list of female Beatles fans around the world. Towards the end of the Beatles’ career, Yoko Ono’s relationship with John Lennon was cited as causing the band’s demise, leading her to becoming the recipient of sack-­loads of hate mail (Riley, 2011: 455). Even recently One Direction fans have sent death threats and other online abuse to girls romantically connected with the band.

Keeping Up Appearances: Youthful Androgyny Appearing to be single remains important in the marketing strategy but so does looking young and androgynous. The practice amplifies the appeal with young female fans but according to Wald, gender neutrality is usually only tolerated by male fans if teen girls are excluded from the fandom (Wald, 2002: 4). David Bowie’s flights of androgyny were more acceptable to male fans when he outgrew his teen female following. Similarly in the gender-­neutral emo subculture where “masculinity crosses the boundaries of heteronormative masculinity, as the boys appropriate normatively feminine characteristics (such as emotional earnestness)”, the expression of non-­binary masculine identity harbours heteronormative ends and privileges masculinity (Ryalls, 2013: 83). The artists in boy bands also play with feminine signifiers but the countercultural connotations connected to emo and glam are absent in the clean-­shaven, baby-­faced look of artists like Westlife. Rather than as iconoclasts, images of these groups are more likely to depict them as archetypal, sincere and trustworthy boys next door. Rock icons can access significant cultural capital from confessing to substance abuse, sex addiction or breaking the law, but the conservative marketing of pop masculinity generally avoids allusions to anti-­social misdemeanours. In addition to being chaste, the boys are normally presented as law-­abiding, clean and sober, however unlikely that may be. In the documentary Rollermania (STV,  2015), the Bay City Rollers resolutely deny the existence of girlfriends and as at the time they were fronting an anti-­smoking campaign, teen magazines were told to report that the boys only ever drank milk.15 Yet as Sheila Whiteley points out; “it would be naïve to think that a band whose average age is 19 (or 22 prior to Longmuir’s departure) would match the squeaky-­clean image (virginal and teetotal) promoted by the management” (Whiteley, 2013b: 169). The constructed identities are clearly unrepresentative of the boys’ true characters but a failure to conform has led to some high-­profile casualties. East 17 singer Brian Harvey’s career ended abruptly after he confessed to taking ecstasy on national radio. After proclaiming “I’ve done 12 in one night, you know what

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I mean – loads of them”, he endorsed the drug, claiming that “Really, in the long run, it’s a safe pill and it ain’t doing you no harm” (Moyes, 1997). Although Harvey issued an apology, the group’s records were banned on radio and he was subsequently asked to leave East 17. Similarly, when Robbie Williams’ drinking was out of control, much to the distress of fans he was asked to quit Take That.

One for All and All for One Another marketing challenge involves maintaining a balance between group and individual identity: each boy needs to be recognized as unique, yet this individuality cannot threaten the coherence of the group’s image. Mitchell Hall suggests the utilitarian aspect of maintaining a degree of uniformity can be traced to the doo-­ wop era, where individual members were essentially interchangeable – anonymity made it easy to replace one singer with another (Hall, 2014: 53). In the marketing of modern boy bands, fans are encouraged to identify with the individual personalities whose presence is vital and without whom the band would probably be unable to function. The tradition can be traced to the marketing of the Beatles where “each member of the band was increasingly seen as an individual in his own right” and “everyone could take a leading role” (Millward 2017: 49). Group identity cannot be compromised by too much individuality, so it is sometimes highlighted via adoption of uniforms which help to iron out differences. Hence, according to fashion theorist Jennifer Craik “the culture of popular music has long been linked to the adoption of uniforms” (Craik, 2005: 212).

Figure 4.7 

The Monkees.

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Whether or not uniformity is imposed by enforcing matching dress, a spirit of democracy prevails onstage when each artist takes a turn at lead vocal. As they occupy the limelight momentarily the audience is able to appreciate the unique qualities of a boy’s voice and personality. The practice may have become something of a cliché, but it helps to distinguish boy bands from groups in some competing genres where an individual takes on the role of lead singer. In rock, for example, whether or not other musicians provide harmonies, it is customary to have a recognizable lead singer. Another distinctive aspect of marketing involves depicting band members as homosocially connected, whether that involves larking about together having fun, or making warm ‘bromantic’ gestures to one another. The fact that they are generally recruited towards the end of childhood, a point in life where same-­sex friendships still dominate, may explain why the boys readily form such close bonds. If we look at early promotional imagery of the Beatles, their playful, light hearted interaction with each other established a template for subsequent groups. They are fun-­loving friends who genuinely enjoy one another’s company – an impression endorsed by Ringo Starr’s affectionate recollections: They became the closest friends I’d ever had. We really looked out for each other and we had many laughs together. In the old days we’d have the hugest hotel suites, the whole floor of a hotel, and the four of us would end up in the bathroom, just to be with each other. (McMillian, 2014: 88) As representatives of an earlier, less physically intimate version of pop masculinity, the Beatles maintained a safe distance from one another in public, perhaps reflecting the public prohibition against male intimacy, at a time when homosexuality was still a criminal act in the UK.16 In a post-­Stonewall era, the homoerotic antics of boy bands illustrate how much attitudes to male homosocial behaviour have changed as attitudes towards homosexuality have liberalized. The marketing of millennial artists even alludes to the possibility of ‘bromances’ between band members, a strategy that usefully allays anxieties over the potential threat presented by girlfriends.

Pursuing the Pink Pound An appearance of relaxed metrosexuality helps to capture gay male fans, a marketing practice often facilitated by the efforts of homosexual managers who are well represented within pop. Wham’s manager Simon Napier-­Bell offers the following explanation: At a time when being gay was illegal, and the only way to live as an out gay man was to work in the theatre or as a hairdresser, pop management offered a new opportunity. So a lot of gays started to dabble in it. (Petridis, 2012)

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Figure 4.8 

The Beatles arrive at JFK Airport.

Gay managers draw on their instincts and connections promoting young artists to a homosexual audience. According to A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys, the band were at a drag show when he first noticed that they were attracting gay fans: We did three or four songs, the crowd went nuts and I was standing next to this 6-­foot-6 drag queen who gave me a hug and a kiss. I was beside myself, and that was when we first knew that we had a big gay following … I was just like, “Wow, this is kind of friggin’ crazy”. (Queer Voices, 2013) He also said management liked to keep audiences guessing about their artists’ sexual orientation: There’s one guy named Matt and he’s a big, big Nick Carter fan. He’s this older gentleman from Tampa and he’s gay, and he’s been following us during this whole tour from China to Japan and now through the US. I think he really hopes that Nick might have a little bit of gay. (Queer Voices, 2013) Homosexual fans are just as likely to be attracted to rock stars or grime legends as they are to pop singers, but these artists will are reluctant to address them directly due to a fear of alienating straight fans or transgressing limited

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tolerance of alterative sexuality in these genres. Male pop singers are generally less fearful of approaching homosexual fans even if it involves double coding their performances, using ‘dual address’ to appeal to gay and straight fans concurrently. Hence when launching a new act it is not unusual for them to tour a combination of high schools and gay clubs simultaneously (Moos, 2013). The practice of double address can be traced back to the print media of the 1930s when Men Only magazine used a combination of “textual and visual references to subcultural codes, practices, and homoerotically charged situations [to reinforce] potential readings of the magazine that would be understood by a queer audience” (Bengry, 2009: 122).

A Gay-­Friendly Environment Being in a gay-­f riendly group allows band members to be more open about their own sexuality, a point made by Duncan James of Blue who said, “It wasn’t until I was in the band, being around other gay guys, understanding that actually you can be gay” and “It’s alright to like other guys” (Roberts, 2013). Other out gay artists in high-­profile boy bands include *NSYNC’s Lance Bass, Ricky Martin formerly of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, Jonathan Knight a former member of New Kids on the Block, Westlife’s Markus Feehily and the late Stephen Gately, who was a member of Boyzone. According to Gately, his sexuality had initially deterred him from pursuing a pop career: in his words, “I desperately wanted to be a pop star but decided early on I couldn’t do that and be gay. I had to keep it to myself. Being honest would mean saying goodbye to fame” (Levy, 2000: 45). Ultimately his bandmates and fans were supportive of his decision to come out, and Boyzone leader Ronan Keating pointed out the benefits experienced by the group: “[the fans] have backed him 100 percent, and it has increased our fan base. We have gained more fans than we’ve ever had, and our gay audience is bigger than ever, so it’s turned out great in the end” (Levy, 2000: 45). In this respect, the pro-­g ay environment of mainstream pop contrasts sharply with heteronormativity exhibited in other genres, making the genre surprisingly progressive. Rodriguez points out how, “masculinity in the hip-­hop culture often promotes instances of homophobia, effeminophobia, and misogyny” (Rodriguez, 2018: 1) and R&B’s institutionalized homophobia also promotes aggressive heteronormativity. The same could be said of heavy metal where it is assumed musicians and metalheads are heterosexual, gay fans are side-­l ined and the true sexuality of gay artists is hidden. One Direction’s easy familiarity in Figure 4.9 embodies the kind of intimacy identified by Eve Sedgwick who explored the deep connection men experience in close same-­sex friendships as a consequence of homosociality (Sedgwick, 1985). While not necessarily romantic, she proposes homosocial relationships are fuelled by desire that can ultimately lead to unresolved tensions, often witnessed in the passionate union of rock frontmen. Judith Grant

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Figure 4.9 

One Direction.

elaborates: “Often, a duo figures prominently as the central unifying force in a rock band, the energy between the two fuelling an entire libidinal relationship that is key to musical creativity as well as the image of the band” (Grant, 2009: 221). For example, David Bowie and Mick Ronson’s relationship found physical expression during live performances of simulated fellatio.17 Other memorable dyads include U2’s Bono’s intense interaction with guitarist the Edge; Mick Jagger’s complex, competitive relationship with Keith Richards, and the erotically charged stage presence of Led Zeppelin duo Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. The dynamic tensions provoke fascination as the relationship changes over time, creating new and complex shifts in interpersonal psychodynamics.18 The democratic character of the boy band also challenges normative masculinity’s demand that men be autonomous loners, minimizing signs of dependence upon others. Effectively this establishes a binary between boybands and brethren in masculine-­coded genres where “masculinity means being emotionally detached and competitive” (Bird, 1996: 120). Feuding and rivalry between rock bandmates are accepted manifestations of male competitiveness where the authority of an acknowledged leader is indisputable. Likewise, in rap the anonymous male posse connotes strength and power, and in doing so helps to assert the dominance of a specific named artist.19 Unlike pop singers archetypal male icons are usually famously unavailable and often distant from fans, taking great care to protect their privacy by retaining an element of mystery about their life offstage. Bob Dylan, for example, offers few details about his private life, an approach pursued by Van Morrison and Prince, neither of whom have been keen to discuss personal matters. Rolling Stone magazine described grunge icon Kurt Cobain as “notoriously quiet” as well as “moody and introspective”, and readers were advised that “the actions swirling around him often spoke louder than he did” (George-­Warren, 1997: 110). Other rock gods like David Bowie and Bono use elaborate alter egos to conceal their true identities, further strengthening emotional inaccessibility.

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This sort of behaviour defends the view that rock performers are essentially different to pop singers  –  respective differences that map neatly on to star/ celebrity discourses with members of boy bands behaving more like celebrities than distant rock stars.20 Rather than appearing to be out of reach, they follow the mission of reality television to reveal the ‘truth’ behind the image, portraying themselves as accessible, ‘real’ and ‘authentic’. In the words of one observer commenting on the marketing of One Direction: We get to know them (or at least the image of them that Cowell and company want us to have), and they’re charming: each of them seems gobsmacked by the sudden fame, grateful to the fans who made it possible, and thrilled to be doing what they’re doing. (Duralde, 2013) In real life artists might be world-­weary, ungrateful cynics, whose sense of entitlement knows no bounds but pop masculinity requires that they display a degree of modesty, gratitude and if necessary, a touch of manufactured naivety.

Keeping Up Appearances Described by fashion stylist Katie Baron as “twin agents of creative expression” fashion and popular music operate in tandem to create identities and lifestyles (Baron, 2016: 6). The attention to appearance emerges in the sartorial sphere where stylists help to locate performers within a genre’s stylistic parameters. Failure to conform could lead to rejection by fans who are sensitive to any failure to meet with acceptable dress codes. Therefore, unless they are playing semiotic high jinks, rock artists will shun suits, shirts or ties in favour of leather jackets, well-­worn T-­shirts and tattered denim jeans.21 To be congruent with the rap genre, rappers veer towards the exclusive, are much more likely to espouse unaffordable, high-­end fashion, particularly designer labels, which they accessorize with equally expensive or impractical jewellery. The practice marks them out as distinctive in the popular music milieu while ensuring they maintain the degree of stature accorded to those wearing prohibitively costly clothing. The dress code of artists in boy bands is much more conventional to fulfil a remit of accessibility and conformity – in particular a penchant for suits signifies alignment with the corporate sphere. The tradition, established by doo-­wop and Tamla Motown artists encouraged male vocal artists to wear smart suits in order that they could circumvent racism and cross over to a mainstream audience. By espousing suits, contemporary performers allude reflexively to their constructed origins in the offices of music moguls. Signifiers of the corporate sphere, suits speak less about artistic pretention, individuality or the desire for autonomy than about acceptance of standardization and submission to authority. The outfit also aligns the singers with the conventional masculine mainstream,

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where suits are usually worn at weddings, funerals and for job interviews when a degree of gravity is imputed. Yet if worn by the young pop singers, an absence of further signs of adulthood can render the boys more like children dressing up in adult clothing, making them look cute as well as vulnerable. In terms of fashion psychology, wearing a suit implies “devotion to the principal of duty, of renunciation, and of self- control” (Flugel, 1971: 113): not surprisingly, the garment is commonly won in occupations promoting wholesomeness, trust and reliability – messages pop masculinity has always endorsed. For these reasons and with a view to securing a more acceptable identity for the Beatles, Brian Epstein persuaded them wear matching, collarless, Pierre Cardin suits and although their hair was controversially long, it was neatly coiffured. The tradition of suits, smart leisure wear and neat hairstyling soon became pop masculine clichés. During the 1970s, for example, the Osmonds wore matching blazers, shirts and trousers suggesting the “exaggerated sobriety” employed by professionals (Arnold, 2001: 114).22 Rather than looking like young men, their earnest demeanour and dated wardrobe were more representative of middle-­aged sensibilities – a reassuring message in an industry blighted by drug addiction and sexual excess. This bland conservatism sometimes extends to studio portraits and the mise en scène of music videos where, “rather than providing a detailed description of a specific setting” videographers often resort to “generic depictions” loosely suggestive of the concept of place (Vernallis, 2004: 75). Anonymous studio interiors with minimal visual cues conjure up the impersonal world of business, presenting the artists less like auteurs and more like products in a no-­f rills, budget supermarket. In common with other semiotic resources that are “motivated in their constitution by the interests of the makers of the signs” and are “not at all arbitrary or anarchic” (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2002: 345), specific colours are used to evoke the appropriate response to pop masculinity. David Machin suggests that, as regards the symbolism connected to light and shade, “The meaning potential of brightness rests on the fundamental experience we have with light and dark. Most cultures appear to have rich symbolic meanings and values based on this distinction” (Machin, 2010: 62). White clothing allows artists to capitalize on the colour’s associations with innocence, virginity and purity, which explains why all-­white suits are something of a sartorial cliché (Miller, 2011: 89). The effectiveness of the colour’s semiotic potential is illustrated in a video for the single ‘No Matter What’ (1998), where Boyzone wear matching white outfits to convey an unsullied, angelic version of Irish masculinity. Westlife do the same in a promotional image: wearing white clothing contrasting sharply with dark clouds in a backdrop, giving them an appearance of angels conquering darkness. Here the image draws on religious iconography and Western cultural traditions which portray baptized Christians and redeemed souls wearing white robes. As quintessential signifiers of papal authority, white vestments are able to connote a combination transfiguration and glory.

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Making Use of Social Media Heavy use of television and radio traditionally introduced new groups to an audience but Syco executive Sonny Takhar claims new media has overturned earlier platforms to the point that he suggests: “Social media has become the new radio” (Henry, 2012: 5). One Direction were among the first to exploit the medium’s potential fully, embracing social media to create a highly personal relationship with their audience. Significant use of Twitter posts and Facebook updates let fans know exactly where they were and what they were doing at any given time. In the era of instantly-­posted YouTube clips, personal twitter accounts, and livestreaming webcam video, the boys of One Direction aren’t just reality TV stars – they are reality TV stars positioned in such a way as to appear stripped of almost all mediation and editing … As a result, YouTube is flooded with videos of the boys acting young and goofy in casual (or perhaps ‘casual’) settings: teasing each other, playing games, and generally acting like the teenage boys they are. (Smith, 2012) Additionally, social media provides fans with an element of entertainment. For example, in 2011, Sony, One Direction’s record label, joined forces with the advertising agency Archibald Ingall Stretton to create an online marketing campaign providing fans with a “transmedia adventure”.23 Over a period of 50 days, traffic to the band’s website doubled, with almost a quarter of a million fans taking part in a series of challenges including locating a laptop stolen by central character 1D Cyberpunk. Participants in the campaign were able to attend an online album party on completion of tasks such as creating paper figures of the band and participating in quizzes and singalongs. Fans could create videos of themselves rushing to a ‘virtual listening party’, and the campaign allowed them to talk to the band as well as co-­fans, while enjoying the new album tracks. Clues to the whereabouts of the missing laptop were given until it was found, heralding the finale. According to creative director Richard Coggin, the success of the campaign was due to the fact: “Syco had a lot of great content – videos, merchandise, singles, albums, lyrics, running order, signed photogs, radio and TV appearances” ( ­Jepson, 2013: lxxxi) Of course there are dangers in providing fans with too much information via social media, because the exclusivity traditionally reserved for stars diminishes exponentially. Excessive coverage of the movements and interests of easy-­ to-follow music icons may well lead to tweet exhaustion among fans. However, as it is assumed that boy bands will not be around for long, nothing is sacrosanct and no detail too small or trivial for a revelation. Everything from shoe size, favourite food and names of childhood best friends; to the qualities looked for in a girlfriend are exchanged. By supplying the minutiae of daily life, the

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Figure 4.10 

The Rolling Stones in concert in Oslo in 1965.

media “cancels the traditional etiquette that formerly governed, not merely the relationships between the powerful and the powerless, the known and the unknown, but, at the simplest level, the politesse that formerly pertained between strangers” (Schickel, 2000: 4). In a Take That Official Annual of 1994, for example, the boys are asked if any of them suffer from foot odour, leading Robbie Williams to confess to having malodorous feet (Kadis, 1994: 19). They may seem crass or intrusive but these disclosures are designed to maintain fans’ loyalty through the illusion of intimacy they create. In conclusion, the marketing strategies employed to gain access to specific consumer groups illustrate how the industry targets potential audiences and although the practice will never be a precise science, it evolves to accommodate advances in technology and changing consumer demographics. While it is easy to criticize the seemingly relentless and cynical efforts of marketing professionals, the continued survival of pop masculinity illustrates how effectively these strategies draw in teen females, gay men and mature women, all of whom are central to the survival of boy bands in their various guises.

Notes 1 A recent study showed that, on average, only 6 per cent of the average artist’s revenue is derived from sales of sound recordings (Thomson, 2012). 2 This is reflected in data indicating that album sales in particular, have suffered the most, dropping to their lowest level since 1991 (Nielsen, 2014). 3 A 360 deal is an exclusive recording contract between an artist and their record company. On top of any money from record sales, the label will take a share of other related income streams such as music publishing sales, merchandise, live tour ticket sales, appearances in films and on television.

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4 In 2004, launching a new boy band was estimated to cost around £1 million. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/teachers/citizenship_11_14/subject_areas/ business/newsid_2594000/2594785.stmhttp [Accessed 28 November 2018]. 5 The Backstreet Boys and Jonas Brothers created four albums each in under five years. *NSYNC made three albums in the period between 1998 and 2002. Working so intensively is difficult to sustain, particularly when combined with significant touring commitments. 6 The same study noted that Coldplay fans were fond of films, worthy causes and Fairtrade products while fans of the Eurovision song contest seem the most likely to be customers of Starbucks. 7 According to Hartmann (2017), the beer sold 5 million pints in its launch year. 8 See details of the campaign at: https://issuu.com/futurepublishing/docs/amd01. bor_kraken.6sr [Accessed 28 November 2018]. 9 Received Pronunciation (RP) is the standard form of British English pronunciation, widely used in broadcasting. It is based on educated speech in the south of England and is not reflective of other regional accents in the UK. 10 Estuary English is a dialect associated with the south- ­east area of England and particularly the River Thames estuary. It is sometimes confused with the London-­ based ‘Cockney’ accent. 11 Tombstoning, a fast-­g rowing craze, involves jumping into water at great height from cliffs, piers or other structures. 12 “Middle-­of-the-­road as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary is “a person, organization, opinion, or type of entertainment that is not extreme and is acceptable to or liked by most people”. 13 Although it wasn’t used on any of their official album covers, the logo, featured on Ringo Star’s drum kit, was eventually adopted as the band’s official trademark. 14 The logo was commissioned by Mick Jagger after he saw John Pasche’s designs at a Royal College of Art degree show in 1970. 15 Fans were also told that Stuart “Woody” Wood went to bed at night with just a teddy bear for company (Baker, 2013). 16 The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 decriminalized homosexual acts in private if the men involved were over the age of 21. 17 In a 1973 concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, Bowie fellates Ronson’s guitar and during a 1972 Top of the Pops performance of the song ‘Starman’, he sings the chorus, gazing seductively at the guitarist, with an arm around his shoulder. 18 The tensions within the dyad were satirized in the 1984 mockumentary This is Spinal Tap. 19 Examples include the rivalry between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in the Rolling Stones, which erupted into open slurs when Richards revealed his nemesis had a small penis in an autobiography. In Pink Floyd, Roger Waters embarked on a solo career and tried to bar the rest of the band from using either the Pink Floyd name or the group’s inflatable pig. The legendary feud continued by Ray and Dave Davies in the Kinks led to Ray declaring his genius while jumping on his brother’s 50th birthday cake. 20 For a discussion on some of the distinctions between stars and celebrities see Shumway (2014: 2–11). 21 Ties were fashionable in the punk subculture but only as a signifier of rebellion and a refusal to conform to the conventions of menswear. 22 According to Richard Morais (1991) Pierre Cardin’s slim and sleek design defied the conventions of menswear at the time by introducing an updated, youthful styling to men’s suits. The suits allowed The Beatles to appear at the same time respectable and unconventional. 23 See more about the event at www.creativematch.com/news/syco-­launches-save-­ the-1day/100755/ [Accessed 28 November 2018].

5 Weapons of Mass Seduction Performing Pop Masculinity

To all intents and purposes Harry Styles, unofficial frontman of internationally renowned boy band One Direction, could easily be mistaken for a young Mick Jagger (see Figure 5.1). The men’s good looks, broad smiles, matching windswept hair styles and shared fashion sensibilities bridge a 51-­year age gap. Both are singers who have enjoyed the adoration of a passionate fan following, yet in terms of the version of masculinity each represents, the two could not be more different. While Jagger is openly admired by both sexes, few men admit to being fans of Harry Styles whose following is commonly depicted as restricted to teen and pre-­teen females. Unlike the older man, Styles radiates a wholesome, good humoured exuberance, appears to genuinely like female company and is never happier than when exalting the women in his life. He also differs from the Rolling Stones leader in showing a marked preference for older female partners, whereas Jagger

Figure 5.1 

Harry Styles.

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is always seen in the company of much younger women.1 Jagger’s androgynous charm is tinged with danger and more than a hint of misogyny: he has a reputation for treating his partners callously, and from the outset, chauvinism and themes of mistrust permeated the Rolling Stones’ songbook.2 The younger singer is also androgynous but his failure to comply with core characteristics of normative masculinity underscores much of the antipathy directed towards him by critics, highlighting deeply entrenched prejudice against those who fail to comply with accepted expressions of gender. As representatives of competing constructions of manliness, the differences between the two could be seen to represent ongoing tensions as society struggles to adapt to the impact of global capitalism, and women’s emancipation. Men’s position is under attack from various directions to the point that many of the privileges enjoyed by previous generations are being eroded. During the 1990s, academic enquiry in the field of gender studies threw light on the fragility of masculinity, examining it through the lens of feminist perspectives (Bordo, 1999; Faludi, 2000). Building on Eve Sedgwick’s (1985) pioneering work and linking feminism to queer theory both Judith Butler (2011) and Jack Halberstam (1998) exposed the limitation of conflating masculinity with male gender, creating space for new ways to theorize gender.3 These new manifestations found expression in the media-­f uelled constructions of the New Man and New Lad identities surfacing in the late twentieth century. In many respects Jagger and Styles could be seen as ambassadors for these different ways of being. With his well-­g roomed narcissism and sensitive, agreeable demeanour, Styles is closely aligned to the feminized ‘New Man’ beloved by 1980s media (Mort, 1996). Jagger’s foppish identity is equally tinged with feminine qualities but he could hardly be viewed as “sensitive, emotionally aware, respectful of women and egalitarian in outlook” (Gill, 2003: 37). His tempering of effete posturing with misogyny and a desire to dominate and control women connotes old-­fashioned perspectives on gender relations, aligning him more closely with the sexism of New Lad culture which reacted to the feminizing influences undermining men’s authority ( Jackson et al., 2001). In this respect he remains a beacon of hope for normative values to a generation of men “battered by feminism” (Faludi, 2000: 594). Nevertheless, in the battlefield of identity politics, some younger men are drawn more to pop masculinity’s emotionally literate, female friendly image, particularly those who reject the unreconstructed sexism of ageing rock gods. Tensions between old and newer ways of enacting gender are never far from the surface in a conflict that finds an expressive outlet in media texts and popular culture: notably in popular cinema, where we are offered a competing spectrum ranging from foppish aesthetes to hyper-­masculine beefcakes. To counter feminization, action movie protagonists perform a reflexive sadomasochist masculinity via rugged, emotionally inarticulate performances invoking exaggerated displays of physical prowess ( Jeffords, 1994). On the other hand,

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romantic comedy creates a platform for masculine vulnerability, showing men as insecure, effete and self-­protective (Babington and Evans, 1991. These contradictions are mirrored in the sphere of leisure, where some men have turned to feminine-­coded hobbies like knitting and ballroom dancing (Merz, 2014; Hawkes, 2013) while at the same time, competitive, aggressive sports such as ‘white collar boxing’ are undergoing a renaissance (Martin, 2016).4 Clearly the former activities do little to endorse dominance but aggressive sport creates the kind of environment where “individual success, male-­m ale bonds[and] the rejection of the feminine”, can be affirmed (Kibby, 1998: 16). Popular music performance has always provided a platform for men to experiment with identity, often by espousing dress, gestures and behaviour deemed incompatible within more conventional spheres of employment. Moreover, male artists regularly play with aspects of feminine identity, whether by wholehearted incorporation as in glam rock and new romanticism or by subtle allusion as Hebdige (1979) observed in his study of the mod subculture. There are, however, limits to men’s tolerance of ‘gender-­bending’ and whereas artists like David Bowie, Prince or Jagger generally meet with the approval of male fans, the feminized image of young men in boy bands is less universally appealing. Perhaps the rejection could be attributed to the context of the gender ­parody – a point elaborated by Butler who writes how: the sight of a transvestite on stage can compel pleasure and applause while the sight of the same transvestite on the seat next to us on the bus can compel fear, rage, even violence … On the street or in the bus, the act becomes dangerous, if it does, precisely because there are no theatrical conventions to delimit the purely imaginary character of the act. (Butler, 1988: 363) As we are unlikely to encounter men like Bowie employing florid gender parody outside the theatre or concert hall, their actions ultimately pose less of a threat to normative identity than the subtly modified image of male pop singers. Furthermore such artists use parody to challenge orthodoxies, imbuing the performance with iconoclastic stature, whereas mainstream pop masculinity has more in common with the pastiche abhorred by Frederic Jameson in his study of the undesirable characteristics of postmodernism ( Jameson, 1991: 18).

Philogynous Masculinity By avoiding representational extremities and occupying a marginal queer space, pop masculinity’s gender neutrality allows performers to inhabit a ­position both within and beyond the patriarchal sphere. Thus, despite superficial visual ­similarities, Jagger’s “effete dandyism” and his attempts to take up the privileges of femininity connote the “cruel machismo” of patriarchy (Reynolds and Press,

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1996: 14) whereas Styles’ more benign gender neutrality represents a symbolic nod in the direction of egalitarianism. Here the men’s images represent opposite extremities of a “fundamental conflict in the male psyche – between the desire to break the umbilical cord and a desire to return to the womb, between matricide and incest” identified by Simon Reynolds and Joy Press (1996: 385). It is suggested that this ambivalence towards women is manifested in either “love and aggression  …  in misogyny and philogyny” (Smith and Ferstman, 1996: 197). The conflict finds expression in the visual apparatus, performance styles, music and song lyrics of rock and pop with pop rejecting the overtly misogynistic strategies employed by rock and metal musicians to reproduce “the hegemonic strategies of control and repression” via fantasies of dominance” (Walser, 2015: 117–20). Instead male pop singers manifest a heightened and potentially pathological love of women defined by the Greek philosopher Cicero, as philogyny.5 If misogynistic popular music texts symbolically denigrate women, pop’s protestations of love and longing reinstate their primacy by cementing a desire to be at one and possess things feminine. In a tragic example of philogyny, driven by desire for his mother, Oedipus the mythical king of Thebes kills his own father, ultimately courting disaster in Sophocles’ Athenian tragedy Oedipus Rex: having committed patricide and incest, he resorts to gouging out his eyes (Vellacott, 1971). Extreme cultural resistance to expressions of Oedipal desire surfaces, not only in a universal prohibition of incestuous dyads, but also in the ridicule directed at adult men who are too close to their mothers. During the early twentieth century Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory drew heavily on the Oedipal myth, notably in his studies of the subconscious where he explored how dreams resolve internal conflicts. Within The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) for example, Freud claimed that children experience homo- and heterosexual urges directed initially at parents as the earliest love object. Eventually, however, a boy begins to desire only his mother, recognizing that father stands between him and the object of his affection, thereby presenting an apparently irreconcilable conflict (Nevid, 2011: 388). The resultant struggle leads to anger, fear, and problems identifying with adult male figures because in order to accomplish union with his mother, a boy fantasizes subconsciously about killing his father. In healthy males desire for mother is displaced onto other women but if left unresolved, Freud proposed the Oedipal complex would result in serious psychosomatic disturbance (Phelan, 2005: 90–9). Pop singers in boy bands appear to resolve the Oedipal dilemma by abandoning the corporeality of some competing genres. Whereas rock stars are presented as preoccupied with sexual satisfaction and gaining power through physical, sexual domination, pop’s male sexuality “is transformed into a spiritual yearning carrying only hints of sexual interaction” (Frith and McRobbie, 1990: 375). By idealizing and worshipping women from afar, always from a vantage point of pubescent boyhood, the dilemma of

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forbidden desire is partially resolved. Staying trapped in a perpetual state of conflicted youth, adoring women and desiring their love from a distance, the demands of adult masculinity to fulfil sexual desire can be avoided. Investing in romance, the pre- ­sexual precursor to physical intimacy, allows pop’s singers to fantasize about the delights of lovemaking without ever consummating the prohibited dyad. Hence while heavy metal secures protection from the feared other through the practice of ‘exscription’ of the feminine sphere (Walser, 2015: 115), pop masculinity’s longing for attachment find expression via textual and performance codes classified as feminine (­MacDonald,  2013; Moos, 2013; Wald, 2002; Jamieson, 2007).6 By drawing upon cultural texts and practices normally rejected by patriarchy, philogyny offers a refreshing contrast to the chauvinism commonly witnessed in popular music culture. According to Christian Groes-­Green this is accomplished by employing female-­ friendly strategies including: male narratives and gender configurations, as elusive or limited as they may be, which divert from predominantly misogynous masculinities and which delineate forms of manhood that favor female subjects’ rights to agency, security, respect and well-­being in gender equitable ways. (Groes-­Green, 2012 293) One powerful means of demonstrating respect for women is by venerating mothers – a tremendous outpouring of admiration regularly manifested within fan magazines, websites and interviews, where the young men are never happier than when speaking in quasi- ­Oedipal terms about their mums. In a Take That pop annual, the boys are invited to give a description of their mother: an opportunity used to speak in the most loving terms, drawing forth responses such as: “She’s the best, she’s absolutely beautiful looking. She’s kind, caring – very kind, very caring and she’d always put us before herself ”, “She’s very caring and loving” and “She’s very sensitive … she’s so lovely” (Kadis, 1994: 22). A recent newspaper article revealed the extent of Harry Styles’ attachment to his mother by informing readers: “He’s a mummy’s boy … Sometimes, he phones up to five times a day. When there’s a time difference, he tends to text saying, ‘I love you, Mum,’ or ‘I miss you’” (Percival, 2012). Images portraying Styles show him fondly embracing his mother, who to all intents and purposes looks like she might even be his girlfriend. It is hard to imagine members of the rock community exalting their mothers in such a manner: indeed, rock discourse invokes dismissive terms like ‘old lady’, ‘chick’ and ‘groupie’ as a way of diminishing the important role female partners and lovers play in men’s lives.7 Open exhibitions of heterosexual excess are similarly avoided in favour of a pure and chaste image of boyish innocence. Even if the chastity is a fiction, by remaining archetypal ‘mother’s boys’ the artists are safely rendered “non-­phallic”, a sexually inoperative state ensuring they

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are neither a threat to women or male peers ( Jagodzinski, 2005: 152). These performances of filial fondness and sexual restraint contradict the societal demand that men deny reliance on women, distinguishing pop’s masculinity from gender identities forged around maligning, mistrusting or maintaining distance from the opposite sex.8

Incorporating the Feminine The philogynous inclinations of pop masculinity also find expression via dress, voice and embodied gestures where feminine signifiers are appropriated and embraced as a form of gender homage. Although other male artists commandeer elements of feminine identity, pop’s flirtation serves a very different purpose than it does in, for example, heavy metal or glam rock where exaggerated parody veers more towards the kind of gender disorder enacted in the medieval practice of ‘misrule’. In these ceremonies transvestism was carried out mainly by men disguised as grotesque females in the belief that a man could achieve sexual strength by temporarily impersonating a woman. Through grotesque submission, he would learn dominance; through misrule, he might learn rule; through a brief ironic concession to ‘petticoat government’, he would learn not androgynous wholeness but male mastery. (Gilbert, 1980: 397) Rather than resorting to drag to ameliorate fear of the other, the boys play down hyperbolic camp parody due to its preference for “images of female excess which are blatantly misogynistic” (Robertson, 1996: 5). They prefer instead to pay a more cautious and restrained tribute.9 Instead of emphasizing difference, the boys magnify similarities between the sexes: gently modifying masculine features and wearing unisex clothing. By exhibiting unmanly qualities such as “self-­pity, vulnerability and need” (Frith and McRobbie, 1990: 375) they ensure the gender inversion lacks hostility. A particularly effective means of articulating messages in the “expressive equipment” employed to create a façade, Alison Lurie (1981) identifies clothing as one of the most potent modes of communication. In popular music culture, dress code is used to anchor an artist’s image within a genre’s sartorial conventions, thereby demonstrating allegiance to any incumbent ideology. Hence male rock stars gravitate towards individualistic, casual clothing made from strong, rugged materials like denims or leather to support the notion that they are manly. The rejection of a potentially threatening adult male identity has the effect of rendering pop masculinity safe as can be seen in images depicting artists in boy bands as playful and unthreatening - not unlike the young women Goffman (1979) described in his famous study of advertising imagery which showed women as passive and subordinate to males.

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The passivity of these poses contravene traditions dictating that men manifest an element of toughness or dominance because in its hegemonic guise masculinity represents a set of values, established by men in power that functions to include and exclude, and to organize society in gender unequal ways. It combines several features: a hierarchy of masculinities, differential access among men to power (over women and other men), and the interplay between men’s identity, men’s ideals, interactions, power, and patriarchy. ( Jewkes et al., 2015: 40) It is not unusual to see artists in boy bands making use of props such as puppies and toys to imply that they will do no harm. Expressing playfulness and the vulnerability of childhood challenges the assumption that men must be: “unemotional (except for rage and anger) [or] present themselves as invulnerable, autonomous, independent, strong, rational, logical, dispassionate, knowledgeable, always right, and in command of every situation, especially those involving women” ( Johnson, 2005: 14). The rejection of these qualities creates an overall impression which adapts pop masculinity to comply with an environment where men’s privileges are under threat and overt attempts to dominate others are less desirable.

Deploying Erotic Capital The boys also employ their youthful good looks to promote the positive qualities of pop masculinity. Throughout history women have used beauty as a source of ammunition in an overall arsenal of feminine wiles to capture men of all ages, and scholarly studies suggest that social value is accrued incrementally as a direct result of sexual attractiveness (Green, 2018b; Hakim, 2010). The term ‘erotic capital’ is evoked to describe, “the quality and quantity of attributes that an individual possesses which elicit an erotic response in ­another” – an area that cultural theorists have tended to ignore in their omission of the importance of beauty in all areas of social life (Green, 2008a. Moreover, Hakim contends, erotic capital’s significance is magnified within sexualized, individualized modern societies, where both men and women are under intense pressure to look good. Nevertheless, she goes on “women have a longer tradition of developing and exploiting it, and studies regularly find women to have greater erotic appeal than men” (Hakim, 2010: 499). Mobilizing good looks gives young men a trump card in a hegemonic pecking order where they take full advantage of the seductive quality of aesthetically pleasing features. Whereas older men can flaunt maturity or wealth in the erotic economy, today’s young men are exploiting youthful good looks to gain an advantage over ageing competitors. In the case of women,

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a combination of beauty, charm and emotional intelligence was traditionally viewed as a compensation for a lack of physical strength or wealth and Hakim suggests that since men are supposedly motivated by sexual desire, it is women who have capitalized most on trading erotic currency. However, now that they have more personal and sexual freedom, they too are equally susceptible to the ego enhancement conferred by the attentions of a good-­looking, younger male partner. Thus, regardless of whether they are socially or economically inferior, a young man’s good looks and healthy physique are highly valued, not just by teenage girls, but by older women too. Like men before them, financially independent older women seek handsome younger partners to bolster their status: hence the emergence of the ‘cougar’, a term describing mature, female sexual predators who prey on young men (­Gibson, 2002; Montemurro and Sief ken, 2014). A study of the phenomenon points out how histories of love, sex and marriage formerly played down women’s sexuality on the grounds that couple formation was viewed to be an economic transaction (Lawton et al., 2010). It was generally assumed men would take the lead in pursuing female partners but nowadays some women have sufficient financial power and social stature to ensnare younger men, as the high-­profile cougars Madonna, Jordan and Cheryl Cole have demonstrated recently.10 A wealthy woman can afford to disregard her potential partner’s income, choosing instead to be guided by feelings of sexual attraction and a desire to exhibit social power.11 Without wishing to endorse the view that male pop singers are less talented than their rock, metal or counterparts, it could be argued that if such a deficit existed, attractive features and a fit body might well compensate. As Hakim points out, like an economic endowment, erotic capital is “an especially important asset for people with few intellectual abilities and qualifications” (Hakim 2010). Young male pop singers are unlikely to have gained advanced educational qualifications and, certainly in the UK, the artists usually have relatively humble origins.12 In this context, handsome features may be viewed as an alternative form of currency allowing the boys to gain entry into an employment sector where wealth increasingly determines success (Maconie, 2015).

Communicating the Codes of Romance In addition to good looks, pop’s men rely heavily on romance as a prop in the performative toolbox, even though it is acknowledged that for many of us, it represents a major source of personal misery, unfulfilled hopes and disappointment (Ben-­Ze’ev and Goussinsky, 2008: 3). This suggests the romantic emphasis is at odds with the wider corpus of popular music, where allusions to the word love have diminished significantly since the 2000s (Smiler et  al., 2017: 1083–105). Nevertheless, the theme forms an essential aspect of the expressive equipment, cementing the boys’ position as harbingers of romance. More particularly, slow,

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sentimental ballads – defined by Dave Laing (1969: 51) as “the mainstay of popular song” – allow them to dwell intensely on the subject.13 Mainstream pop does not have a monopoly on the subject of love because it is a universal topic within the meta genre of popular music. Even in the testosterone-­f uelled sphere of heavy metal, artists will occasionally employ some, “suitably sappy songs with which to celebrate true (lustless) love” (Frith and McRobbie, 1990: 382).14 What is distinctive about pop masculinity, is its rejection of purely sexual expressions of Eros or anything incompatible with the ideology of romance, hence politically sensitive or existential themes are avoided. Rather than eulogizing the virtues of world peace, demanding an end to war or insisting on instant sexual gratification, they woo the audience with earnest protestations of undying love. In this respect boy bands encroach upon the subject matter of female artists who sing more about love than they do about sex (Dukes et al., 2003). Romantic narratives communicated via the “preparatory literature” of girls’ magazines, used to be viewed as the sole preserve of young women, propelling them towards limited socially proscribed roles (Willinsky and ­Hunniford, 1993). Entering territory traditionally designated as feminine and harking back to the tradition of romantic love makes sense at a social juncture when traditional masculinity is under attack. Boy bands may be flying in the face of evidence that at least half the marriages taking place in the UK will end in divorce,15 but at least pop masculinity highlights how ithyphallic, macho posturing is losing currency in today’s social climate. Women are showing they can survive economically and socially without a husband and that they, more than men, are nowadays likely to initiate divorce proceedings (Brinig and Allen, 2000). Taking the changing gender dynamics into account, emotionally literate masculinity resonates better with a generation of women conditioned to “expect more from men, and not make excuses for those who don’t call, are married, cheat, treat them poorly, or refuse to commit” (Lukas, 2006: 15). Now they are making such significant social and economic gains and are no longer as reliant on the universal solution of romance, it could be argued that baton should passed to young men. By placing faith in romantic love, youths show that they too are vulnerable and lack the power and agency traditionally assigned to men. In paying attention to their appearance they adopt the previously feminine-­coded strategy of trading good looks and a pleasant demeanour in exchange for the love and protection of a partner. Perhaps this is why the repertoire almost entirely avoids the corporeality witnessed in R&B and classic rock in favour of hand-­holding or chaste kissing. Raising the stature of chastity in this way, the boys demonstrate that they are more in tune with a major cultural shift because: “As the symbolic value of romantic love in Western Societies has gained ever-­greater currency during the twentieth century, so celibacy itself has become romanticized” (Sobo and Bell, 2001: 16). Indeed, a contemporary study (Twenge et al., 2015: 2273–85) reveals that despite greater sexual freedom, availability of online porn and new dating

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apps, young millennials are less likely to have had sex than previous generations and more are keen to embrace sexual abstinence as a lifestyle choice. After decades of hypersexualized rhetoric, the promotion of sexual restraint represents a refreshing departure from unrelenting pressure to engage in physical intimacy whatever the emotional cost. In this social context, the elevation of romance might be viewed as liberating to both sexes, but particularly so for young girls who are coerced by the media into unwanted sexual intimacy (Gurney-­Read, 2015).16

The Ideology of Romance Placed under deeper scrutiny, the ideology of romantic love promotes a set of unrealistic standards centred around love’s profundity, the loved one’s uniqueness and the purity of this particular version of love. All of these qualities are exemplified in the song ‘As Long as You Love Me’ (1997), where the Backstreet Boys proclaim they are prepared to risk all in exchange for love on entering a relationship with a relative stranger: “Don’t care what is written in your history as long as you’re here with me. I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you did, as long as you love me.” In ‘I Promise You’ (2000), *NSYNC also pledge eternal love and steadfast support for a loved one during times of trouble in the lines: “I’ve loved you forever in lifetimes before. And I promise you never will you hurt anymore. I give you my word – I give you my heart.” Pop masculinity’s romantic love also involves a great deal of suffering and levels of masochism rarely tolerated willingly within masculine culture. For Boyz II Men, the pursuit of love takes on an increasingly masochistic turn in the heart-­w renching ballad ‘End of the Road’ (1993), where a narrator describes how dejected he feels on finding a girlfriend has cheated with another. Even so, the infidelity fails to extinguish his deep love and instead of blaming her or threatening to end the relationship, he continues to offer loving support: Girl, I’m here for you all those times at night When you just hurt me and just ran out with that other fella Baby I knew about it, I just didn’t care You just don’t understand how much I love. Do you? I’m here for you Themes of loving reassurance are offered to a shy girl in One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ (2011), where the boys endorse her beauty to help the girl gain confidence: “If only you saw what I can see. You’ll understand why I want you so desperately. Right now I’m looking at you and I can’t believe you don’t know, Oh oh, you don’t know you’re beautiful”. In another example, ‘Save You Tonight’ (2011) a girl is advised that even though her heart is about to be broken by another man, rather than blaming her for making a poor choice, the boys offer chivalrous support: “I wanna save you. Wanna save your heart tonight. He’ll only break you. Leave you torn apart, oh. I can’t be no superman. But for you I’ll be super human.”

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Similar themes of chivalry, masochistic suffering and renunciation of the male ego pervade many songs and it is easy to dismiss the contents as little more than muzac. However it could be argued that pop’s reconstitution of masculine identity uses dignified suffering and the co- ­option of aspects of femininity to reinstate men’s hegemonic position under a new guise. As Connell (1995: 76) reminds us, when under threat, hegemonic masculinity will do whatever is necessary to remain at the apex of power. Yet it is also possible to see the promotion of newfound sensitivity as a strategic form of adaptation. Mary B ­ rinton (2009) suggests that changes in the job market have created a lost generation of men, whose lack of access to secure employment has led to the latest ‘crisis’ of masculinity in the west (Clare, 2010; Hearn, 1999; McDowell, 2000). A high number of young me are resorting to suicide to deal with their unhappiness and feelings of uselessness.17 The depth of their difficulties is illustrated by the launch of a Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) designed to support men experiencing depression, challenging the cultural pressure preventing them from expressing fear and vulnerability.18

Embodying Pop Masculinity Dance aids the overall performance by providing a visually compelling ­exhibition, designed to influence the audience’s interpretation of the songs. The male body’s capacity to articulate masculine identity was examined in studies of classic heavy metal where a muscular physique, emblematic of physical labouring, appeared to signify strength and power to a generation of men who conflated “achievement in the world of paid work with proving their manhood” (Willis, 1999). 19 The Rambo-­esque proportions of 1980s metal artists attempted to raise masculine capital through evidence of muscularity but in the twenty-­fi rst century, posing as a redundant labourer lacks cultural purchase. The pop body’s promotion of a lean and undeveloped ectomorph physique, less equipped for the rigours of manual labour, is more suited to the demands of a post-­1980s workforce. The gender wage gap has narrowed to the point “today’s young women are the first in modern history to start their work lives at near parity with men” (Pew Research Center, 2013: 2). There is also a growing mismatch between the technical and practical skills traditionally offered by men and those now required. Moreover, the “available employment and labor options tend increasingly to characterize activities associated, rightly or wrongly, with women” – changing patterns of employment have led to “an increasing proportion of women occupying the jobs” (Standing, 1999: 583). Structural changes within the job market make the workplace more competitive than ever leading to greater disparity between top and bottom earners. In a neoliberal working environment, characterized by zero-­hour contracts, where opportunities for promotion are few and far between, emotional labour outweighs physical strength (Felstead et al., 2007). Here the ectomorphic body

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and emotional intelligence are better aligned to “labor that creates immaterial products, such as knowledge, information, communication, a relationship, or an emotional response” (Hardt and Negri, 2005: 108) than in the past.20 Increasingly since the 1980s, media imagery portrayed the male body as a source of visual pleasure for the mainstream audience (Kimmel and Tissier-­ Desbordes, 1999). As a result, fit, sculpted torsos are being used to sell everything from cars to clothing (Pope et. al., 2001, yet for men who lack these qualities, the inability to achieve a similar degree of bodily perfection is becoming a source of considerable unhappiness. Images of contoured, sculpted torsos, over-­whitened teeth and fake tans are unreal and bring with them anxieties. Younger men feel they cannot live up to them and some older men feel this degree of self-­absorption is weirdly emasculating. (Moore, 2014) According to one source, “the percentage of US men who express dissatisfaction with their bodies rose from 15% in 1972 to 43% in 1996” (Garner, 1997: 30–44). Pornography used to be viewed as a male preserve, so the appearance of magazines filled with images of fit and toned male bodies is disconcerting to say the least. More so when the images are presented as a rich source of visual enjoyment for women and gay men. Ectomorphic, toned bodies and artificially enhanced features are central to pop’s masculine aesthetic perhaps because there is less capacity to emphasize virtuoso musicianship. By identifying with the powerful presence and virtuoso skills of male rock protagonists, men may achieve a sense of omnipotence but eroticized dance and the pitiful sight of men yearning, fails to defend hegemonic masculine authority (McDonald, 2013). Such melodramatic suffering is deemed unmanly because in melodrama, masochistic identification is typically experienced from a female point of view (Kuhn, 2007). Wald (2002) points out how, “male teenybopper performers display a feminized masculinity that constructs male fan desire as homoerotic”, further problematizing the dance spectacle by aligning straight men with gay male spectators. For straight men, the prospect of being looked at by same-­sex peers creates insecurity, not unlike that experienced by homosexual men within gay culture where, the physical body is held in such high esteem and given such power, body fascism then not only deems those who don’t or can’t conform to be sexually less desirable, but in the extreme – sometimes dubbed “looksism” – also deems an individual completely worthless as a person, based solely on his exterior. (Signorile, 1997: 28)

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Like the gay men who ask: “Why is it that every time I see a beautiful man I feel self-­loathing instead of pleasure?” (Wood, 2004: 44), the all-­m ale visual spectacle prompts a degree of self-­conscious reflection which is avoided when the gaze is directed at women. As it is designated a feminine activity, unless men exhibit an acceptably masculine performance, the all-­m ale dance spectacle creates certain challenges in that custom dictates individuality and self-­d irection if men perform with their fellows. During the 1970s the punk dance style of pogoing, was acceptably manly due to its active and aggressive character. Although men often danced in same sex groups, each man could be seen to act in a self-­d irected manner. Similarly, in the mod subculture men would dance alongside one another but with the aim of showing off personal proficiency or knowledge of the latest steps in a competitive way. Men were attracted to the Backstreet Boys and East 17 in the 1990s due to the fact that both groups accessed masculine cultural capital by integrating individualized and dynamic street dance moves into group performance.

Technological Ineptitude and Vocal Transvestism If subtle transvestism does little to secure gravitas or symbolic power, a dearth of technological aptitude fails to align pop singers with ‘real men’ who are distinguished by their ability to manipulate technology (Cockburn, 1985). In Marian Leonard’s words, there is a “culturally understood ‘fit’ between masculinity and the ‘mastery’ of ‘complex’ technologies” (Leonard, 2017: 1). Rock’s protagonists demonstrate competence by controlling a complex array of ­equipment – from amplifiers and synthesizers, to wah-­wah pedals and theremins. By contrast singing love songs sweetly in harmony does little to affirm dominance, especially when relying heavily on the ambiguous capacity of the tenor range to communicate gender identity. In this regard choral singing is especially problematic – as it neither constructs nor defends hegemonic masculinity, consigning the practice to the margins of respectable manly behaviour (Adler, 2001).21 Presumably for these reasons rock, rap and metal vocalists reject the ‘choral approach’ in favour of harsh and abrasive speech or screaming, shouting and rasping vocal styles (Walser, 2015; Shepherd, 2003). The signification of manliness is amplified by use of a lower register, more suggestive of an adult, male presence. We can see that during the 1950s when gender roles were more strictly delineated, the rich baritone voices of solo artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash commonly graced the radio. Likewise, within early vocal harmony groups, bass singers produced deep harmonies and the Cadillacs, the Flamingos and Marcels even featured a bass lead singer.22 There are a few exceptions of course, but since the 1960s, the popularity of masculine sounding baritone and bass voices has diminished to

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the point that tenors now dominate in pop (Shepherd and Horn, 2012: 189).23 Contemporary vocal groups usually intersperse tenor with outbursts of ­falsetto – an even higher register that, like high-­pitched voices of boys between the ages of eight and 14, is interchangeable with the female voice, therefore connoting an absence of manly virility. In doing so they further cement their abjection. A contributor to a rock forum writes: “When I was younger I liked boy bands. But then  …  I realized they all sound like girls when they sing” (Crunchyroll, 2005). Such comments illustrate that the tenacity of the cultural embargo on vocal cross-­d ressing is undeniable. Boys are often reluctant to sing high notes when they approach their teen years and when rock singers employ the use of falsetto, it is tempered by alternative means of affirming adult masculinity (Ashley, 2006: 199).24 Playing a guitar assists in shoring up masculine identity because “the electric g­ uitar … ensures the integrity of the performing male body  …  as a phallus clearly disassociated from the penis, it produces the appearance of male potency” (Waksman, 2001:  247). Without the presence of instrumental hardware, singers in boy bands are effectively naked, making them vulnerable to the feminizing gaze, via a signifying chain of “voice-­body-sex-­woman-display” (Middleton, 2006: 94). If no compensatory strategies are invoked, male pop singers run the risk of appearing sexually inoperative.25 Pressure to connote manly behaviour by means of the phallus allows it to become the body’s primary signifier of “aggressive, violent, penetrating, goal directed” masculinity (Flannigan-­Saint-Aubin, 1994: 239). However as “passive, receptive, enclosing” vehicles, a testicular version of masculinity permits incorporation of hitherto hidden femininity within the male psyche. Characterized by “patience, stability and endurance”, the testicular mode is experienced when men are “nurturing, incubating, containing and protecting” (Flannigan-­Saint-Aubin, 1994: 250). In many respects pop masculinity embraces and embodies such traits, expressing them in songs through themes showing patience, the desire to nurture a loved one or determination to rekindle lost love. For instance, the protagonist in Take That’s ‘Pray’ (1993) begs forgiveness for failing to show sufficient love to a partner, illustrating the depth of his despair by revealing how he resorts to nightly prayer in desperation and regret at the loss of a valued relationship. “All I do each night is pray. Hoping that I’ll be a part of you again someday.” A similar theme of enduring love and a desire to care and protect is expressed in the Menudo song ‘Because of Love’ (1984) where after reflecting on love’s existential significance, the narrator extols his capacity to extend the emotion in times of need: “If you ever feel afraid let love chase your fears away … When the load’s too hard to bear you’ll always find someone who cares. Don’t cry cos love will be there.” The classic Boyz II Men ballad ‘I Will Get There’ (1998) provides further evidence of the nurturing protective mode of masculinity. Expressing loss and intense emotional pain,

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the song proclaims faith in love’s capacity to enable the suffering to carry on: a theme echoed in the chorus: “I will get there, I will get there. I will get there, I will get there somehow … Nothing’s stoppin’ me now. I will get through the night and make it through to the other side.” We are left in no doubt of the narrator’s sincerity or his determination to be reunited with his lost love.

Challenging the Conventions of the Gaze Although the politics of looking are conditioned by the cinematic apparatus, there are parallels in the gaze of the music audience in that “whenever men perform they are, to some extent, objectified and feminized because they are put in the position of being looked at, rather than being in the dominant position of looking” (Sweeney, 1994: 51). Among the poses adopted by boy bands in promotional imagery, many resemble those identified by Erving Goffman (1979) who noted that the submissive portrayal of women in advertisements mirrored their social subjugation. The acquiescence of pop masculinity challenges the demand that men dominate others – whether by means of physical strength, or acting aggressively during interpersonal conflict (Norman, 2017: 968). Dominance is typically portrayed by standing upright because “holding the body erect and the head high is stereotypically a mark of unashamedness, superiority, and disdain” (Goffman, 1979: 40). Exaggerated dominant postures are employed in heavy metal where we are accustomed to seeing “swaggering males, leaping and strutting about the stage [and] punctuating their performance with phallic thrusts of guitars and microphone stands” (Walser, 2015: 109). Whatever style of performance men adopt, they invite the male gaze, thereby creating something of a dilemma because, according to Mary Ann Doane (2003) a man’s desire for a woman normally underpins the performance situation. The point is elaborated by Laura Mulvey: In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female figure which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact. (Mulvey 2009: 11) Walter Benjamin’s contention that, “Looking at someone carries the implicit expectation that our look will be returned by the object of our gaze” (2011: 184) sums up the dilemma. Unlike in cinema, where actors typically look at one another, the performer’s gaze in music videos is typically directed directly towards viewers, acknowledging their presence and, in doing so, forcing them to respond in some way. This establishes a relationship between artist and

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spectator that can be especially uncomfortable for men conditioned not to look at their peers for erotic pleasure, a point explained by Moos who suggests that: The homoerotic implications or subtexts inherent to the performance of boy band masculinity – or in short: their “homo potential” – can function as a danger or threat towards hegemonic, heterosexual, or heteronormative masculinities … as well as the fear of one’s own potentially homosexual desires, which frequently create a strong demand to distance oneself from boy band culture. (Moos, 2013) These issues arise within pop videos, compelling performers to navigate the conventions of the gaze. Moos (2013) shows how in ‘Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)’ (1999) gender-­neutral, blond singer Nick Carter plays with his hair, rocking to and fro, lightly touching his cheeks, while the other boys reveal glistening and toned bodies as they cavort together in the rain. By referencing Madonna’s ‘voguing’ dance moves, he simultaneously connotes a style of dancing popular with the contemporary gay community, thereby distancing himself from straight males for whom the performance is problematic. A similar dilemma surfaces in examples such as Take That’s queer performance in the video accompanying ‘Pray’, where Paul McDonald notes the way close-­ups of sculpted and shirtless bodies emphasize the band members’ youthful good looks, providing a visual spectacle ostensibly designed to appeal to gay males and female spectators (McDonald, 2013). Similar homoerotic readings are invited in ‘These Days’ (2014), which shows the boys sharing a bed wearing only underwear, exposing bare legs and offering up their bodies to an eroticized gaze. The fact they are portrayed being preened in a beauty salon, enjoying spray tans and hair styling, further underscores their preparation for and intention to be looked at. Male beautification has reached baroque proportions in some quarters of the boy band community – notably in K-­Pop where it is exemplified via flawless skin, artificially coloured hair and kohl-­lined eyes. Nowadays men are under pressure to maintain a pleasing appearance, leading to increased demand for grooming products and men’s cosmetic surgery, a market that expanded by an average of 5 per cent over each of the past ten years (Miskavets, 2013). As a result, increasing numbers of straight millennials are prepared to subject themselves to an element of self-­improvement even though being preened evokes an erotic subtext.

Notes 1 Styles has a penchant for older women and has dated a string of 30- ­somethings including Lucy Horobin, Caroline Flack and Kimberly Stewart. He also enjoys a close relationship with his mother and happily accompanies her to public places. Whereas

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Mick Jagger, at the age of 74, dated 23-­year-old Noor Alfallah, who is younger than five of his children. 2 The songs ‘Under My Thumb’, ‘Stupid Girl’, ‘This Could be the Last Time’, ‘Some Girls’ and ‘Gunface’ are among others which illustrate this tendency. 3 More recently Carrie Paechter (2006) critiques Halberstam for reifying masculinity without first explaining precisely what it is. 4 The practice of knitting is endorsed by celebrities such as Nicholas Hoult and Ryan Gosling. In 2013 the Oxford Street branch of John Lewis responded to increased interest by offering knitting classes for men only. According to Dance UK (2017), 76 per cent of men believe dancing is a good way to keep fit and 10 per cent have taken classes. 5 A term drawing on the Greek for philo, meaning loving and gyne, referring to females. 6 It is acknowledged that heavy metal artists may use appropriation of the feminine within their performance but to a different end (Walser, 2015: 361). 7 As recently as 2015 Keith Richards referred to his wife of 34 years as “the old lady” (Chilton, 2015). 8 Walser (2015: 108–36) provides a detailed discussion of these strategies in the chapter ‘Forging Masculinity: Heavy Metal Sounds and Images of Gender’, in Running with the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. 9 Notably in the indie scene where male artists are more comfortable embracing signifiers of femininity. 10 From 2016 to 2018, Cole was in a relationship with an erstwhile member of the boy band One Direction who is ten years her junior. In 2017 Madonna was reportedly dating a man 27 years younger than herself. 11 Providing evidence in support of the trend, Valerie Gibson’s (2002) book Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men offers advice and practical tactics for the senior seductress. 12 John Lennon’s background was relatively middle- ­class but the rest of the Beatles were from humbler families. In one of the classic boy bands of the 1990s, the members of East 17 were all drawn from working-­class backgrounds. Tony Mortimer of East 17’s mother was a cleaner and Brian Harvey was a plumber. 13 Dukes et  al. (2003) found a decline in references to romantic love versus more overtly sexual themes in popular song since the 1960s. 14 See research on song themes by Christenson et  al. (1998), who looked at Top 40 songs between 1980 and 1990 and Edwards (1994), whose research focused on Top 20 chart music in the period 1980–89. Their combined findings established the presence of references to love in at least two-­thirds of the songs sampled in their respective projects. The persistence of the love themes in contemporary popular music is noted by Madanikia and Bartholomew (2014) whose findings echo the earlier studies. 15 Office for National Statistics, Divorces in England and Wales 2012, February 2014. 16 A report found that four in ten teenage schoolgirls felt pressured into having sex or engaging in other forms of sexual activity and many claimed to have been physically or emotionally abused or raped by boyfriends (Gurney-­Read, 2015). 17 Suicide is now one of the biggest cause of death in men under the age of 50, a ­statistic some observers attribute to a combination of unemployment, low pay and limited opportunities. 18 In 2016 the organization received over 60,000 calls for help, preventing around 400 suicides (Gunning, 2017). 19 Deena Weinstein notes how “Muscle building is a hobby of many metal fans [whose] concentration on their arms creates the look of the idealized blue collar worker” (Weinstein, 2000: 130).

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20 According to OECD data, since 1971, both the UK and Australia saw their share of manufacturing drop by two-­thirds. In Germany since the 1980s, manufacturing’s contribution to gross domestic product fell from 30 per cent to 22 per cent, Even South Korea saw a fall in jobs in the manufacturing sector (Rabie, 2018). 21 No doubt this helps to explain why men are so reluctant to take part in choral singing (Hall, 2005; Adler, 2003). All studies to date, show that in community choirs, female singers significantly outnumber men (Bell, 2004: 39). According to Julia Koza, their reluctance reflects a longstanding shift in the perception of singing as a predominantly masculine pursuit, to a feminine one (Koza, 1993: 212). 22 As did Motown group the Temptations. 23 Some exceptions to the rule include pop singing baritones Scott Walker, Neil ­Diamond, David Bowie, George Ezra, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man and soul singers Barry White and Isaac Hayes, whose vocal ranges span even lower registers. 24 There is a body of literature supporting the view of singing as a feminized cultural form unsuitable for boys (Mancuso, 1983; Ross, 1995; Demorest, 2000). 25 In Mick Jagger’s case, his alleged misogyny may be seen as a compensatory strategy.

6 Fandom, Texts and Practices

In the popular imagination, fans of boy bands are generally portrayed as young, female and lacking emotional control  –  a perception elaborated by Jennifer Moos who writes; “At first sight, the boy band phenomenon seems to have evolved around a rather heteronormatively structured pattern of singing and dancing boys on stage and screaming, sometimes even fainting, girls in front of the stage” (Moos, 2013). Unfortunately lingering stereotypes colour perception of pop fans, and all too often, as in other emotionally expressive fandoms, the behaviour is presented as though it were “a psychological symptom of a presumed social dysfunction” (Jenson, 1992: 9). Having been instructed to attend a ­Beatles’ concert to report on the behaviour of fans, child psychologist Dr ­Bernard Saibel noted that the experience was “unbelievable and frightening” observing that, “Many of those present became frantic, hostile, uncontrolled, screaming, unrecognizable beings”. He went on to advise parents to protect their children from entering this “mad erotic world” of their own making unless safeguards were put in place (Saibel, 2012: 69). Blamed for a preoccupation with celebrity attachments and favouring an “illusion of intimacy” over genuine social interaction (Schickel, 2000: 4), such exhibitions of feeling are typically greeted with derision in a gendered hierarchy of acceptable fan behaviour. Historical examples include Paul Johnson’s withering denouncement of girls in the grip of Beatlemania, described by him as, “the least fortunate of their generation, the dull, the idle, the failures” ( Johnson, 1964): A decade later, a similar tirade refers to fans of the Bay City Rollers as “a monstrous regiment of girls” (Baker, 2014) and 30 years hence, millennial fans of One Direction fared no better, as the following account reveals. By now we all know the immense transformative power of a boy band to turn a butter-­wouldn’t-­melt teenage girl into a rabid, knicker-­wetting

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banshee who will tear off her own ears in hysterical fervour when ­presented with the objects of her fascinations. Hasn’t this spectacle of the natural world – like the aurora borealis or the migration of wild bison across America’s Great Plains – been acknowledged? (Heaf, 2015) Having established himself up as an arbiter of acceptable manifestations of ­fandom, the writer berates girls for a perceived lack of cultural capital, informing readers: “These women don’t care about the Rolling Stones. They don’t care about the meta-­modernist cycle of cultural repetition. They don’t care about history. All these female fans care about is their immediate vociferous reverence” (Heaf, 2015: 200). Here the author implies that the admiration should be experienced somehow differently – presumably in a cool, cerebral, emotionally detached manner, thereby maintaining the dichotomy between male rock and female pop fans. His musings mirror those of a fellow critic who complained at a concert that boy band 98 Degrees threatened “to drown out anything with more mature audiences in mind”. Although the writer (Pareles, 1999) concedes that “The Beatles would have been nowhere without that initial, deafening wave of Beatlemania”, the comment suggests that virtuoso musicianship can only be acknowledged once an artist jettisons a teen female following.

Challenging Taste Hierarchies Instead of cementing the superiority of rock over pop, attacks like this simply ­illustrate just how much taste is “politicized when applied to cultural products by social groups with competing interests” (Harris, 1998: 42). Rather than representing an objective attempt to disentangle the meanings of mainstream music fandom: the discourse of teen pop is neither a mirror of the existing zeitgeist nor an original creation but rather a reality that is socially constructed by the interplay among mainstream mores and values, consumption practices, and subjective interpretations of its meaning by its audiences. (Vannini and Myers, 2002) In a male-­dominated society experiencing difficulty coming to terms with women’s liberation it has been argued that Beatlemania could be interpreted as, “the first and most dramatic uprising of women’s sexual revolution” (­Ehrenreich et al., 2008: 11). By abandoning control, screaming, running amok and ­empowered through fandom, previously timid, obedient young women broke across police lines to rush the stage. In doing so, Halberstam (2005: 178) suggests they made a symbolic challenge to masculine authority, making the critiques more a commentary on male fears regarding loss of gender sovereignty. Academic literature also tends to side-­l ine the cultural pursuits of young women, notably so during the 1970s in the Centre for Contemporary Cultural

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Studies’ seminal studies of subcultures (Hall and Jefferson, 1976; Hebdige, 1979; Cohen, 1972).1 Evidence of resistance to the forces of the culture industry is at the heart of these ‘heroic’ interpretations of youth culture, resulting in the abjection of other means of engagement. Within a paradigm of compliance versus resistance, fans are placed into categories depending on whether they “are incorporated into the dominant ideology by their participation in media activity or whether, to the contrary, they are resistant to that incorporation” (Abercrombie and Longhurst, 1998: 15). The apparent failure to articulate an oppositional class position via means of fandom placed girls on the margins of political activity. At best, they were consigned to acting as foils to the working-­ class boys – at worse completely ex-­nominated. A subsequent shift to poststructuralist thinking problematized such a neat conflation of class subjectivity within popular music fandom. In McRobbie’s words: “There is certainly no longer a case to be made for traditional arguments that youth culture is produced somehow in conditions of working-­class purity … uncontaminated by an avaricious commercial culture” (McRobbie, 1994: 174). Nevertheless, the early studies ensured that feminine activities remain marginal and they are still interpreted as less dynamic or insurrectionary than those of their masculine counterparts. More nuanced readings, including Pierre Bourdieu’s (1984) studies on the nature of symbolic capital, illustrate how cultural products are appropriated for a multitude of purposes above and beyond articulating resistance to socio economic subordination.2 Furthermore, feminist studies (McRobbie, 2000; Driscoll, 2002; Harris, 2004) are offering fresh perspectives on manifestations of girls’ culture – a body of work augmented by useful insights on the performative nature of gender (Butler, 2011; Halberstam, 2005). By challenging essentialist readings of cultural activities these frames of reference provide an alternative lens to examining marginalized expressions of fandom.3 The behaviour of female pop fans may not provide obvious resistance to stratification by social class or gender but rather than mindless hysteria, it could be interpreted as a meaningful response to the experience of subordination.

Empowerment through Fandom They may be invisible in much of the literature on fandom but women now have greater financial, social and economic clout to the point that “the female consumer is now a transnational one whose economic power, visibility and public desire have global implications” (Bennett and Booth, 2016: 230). Their growing economic significance is accompanied by increasingly assertive behaviour which can be seen in the production and consumption of popular culture. All too often girls have been accused of mindless consumption, but Mark Duffett (2013: 39) suggests that these activities transcend the acquisition of trivia. Dismissing female pop fans as empty-­headed consumers denies them of the agency they so often display as cultural creators. Indeed much of the work of being a fan is eminently purposeful and at times, mind- ­expanding.

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[F]an fiction, fansubs, scanlations, amateur manga, mods, machina, fan forums, and databases  –  appears organized around a product or commodity, everyone knows that buying a product is not the point, not the beginning and end of things. Rather it is the product world that counts, the worlds that unfold from the product. (Lamarre, 2011: ix) Until recently this kind of cultural production was largely overlooked but fan labour is nowadays acknowledged and recognized as meaningful ( Jenkins, 2013; Fiske, 1992; Duffett, 2013). Rather than seeing the work of fans as ­a mateurish, John Fiske (1992: 39) suggests it is “often crafted with production values as high as any in the official culture”. It is particularly heartening to observe how pop fandom allows girls to engage in a multitude of creative, self-­actualizing pursuits: in many cases developing the transferable skills beloved by employers in the creative sector (Skillset, 2011: 16). In this respect they embody Sarah Baker’s contention that “pre-­teen girls are, in fact, aware and critical individuals who actively engage with the products of the cultural industries in complex ways to negotiate their place in the world” (Baker, 2013: 23). This tradition of self-­realization and improvement, can be traced back to fan magazines of the 1960s, a popular outlet for creative writing where girls were able express love for contemporary pop icons through the medium of poetry. The following example of poetic homage, entitled “Paul’s the Greatest”, is typical and while it may be unsophisticated, such forays into the world of amateur literature allowed girls to enter media-­related employment. The Beatles are fabulous, Crazy, divine, John is dynamic, But he’s not on my mind. George is so way-­out, He’s handsome and he’s tall, Ringo’s like Gerry, Loveable and small. But Paul is the greatest, He always will be, The Beatles will stay so – JUST WAIT AND SEE. (Sandra Wilson, Pop Ten Teenbeat, 1963)

In addition to gaining prestige within the fandom, some used their skills to gain regular employment: thus, when Beatlemania took hold in the 1960s, 17-­year-old Freda Kelly used her fanatical devotion to the group to secure the role of fan club secretary (Day, 2013). She eventually became president of a worldwide fan

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club, responding to around 800 letters each day while simultaneously commuting between Liverpool and London. No mean feat for a teenage girl at a time when most women faced significant barriers to employment in the music industry. Although like most of her peers she was consigned to administrative work, Kelly gained social power through her close association with the band, a similar privilege earned by Shirley Arnold as secretary of the Rolling Stones’ fan club. Arnold quickly moved from the position of star-­stuck teen fan to competent organizer, recalling how each day she processed the incoming mail: We had a post office van come round every morning to deliver the mail, sacks and sacks of it. Birthday presents from all over the world, which were incredible … In one week we had 1000 applicants to join the fan club, and we used to sit in the office to ten, twelve, two in the morning. (Goodall, 2013) Far from being trivial, her efforts were active and productive, like those explored by Anja Löbert, whose research into the world of Take That fans showed girls using their love for the group, to forge friendships with likeminded others at home and abroad (Bhatti, 2010). In the 1990s ‘Thatters’ used considerable creative capital making fanzines and writing letters to the band and one another. Growing a network organically via word of mouth, fans exchanged contact details in home-­made “friendship books” (Löbert, 2014). Contacts sometimes led to travel opportunities and lifelong friendships, and by creating bespoke media, girls developed a range of transferable skills, notably the soft communication and networking skills demanded by modern organizations (Canary and Dindia, 2009: 351). Pre-­internet, these activities certainly took longer to organize, but with greater ease of access to one another, digitally connected fans are establishing equally complex “interpretive communities” (Fish, 1981: 147). Shifting between social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, the microblogging platforms Tumblr and the instant messaging app WhatsApp, today’s fans shape their own meanings by circulating images, opinions and information. Their level of digital connectivity makes a positive contribution to the emerging “cosmopedia” identified by Pierre Lévy (1997: 217), who described a new post-­internet knowledge space based around “collective intelligence”. Fans also establish complex hierarchies where knowledge and judgement are displayed, thereby illustrating John Fiske’s point that, “Textual and social discrimination are part and parcel of the same cultural activity” (Fiske, 1992: 35).

Confronting Stereotypes of Passivity Matt Hills (2002: xi) argues that fandom is by its very nature a purposeful state, because one cannot be a fan without doing something. Certainly, one could argue that Take Thatters dismantle Adorno’s twin charges of passivity and inauthentic behaviour, notably the complaint that even when they “attempt

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to break away from the passive state of compulsory consumers and ‘activate’ themselves, they succumb to pseudoactivity” (Adorno, 1938: 53). Likewise millennial fans of One Direction are anything but inactive or passive: on the contrary, ‘Directioners’ have proved themselves to be assertive, productive and ­aggressive – determined to be seen, as well as heard. Journalist Francesca Cookney presents some disturbing examples of tweets aimed at girls associated with the band. When Harry [Styles] was with Taylor Swift I was giving her death threats and I think she actually blocked me off Twitter – that’s how bad it was. If I actually saw her now I think I’d rugby tackle her. I’d stamp on her, I’d rip all her hair out, I’d squeeze her eyeballs, I’d step on her eyeballs. (In Cookney, 2013) Similarly when GQ published an interview with One Direction, fans tweeted angrily in response to unflattering taglines on the magazine’s front cover. Among the messages received, were threats to bomb the publication’s headquarters, murder the staff and castrate the editor (Cookney, 2013). Slash fiction written by fans provides a further example of proactive, assertive, sometimes highly imaginative activity. Within the narratives, fans weave the identities of music artists into self-­authored storylines made available on the internet, often exploring same-­sex relationships between the musicians. Stories can take the form of light romance and erotica but more extreme versions of the genre include stories featuring male pregnancy (MPreg), BDSM, rape and incest.4 The X-­rated content illustrates a powerful collective rejection of the romantic ideologies promoted by record companies which try to present the artists as virginal, potential boyfriends. These texts contradict notions of passivity, demonstrating that fans are far more aware and critical than we are led to believe. By countering the heteronormative messages deployed in official literature, the fans show they are exercising agency and a refusal to be duped. ‘Shipping’ is another tactic used to subvert mainstream media messages. A  ship consists of two artists or fictional characters being positioned by fans as in an emotional relationship with one another and this becomes a source of creative inspiration. By creating unusual scenarios, using homoerotic imagery and pairing the boys with one another, the girls regain a degree of control over the love object. In this respect their labours exemplify the “textual poaching” described by Henry Jenkins (2013: 9), who defines the practice as “an impertinent raid on the literary preserve where fans take away only those things that are useful or pleasurable”. Conflict sometimes emerges between individual ships and this real-­person subsection of fandom is controversial, partly because of its intensity and the consequences for any artists involved. In one example the ship ‘Larry’ (promoting Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles’ alleged romance) was ignited initially

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in response to flirtatious texts exchanged between the two (Dare-­Edwards, 2014:  521). However, even though Tomlinson started dating Eleanor Calder and denied the bromance, fans refused to accept the authenticity of his heterosexual relationship. In Seventeen magazine he admitted to avoiding his bandmate for “fear that fans would overanalyze every minor interaction”, claiming the shipping had “created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did” (Devoe, 2017). In a subsequent attempt to reclaim his heterosexual identity, he formally dismissed the bromance in a tweet as “the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. I’m happy why can’t you accept that” (Dare-­Edwards, 2014: 521). In the following example, a slash writer insists that Harry and Louis of One Direction are homosexual: Anyway, Harry is gay but I think Louis is gay too. I have a million reasons as to why I think so, but I won’t go into that here, it would take too long to list everything, lol. I do believe that the girlfriend is a beard. (Data Lounge, 2013)5 Designating the girlfriend as a foil to protect a heterosexual fiction, the writer diminishes the woman’s status and the threat she poses to fans’ erotic possession of the artist. Another slash writer offers the following explanation for this deliberate queering of identity: we don’t want to write about ‘our’ man getting it on with another woman. So we make him get it on with another man. That is okay because we think about the other man sexually, too … and since in real life they’re not really gay, we can enjoy the sex scenes because we know they would never really “cheat” on us with this other man. (Claudia, www.jaynedoll.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/slashfiction.html) Although it is argued that positioning straight characters within gay sexual scenarios does little to promote genuine equality (Busse, 2006: 211), at least the sexually explicit stories challenge the mythological stature of heterosexual romance purveyed by the mass media. Nevertheless, according to Elaine Lin (2017) the artists and their management are usually fully aware of the pairings, even using them in promotional initiatives. For example K-­Pop boy band TVXQ released a DVD dedicated to “Couple Talk”, where band members explored why fans had put them together in their respective ships.

Feminine Role Reversal In the preferred order of sexual relations under patriarchy it is assumed men will take control in physical encounters. During the 1960s, vocal group the

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Swinging Blue Jeans openly admitted to using their status as musicians to pursue girls and initiate sexual encounters: It is well-­k now that when they do want to relax, four or five of their girl fans will be taken out for a night. The fans have a great time, and after meeting the boys and hearing about how many fans they have taken out I reckon the number of the girls in the country who have been out with the boys will put their records in the charts first time off. (Teenbeat, 1963) We may assume that ‘taking girls out’ was a polite term for engaging in sexual activity at the time. In more recent interviews when boy bands of the 1990s reminisce about amorous adventures they show their gargantuan sexual appetites to be boundless. Speaking of his time with 911, singer Spike said: “We used to have competitions and we got our tour manager to only pick out the fittest females … and one of us would take her back and sleep with her.” Ben Adams of A1 also confessed to multiple erotic encounters: “Anything you can think of – I’ve pretty much done. It’s uncountable how many women I slept with” (Kelly, 2014). The fact that girls have been equally predatory in pursuit of male idols may come as a something of a surprise. A rare insight into the erotic possession of teen girls of the 1960s is revealed in a documentary where male musicians seem perturbed by their audacity. One girl brazenly admits to enjoying casual sex, stating bluntly: “If you’re looking for a sexy boyfriend … you want a boyfriend in a band.” Here the term ‘boyfriend’ appears to be a euphemism for a casual sexual partner, and as she moves rapidly from one boy to another, her cool demeanour counters any charges of victimhood. In contrast, the boys seem ill-­at-ease complaining that girls are coming to concerts solely to enjoy sex rather than appreciating the music. Erotic fantasies compelled female groupies to offer male rock stars sex on demand (Rhodes, 2005) but the women were at least prepared to feign an interest in the music. In the words of a former sexual companion: “We understood and appreciated their music, so they wanted us around” (Bromwich, 2015). Presumably by demanding sex without strings and taking little interest in the boys’ artistic endeavours, sexually assertive teen pop fans diminish the ego-­enhancement men derived from casual sex.

The Alternative Pop Fandom In his framework of cultural fragmentation, David Chaney (2012) points to the plurality of contemporary culture, observing how consumers of any age can take part in lifestyles previously designated solely for the young. Labelling the pop audience as young and female assists greatly in shoring up the cultural hegemony of masculinity, but on closer scrutiny greater audience diversity is

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apparent. Theodor Gracyk (2001: 136) reminds us “audiences have very different uses and associations for different musical styles” and although they are omitted for discursive purposes, fans of any age, gender or sexual persuasion can enjoy pop. For example Andy Bennett writes how, “In addition to individual artists, entire genres – and in some cases specific eras of popular music – have been reframed as objects of ironic listening, replete with associated patterns of tongue-­in-cheek cultural consumption” (Bennett, 2013: 207). Hence, although the consumption practices of mainstream pop fans are believed to “conform to a predictable pattern of (same sex) identification and (other sex) desire, preempting possibilities that blur the binaries of gender and sexuality” (Wald, 2002), fans of pop can be found across the age, gender and class spectrum. Recent insights within fan studies (Hills, 2005; Gray, 2003) illustrate the cyclical nature of fan culture – how over time, tastes may evolve and change. Teen and tween tastes rarely remain static and by the same token, mature fans are perfectly capable of embracing new styles. Even if record companies fail to notice them, a growing presence of senior fans augments the audience for boy bands. Other hidden fan groups, such as straight male, lesbian and trans fans, show that the audience for pop music is far from homogenous in character.

Straight Male Fans We could be forgiven for believing that boy bands have limited appeal among heterosexual men. Although it is argued “Girls put cock rock pinups on their bedroom walls, and boys buy teenybop records” (Frith and McRobbie, 2017: 45), straight male fans of boy bands are probably the hardest to find. An under-­reported gay male following is recognized by Moos (2013) and Jarman-­ Ivens (2013) but straight fans rarely admit to enjoying their ‘guilty pleasure’. Some explanations for the dearth of hetero-­m ale pop lovers are offered within an internet forum on the subject where a contributor admits: “When I was a young boy, none of my guy friends cared about [pop] music. There were magazines and bands aimed at all the girls, they’d buy Smash Hits or whatever. We’d buy premier league stickers or pokemon cards” (Spaceinsomniac, 2014). Since pop is coded feminine, men may object to being classified as fans. In an internet poll asking, “Why is there no ‘boy band’ equivalent girl group aimed at boys?”, respondents were divided almost equally between those saying: “Boys and girls are different and like different things”, “Boys don’t generally like girl musicians” or “Because of sexism” (Spaceinsomniac, 2014). The findings indicate that not only is pop viewed as too ‘girly’ for boys, even if the performers are female, men must overcome certain hurdles if they are to openly identify with pop fandom. Throughout the postwar period, evidence clearly shows young men among the audience, but there is a tendency to present them as somehow different to female counterparts: less mindless teens in the grip of an obsession and more as

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thoughtful connoisseurs. The portrayal of male fans as discerning music cognoscenti assists in dismissing female fandom as trivial. Male fans of the Beatles, for example, were “not represented so much as fans but as pop and rock aficionados who ‘dug’ The Beatles” (Maconie, 2014: 79). Stuart Maconie elaborates: “Male fans appreciation of, say, Kate Bush always comes couched in terms of an informed appreciation of her work even when the giddiness, lack of perspective and proprietorialness clearly spells a crush” (Maconie, 2014: 173). Will Straw (1997) contends that men’s passion for music needs to conforms to masculine conventions of knowledge acquisition, a perspective confirmed by studies of other texts “commonly defined as men’s genres” (Brown, 2001: 96) where only certain forms of fandom are acceptable. Screaming and writing fan mail is prohibited but boys can acquire cultural capital by expressing expert knowledge through ‘intelligent’ expressions of fandom such as record collecting and blogging. Hence the field of music journalism is overrun by male writers whose criticism is usually presented heteronormatively “in a way that assumes writer and reader coexist in a phallocentric world in which women are peripheral” (Kruse, 2002, 138). Due to cultural heterosexism, male pop aficionados also run the risk of inviting unwelcome, homophobic slurs. A female writer in a web forum on fanboys, confirms the stigmatization of men. Do you think fanboys are weird? My boyfriend is a SHINee fanboy. He  been to 3 of their shows and has Key, Onew and 2 Taemin autograph’s. I find it cute and funny but my friends think he is weird. Which isn’t fair. I don’t see girls being called weird for liking girl groups. So is it wrong for guys to be fanboys? (Crunchyroll, 2010) The strength of cultural homophobia is revealed in a comment by Coldplay singer Chris Martin who said the fact he admired, “five handsome, strapping men from Stoke and Manchester” compelled him to ask the question “Am  I  gay?” (Queer Voices, 2011). Here he reveals how assignation of male boy band fandom to the homosexual community promotes the view that the music is not for heterosexual men. This kind of cultural homophobia no doubt explains why straight men may be uncomfortable expressing appreciation for boy bands. In the following example from a pop music forum, a male fan is compelled to draw attention to his gender: “I’m a guy who loves Take That. Yeah deal with it haha….!!!” (Wilkinson, 2016). No doubt the awkward introduction stems from the incongruity of his presence among so many female fans.

Gendered Spectatorship, Fashion and Fandom The idea of imitating the appearance and fashion sensibilities of pop singers also sits uneasily in masculine constructs of music connoisseurship. This is because

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the rhetoric of fashion has rested traditionally on: “a set of denials that include the following propositions: that there is no men’s fashion; that men dress for fit and comfort, rather than for style” (Craik, 2003: 170). With more fluid gender identities, boy bands locate themselves firmly “at the point on the borderline between the sexes”, a liminal but problematic subject position according to Jarman-­Ivens (2013: 6). Men are discouraged from expressing too much interest in the appearance of their peers, particularly those enacting non-­normative roles (Schuckmann, 1998: 677); however, this does not mean that men are uninterested in other men’s appearance. As Ehrenreich et  al. (1992: 532) remind us, the Beatles’ androgyny was clearly appreciated by male fans who enjoyed the contrast between their fashion sensibilities and the dull dress codes of the day.6 A Rave magazine feature on 1960s British pop group the Action, reveals that “lots of their fans are boys” (O’Grady, 1966: 9). Among them was acclaimed rock drummer Phil Collins, who admitted they were his heroes, “especially their drummer, who I copied all the time – I even bought a jacket like his” (Hodgkinson, 2002). Although the magazine was ostensibly aimed at girls, the readership appears to have included an identifiable male audience. In an article on teen magazines of the era, Jon Savage confirms that Rave’s cross-­ gender appeal was achieved by providing coverage on bands with a strong male following.7 Like Fabulous, Rave prominently featured young women writers. Cathy McGowan was a regular, along with Maureen O’Grady and Dawn James. However, if the ads for guitars were anything to go by, Rave also appealed to young men. Balancing teen pop with groups like the Yardbirds, the Byrds and the Who, it acquired a circulation of 125,000 by 1966. (Savage, 2009) Similar comments in a website dedicated to the Monkees indicate that admiration for the group transcended gender boundaries. It seemed that this [The Monkees TV series] was the first TV show to address kids. There were no parents on the show to tell them what to do; they spoke more of the language of the times; and they didn’t dress like any of the other youth on TV. There were subtle references made to hip things that parents probably wouldn’t understand. (Santo, 2007) By extending admiration to the group’s fashionable image, he risked failing in a ‘plus male/minus male’ dichotomy, the hierarchical binary measuring pursuits associated with femininity as inferior against masculinity to those designated suitable for men (Spender, 1998). Another post by a male Bay City Rollers fan in a classic rock forum shows how the writer distances himself from

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the feminizing associations of female fans. In a thread devoted to the band’s musical contribution he says: “When they first released ‘Saturday Night’ as a single it was great … but soon after the single was released Rollermania took over which was fine … if you were a teenage or pre-­teen girl [and before long] Every 16, Tiger Beat, & Super Teen magazine was full of the Rollers every month.” Finally, while affirming how much the group informed his subsequent taste in music, he concludes: “they were a good band … but once they started gracing the covers of those magazines a lot of guys were turned off” (Stars, 2010). Despite evidence demonstrating that pop is consumed by “roughly similar percentages of men and women consistently” (De Boise, 2016: 141) the veto against ‘girly’ bands is upheld by music journalists, armchair cultural critics and renowned musicians alike. Shane Filan of Westlife reports how rock band Oasis colluded with The Sun newspaper to keep his band from the number one slot in the UK charts (Filan, 2014: 168).8 In 2001 Damon Albarn, lead singer of the indie group Blur, proposed that boy bands “should be banned” altogether (Bowden, 2009). Rather than offering a commentary on the relative merits of pop in relation to rock, the men’s responses seem more indicative of anxiety to conform to mainstream masculine behaviour. The behaviour of some of the men at a Boyz II Men concert in Manchester further illustrates the hetero-masculine embargo on pop. Men constituted almost half of the audience and although some were accompanied by women, others attended alone or in all-­m ale groups.9 Their actions revealed a range of strategies designed to counter any femininity by association. At key points in the chorus to ‘I’ll Make Love to You’ (1994), several groups of males staggered together from side to side, singing along with exaggerated enthusiasm. During the most romantic ballads they laughed loudly, as though mocking the sentiments simultaneously embracing one another clumsily to parody the behaviour of lovers. When a red rose was thrown into the crowd, one of the men caught it, drawing forth humour as he handed it to a male friend in an exaggeratedly romantic gesture. Patriarchal culture generally assumes romance is a prelude to male sexual gratification, making it difficult for men to identify with the subject position of the acquiescent female. The men’s self-­conscious posturing illustrates reflexively how performing stereotypical gender roles helps to define subjects as male or female (Davies, 2002). Furthermore, as Bennett argues “popular music audiences bring their own consumption practices to the interpretation of popular music texts, and the practice of ironic listening should be situated within a cluster of heterogeneous responses” (Bennett, 2013: 208). In private however, men’s behaviour may be quite different. Studies of fandom (Duffett, 2013; Hills, 2002) show that although the experience is often social, it can also be deeply private. Appreciation of music is not just performed externally it can be felt inwardly, particularly in the safe space offered by the internet where men’s deep emotional connections with romantic pop songs

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are revealed. For example, in a YouTube site hosting a video of Boyz II Men’s emotive ‘End of the Road’ (1991), the number of postings from male and female fans are almost equal and it becomes clear that men identify strongly with romantic lyrics. This heartfelt message illustrates how one of the men assigns intense feelings to the iconic ballad: I was with my gf for 8 years and about 2 years ago we found out she had a brain tumour that they couldn’t operate on. Anyway, the last 6 months were the worst. She knew it. I knew it. She dedicated this song to me and she died about 4 months ago. I can’t get over this loss and the pain is so unbearable. It feels like someone stabbed me in the heart with a sword and i cry so much i can’t even see when im driving sometimes. This song came on the radio on my way home from work tonight and i saw a shooting star at the same time. It was so beautiful. (Mike Green, Boyz II Men – End Of The Road, 15 March 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKO6XYXioc) He is praised by both male and female writers, who highlight his courage and strength, many of them drawing on their own losses and the song’s resonance as an anthem for the bereaved. Of course, there are exceptions and some subcultures do provide a space for the expression of masculine sensitivity: notably the goth and emo community (Bibby and Goodlad, 2007; Ryalls, 2013) but these genres lack currency as vehicles of hegemonic masculinity. More typically, masculine behaviour is depicted as an exciting and subversive forms of social activism (Hebdige 1979) or supportive homosocial bonding (Gruzelier, 2011). Acceptable displays of passion include activities such as fist pumping, stage diving, body slamming, head banging or playing air guitar.

Capturing the ‘Pink Pound’: Gay Fans For obvious reasons boy bands have a strong homosexual following because in the words of an admirer: “Gay boys love boy bands for the same reason straight girls do. They are sweet, sexy, graceful males, who sing and dance, and no matter how produced or manufactured they are, they are desirable nonetheless” (Anderson, 1999: 43). Like young girls, they know what it is like “to be continually crapped on by crappy men, or to have given your heart to someone who never asked for it” (Smith, 2016: 41). They share the marginal status of teenage girls and they are used to the rejection of straight men in a culture that diminishes the social position of young girls and homosexuals. Nevertheless Richard Smith suggests gay men were instrumental in shaping pop music’s direction from the outset. Yet while their presence has been central to the genre it has also been fraught. This is because, “gay men can be, have to be,

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or are made invisible, theirs has been a secret history” (Smith, 2016: 10). They may be more visible today but even at the height of Beatlemania, male admirers were among the audience. A contemporary account describes how: “In the crowd taking part in the siege of the London Palladium, the Daily Mirror noticed many boys dressed in ‘high-­necked, tight-­fitting Beatle clothes’” (Millard, 2012: 126). While it is not clear whether these Beatles wannabes were homosexual, pop manager Simon Napier-­Bell acknowledges that the band had a recognizable gay following. Reflecting on the release of Please Please Me in 1963 he said, “That summer it was the gay album. Every party, every club, everywhere you went, Please Please Me blasted out. George and Paul singing into one microphone, their cheeks touching, was the gayest thing we’d ever seen” (Pink News, 2006). Evidence of mainstream pop’s continuing appeal with the gay community is provided in a report based on data collected from more than 200,000 adults in the UK. British men who identify as gay to the rest of the population … pulled out the music artists that are most disproportionately popular among them. Liking One Direction is now the most standout feature of gay men’s music tastes, ahead of Kylie and Madonna. (Dahlgreen, 2015) With the help and guidance of homosexual managers, whose commercial instincts are linked to an inside knowledge, boy bands are groomed to reach out to gay fans. Reflecting on the queer mystique surrounding British and American music managers, Savage (2017) cites Larry Parnes and Brian Epstein as exemplars. Epstein’s involvement with the Beatles was central to their stylish, metrosexual image as he used his awareness of fashion to create the group’s modern, androgynous identity. In the 1990s Nigel Martin-­Smith launched Take That’s career in gay clubs, encouraging the boys to wear camp clothing, leather codpieces and cycling shorts. More recently, under Louis Walsh’s management, the Irish band Boyzone assumed a gay-­f riendly identity in videos and other promotional material, with their smooth complexions, smart wardrobe and immaculately coiffured hairstyles. Despite some very positive efforts to attract gay fans, cultural homophobia makes it difficult for homosexual men to express their appreciation openly as Mike, a 25-­year-old admirer of New Kids on the Block explains: I about died when I heard New Kids on the Block were coming to ­S acramento in the late ’80s … But because I didn’t want to make it look obvious to others that I had a crush on this guy group, I would go to the grocery store, do some shopping, and conveniently throw in a Teen Beat at the bottom of the shopping cart under the fruits and veggies so I wouldn’t attract attention. (Epstein, 2000: 37)

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Factors helping homosexual fans to participate more fully within the fandom are the relative privacy provided by online fan communities and the growing number of publications directed towards gay audiences. Bands too are making more determined efforts to attract homosexual fans, with several high-­profile artists coming out as gay. Lance Bass of *NSYNC had reservations about revealing his true sexuality for fear of alienating fans, first coming out to the rest of the group before making the news public in 2006 (Hornig, 2007). David Ross of Bad Boys Inc. was similarly reticent as to the true nature of his sexuality, due to the negative repercussions he envisaged. I was told not to walk down Old Compton Street in Soho because there were ‘rumours’ about me and I was told not to flick my hair on TV because it looked gay. It wasn’t just our career that would have suffered if I’d come out – thousands of pounds were spent on us and many people’s jobs depended on us. (Williams, 2013) During the 1990s the Backstreet Boys set a precedent by agreeing to appear on the front page of gay, male, youth-­orientated XY magazine; in 2013 Ritchie Neville of 5ive posed naked for Gay Times and more recently Blue made a déshabillé appearance on the cover of Attitude magazine. Previously fans were rarely addressed by the artists themselves, as this comment taken from a gay and lesbian publication indicates: Thank you so much for your piece on boy bands … This is the first time I have ever heard gay fans acknowledged in any major publication other than XY. This is also the first time I have heard people within the music industry and associated directly with the bands, interviewed on the topic of gay fans. (Forster, 2000: 4) Daryl Jamieson claims the Backstreet Boys were the first boy band openly marketed towards a gay audience, showing how their manager singled out Nick Carter as a pin-­up frontman: as the most androgynous member of the group he was thought to hold greater appeal with gay men ( Jamieson, 2007: 245). In subsequent music videos Carter was given more solos and a higher proportion of screen time and in 1997 the band took a further step by appearing on the front cover of XY. Whether straight or gay, members of modern boy bands portray a comfortable homoeroticism. Although none of the band admit to being gay, prior to breaking up in 2016 the five members of One Direction constantly touched, embraced and even kissed one another in public. Gay identification is assisted by endorsement of male-­on-male affection, not to mention the coming out of high-­profile artists such as Union J’s Jaymi Hensley.10 From a business

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perspective attracting the ‘pink’ economy certainly makes good economic sense due to the gay community’s considerable spending power (Binnie, 2004). Furthermore as Susan Driver (2008: 46) explains, gay men are likely to participate in subcultural activities beyond average temporal parameters. Straight men will often limit their music fandom once they become enmeshed in the conventional heteronormative trajectory of setting up and home and establishing a family. In contrast, partying, attending concerts, spending money on music and keeping up-­to-date with fashion are embraced by gay males irrespective of age. An alternative gay lifestyle extends the opportunity to enjoy pursuits normally reserved for the young, making the distinction between youth and adulthood less marked (Halberstam, 2005: 1).

Lesbian and Trans Fans The appeal of boy bands is certainly not limited to male homosexuals even if this audience is addressed explicitly. Lesbian fans are largely overlooked within the fandom as they are in studies of popular music fan culture more generally. Jodie Taylor points out that “while heterosexuality is the purview of the mainstream, in musical terms at least, the mainstream is not immune to queer affect”. She goes on to argue that acknowledging the plurality of the mainstream “is to acknowledge the more complex realities of identity, politics, music-­making and consumption in the twenty-­fi rst century” (Taylor, 2013: 46). There is a tendency to stereotype gay women as automatically preferring radical feminist scenes and ‘womyns’ music rather than pop. Thus it assumed that lesbian fans will automatically gravitate towards Riot Grrrl; gender-­bending artists like Annie Lennox and Grace Jones, or out lesbian musicians such as K.D. Lang and Beth Ditto. Since boy bands are marketed primarily towards young girls and gay men, the existence of lesbian and trans fans may come as a surprise to those who see the groups as preparing young girls for heterosexual relationships. When asked if Hanson had a lesbian following, I was told that this was indeed the case. A longstanding admirer of the group offered the following comments on the diverse nature of the fandom: Yes, there are a lot of gay lesbian and trans fans around the world. I know some in person. They love something essential about the group’s style, manner, music and the journey they’ve been on over time. (Sarah, email to author, 12 January, 2017) Those who are excluded from the cultural mainstream are often painfully aware that the “matrix through which gender identity has become intelligible requires that certain kinds of ‘identity’ cannot ‘exist’” (Butler, 2011: 24). In  these circumstances the groups provide a valuable point of identification.

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The appeal  boy bands hold among the lesbian and trans community reflects the gender liminality they offer as an identity template. The stylized, camp boyishness they offer disrupts and challenges normative masculinity, presenting intriguing possibilities for queer recognition, transforming the artists into a “hybrid, anti-­essentialist hinge point” among resistant masculinities such as lesbian and transsexual boys (Noble, 2012: 163). An internet discussion offers the following explanation why lesbians are so attracted to young male pop singers: When those first stirrings of attraction kick in, young lesbians are generally not going to go for a boy who looks like he really, really, really wants to touch them in the bathing suit area. They’re going to be for the boy who looks like a dyke. (Williams, 2011) In the same way gay males were attracted to Bowie’s queer image, boy bands offer lesbian and transgender fans a feminine-­inflected boyish identity (­Halberstam, 2003: 329). Gigwise website reports the case of a transgender teenage One Direction fan planning to become a man after being mistaken for her idol Harry Styles. The rationale was explained as follows: “Dressing as Harry made me feel confident, so I copied his hair too … I spend 30 minutes every day perfecting the ‘Harry look’” (Baggs, 2012). Halberstam’s (2003: 177) observations on drag kings show how the phenomenon is not confined to the parameters of Northern Europe and the US. For instance, Chinese girl group Acrush espouse a boyish masculine identity that challenges the conventional image of Asian femininity and according to one report, some of the band’s female fans address the girls as their “husbands”, regularly sending them love letters (Reuters, 2017).11 None of the girls in Acrush are homosexual and their androgynous ‘boi’ identities are little more than a strategic attempt by marketing professionals to purvey a frisson of interest around a faux lesbian identity. In another example the American drag kings New Cocks on the Block parody the self-­conscious crotch-­thrusting of the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, exposing how the fiction of gender is constructed (Ramsay, 2011: 274). Perhaps more than anything the subtle nuances of queer boy band fandom point to the limitations of subcultural theories and their failure to tackle alternative sexualities.

‘Mum Pop’ and Mature Female Fans The visible and culturally meaningful process of ageing is not a barrier to fandom but various writers (Bennett and Taylor, 2012; Driessen and Jones, 2016) draw attention to the lack of data on the consumption pattern of older music lovers. Until recently, studies of popular music fandom concentrated primarily on younger fans, particularly those in their teens and early twenties. Moreover,

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as media coverage on boy band fandom focuses so much on the antics of young girls, the appearance of older women at concerts comes as something of a surprise. The existence of these mature fans is supported by Spotify listener demographics which confirm a continued interest in mainstream pop among the over-­forties (Van Buskirk, 2015). The study reports that while men’s mainstream listening decreases rapidly after the teenage years, as they reached middle age, women are returning to pop music. Up until recently the older female demographic was largely invisible but, “Despite evidence of a continuing investment in the music they are ignored because their practices are less visible and unspectacular” (Vroomen, 2004: 243). Moreover since pop is designated a youthful pursuit, women over a certain age can be reticent about being senior fangirls, but when Cosmopolitan interviewed a group of One Direction fans between the age 20 to 39, they found the women to be just as obsessive as younger followers. Furthermore, when the Osmonds visited Manchester to publicize a forthcoming tour, a middle-­aged female counsellor said she had taken a week off work to see them. Jay Osmond offered an explanation for the mum pop phenomenon: From reading the letters and talking with them, when they were younger, a lot of them have said that the music was there for them when people weren’t. It kind of cements their childhood and their lives with our family. We just kind of grew up together. (Donohue, 2005: 16) In the words of another smitten 30-­something coming out of the mature fan closet: I tried to hide my passion for a while but eventually gave up and now I have no shame. Like, there’s a [life-­size cut-­out] of Louis in my house; I also put a picture of Harry up on the fridge at work where everyone puts pictures of their kids and pets, so like, not very subtle. Everyone knows what I’m about. (Rees, 2016) Perhaps even more surprising, a study commissioned by an online ticket agent found almost half of One Direction consumers were in their fifties and sixties, and some were even older (Stevens, 2013). It may be that generous grandparents were buying tickets for younger family members and intending to attend as chaperones, but we should not automatically assume that this is the case. One fan of the American pop rock band Hanson confirmed that her passion for the group only emerged when she reached her forties. She believed being a fan allowed her to relocate a younger, more youthful aspect of her identity: I did not become a fan as a young person. I was 43 when I fell in love with them in 2000 with their sophomore album This Time Around. I loved

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this music because it was fresh and also resonant of the Motown music that I loved in my youth. I had just undergone surgery after 15  years of ill health. I think their music made me feel young and playful and free. When I saw them on TV it was their humility and musical intelligence that struck me most. They were sincere and professional and deeply ­g racious while being talented and beautiful. (Chris, email to author, 12 January, 2017) She also confirmed that older fans express a similar range of feelings and behaviours to those of teenagers, such as: A sense of girlish love for the boys and of course, there is plenty of admiration of their looks as well as their talent. There is also some frenzy screaming desire for pictures and meetings etc but most older Hanson fans are mature about it!! She says! (Chris, email to author, 12 January 2017) To some extent the ascendance of older female fans can be attributed to the growing independence of women, many of whom can afford inflated ticket prices and costly merchandise. Also in the twenty-­fi rst century women are growing accustomed to seeing their peers forming relationships with much younger men. The fact that One Direction’s Harry Styles dated a woman 16 years older than himself, and bandmate Liam Payne dated and had a child with Cheryl Cole, who is a decade his senior, points to the appeal of younger men with older women. In an era where the image of the ‘cougar’ has currency, the power of mature females is a force to be reckoned with. These women may have been ridiculed for being teenyboppers in their youth but as Coates notes: the female teenyboppers of the 1960s and especially the 1970s are today at the height of their power and desirability as consumers of big-­t icket items, a fact not lost upon the marketers of luxury cars and other high-­ priced items advertised during episodes of VH1’s Behind the Music. (Coates, 2003: 77) Just as teen and tween girls enjoy the fantasy aspect of boy band fandom, adult female use their obsession as a means of escapism, as a student in her twenties explains: College is stressful as hell, so I’ve used the boys as my escape from studying. They have also helped me through a lot of hard times p­ ersonally – I owe my sanity to them; it’s crazy to think that these boys have no idea how

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much they have impacted my life. For a majority of the past three years, they have been the main source of positivity for me. (Rees, 2016) Her reflections are endorsed by another fan who explains how One Direction helps in the management of her mental health: One Direction mean the world to me – I suffer from an anxiety disorder and I’ve tried therapy as well as medication but more than anything they lift me up when I’m down. When a guy dumped me not so long ago, I just retreated into my 1D obsession and after a while I realised I got more pleasure from being a fan than I did from being in a dysfunctional relationship. People can laugh but it’s a fact – I’m just crazy about them and I don’t care what anyone thinks. (Amy, interview with author, November 2016) It is tempting to view this type of behaviour as somehow dysfunctional but a psychologist offers a more positive interpretation: The experienced of allowing oneself unabashed infatuation with handsome, famous, unreachable young men might recreate the kind of teenage abandonment that we (as adults) wonder to be long-­lost. Adolescence is a powerful developmental period, rife with complicated feelings … and discovery of one’s sexuality and identity. Boy band fandom could allow one to re-­experience some of that youthful, vital energy – and for a person slogging through the often un-­f un responsibilities of adulthood, that energy could be intoxicating. (Lovitt, 2015) A continued investment in youth culture allows fans to “negotiate their way through different stages of the life course” (Hodkinson, 2012: 19). Rather than representing a refusal to grow up, the “marathon drinking sessions and alcohol-­f uelled brawls” (Nathan, 2011) enjoyed by senior Take That fans could be viewed as reluctance to surrender to the invisibility demanded of older females in an ageist society. However fanatical or loyal fans may be, inevitably there will come a point when a boy band will break up. This need not necessarily herald the end of fan engagement – there is always a legacy of CDs, mp3s and pop videos, not to mention a host of official and unofficial fan-­led websites dedicated to defunct groups. In some cases, the continued enthusiasm of fans has sparked a reunion, leading to the appearance of senior versions of former boy bands whereas others disappear without trace, never to be seen or heard again. The next chapter looks at the reasons why bands split up, the emotional repercussions for fans

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as well as the artists themselves. Motivations underpinning reunions and the success or failure of these initiatives are also examined.

Notes 1 Notable exceptions include McRobbie and Garber (2002), McRobbie (1978) and Willis (1990), all of whom addressed the exscription of girls within the existing studies. 2 Radway’s (1984) research demonstrates how girls use popular media texts as a means of escape and a way of navigating the emotional challenges presented by patriarchal culture. 3 For example, Judith Halberstam’s (2005) research on queer culture shows how drag kings use exaggerated parody, exposing the constructed nature of boy band masculinity to a lesbian audience. 4 Among the web sites acting as repositories for boy band fiction, a notable example is www.fanfiction.net, which plays host to thousands of stories under a variety of headings. 5 ‘Beard’ is a term employed to describe female companions of homosexuals who are used by men to conceal their true sexuality. 6 The numerous contemporary advertisements for Beatles wigs, Cuban heel boots and Beatle suits indicate that there was a market for such products. 7 The Yardbirds, the Byrds and the Who were all popular with boys during the 1960s and possibly less so with female fans. 8 Others subjected to the wrath of the Gallagher brothers include Robbie Williams of Take That and US boy band the Backstreet Boys who were labelled “rubbish” with the suggestion that both “should be shot” (BBC, 2001). 9 The concert took place on 12 May 2015 at The Academy, Manchester. 10 Hensley and his fiancé Olly Marmon were featured in Attitude magazine’s March 2014 special edition on gay marriage. 11 The letter A in the group’s name is a reference to Adonis who epitomized male beauty in Greek mythology.

7 Breaking Up, Making Up and Moving On

All good things inevitably come to an end. Pop managers are under no illusions regarding the longevity of their boy bands as they know that young performers and fans will eventually grow up and move on. In Louis Walsh’s words: They go crazy, buy all their records, posters and DVDs and go to every show they can. And then they grow up. But the boys do, too; when you see facial hair, earrings and tattoos and they start to talk about being individuals, it’s time to go to the conveyor belt and get a new set. (Walsh, 2001) The groups break up for a number of reasons but high on the list is the pressure placed upon immature artists, whose punishing schedules are designed to maximize a band’s earning potential within a limited timescale. The ensuing stress can eventually become intolerable, leading to health problems and burnout: a casualty of 1990s group 5ive gives some idea of the pressures in his account of a typical working week. We might be on the Big Breakfast Show, say for six in the morning. So we’d be picked up at four in the morning or maybe earlier. We’d go straight into make-­up, we’d go on the show. We would literally finish the Big Breakfast and we could be jetting off to America … Then we could leave America after two days and go to, anywhere, Norway, Sweden, anywhere. It could be writing, it could be recording, it could have been touring. It was non-­stop and we didn’t get any breaks. (Newsbeat, 2015)

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His recollections included setting an alarm to snatch two hours sleep before being sent off to do promotional activities or whatever else the management had in mind that day. Not only is there insufficient time for rest and recuperation, even if there was, the boys are actively discouraged from spending time away from the work or investigating any alternative activities. Breakups are regularly caused by the interpersonal conflict that builds up in any group over time but in some cases, a healthy desire for freedom and greater agency underpins a need to go it alone. Throughout his time with the Beatles John Lennon “continually sought, in his music and his life, the right to exist on his own terms” – a desire to pursue personal and artistic goals that were incompatible with teen pop (Foss, 1983: 190). Likewise, creative frustration led Charlie Simpson to exit from Busted. An accomplished musician  –  he had never been a pop fan – he was primarily interested in rock and became increasingly annoyed by the vacuous questions of pop journalists. Eventually things came to a head. His dark night of the soul happened in a German hotel room at which point he said he, “almost broke down. And people would say, ‘It’s fine though, you must be making loads of money!’ And I was like: ‘I don’t give a shit about that’” (McLean, 2011). Simpson is one of a minority of artists to make a transition from pop to performing hard rock, forming the band Fightstar while still under contract with Busted. His experience is not universal, however, because even though artists crave freedom and a break from routine, with very limited life experience, they are ill-­prepared for the inevitable split. A continual round of photoshoots, radio and television interviews, not to mention concert after-­ parties, ensures they are effectively shielded from everyday reality. When the end comes it can be a complete shock as Abz, a former teen idol of the group 5ive explains: “It’s a whirlwind. When you’re in it, it’s hard to see outside of it … You don’t get any warning. One minute you’re up there, and the next another band comes along to usurp you.” Before they know it, the dream is over (Masoliver, 2016: 29). The breakup is potentially deeply traumatizing, especially for those who spend their formative years in a pop band, making life post-­demise both empty and disorientating. On the subject of East 17’s split, Tony Mortimer said “When it all went wrong, it felt like the world was ending. You’d been wanted and then, nothing. And my friends didn’t want to know me … It had been my baby and now it wasn’t” (Rogers, 2009). When asked if his initial exit from Take That resembled John Lennon’s ‘lost year’ following the Beatles’ split, Robbie Williams response indicates how ill-­prepared he had been. I dunno what he got up to in his lost year … but I’m sure it was more culturally enriching than my year in a Maida Vale basement, hanging out with gangsters and all and sundry, staying up for too many days in a row. It was the first time I wasn’t in Stoke with my mum. And it’s the first time that you go: “What, I can eat all the cake?” (McLean, 2011)

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Emotional reactions to a split closely resemble the stages of grief identified by Elisabeth Kübler-­Ross (2005) in her pioneering work on loss and bereavement. She found that whatever form a loss takes, the bereaved must move through distinct stages if they are to fully recover from the experience. Distinct but overlapping stages of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, with anger usually surfacing once the initial shock subsides. ­A lthough anger tends to predominate, by working through the stages, the bereaved can embrace and eventually come to terms with the finality of loss. A failure to do so could leave them paralysed by grief. En route to acceptance, blame is high on the emotional list. Whereas fans would rather blame someone other than the love object, the artists themselves often blame one another. For example, when the Beatles broke up John ­Lennon and Paul McCartney held each other responsible. Both artists continued to make defamatory remarks in subsequent solo work including John Lennon’s song ‘How Do You Sleep?’ composed following Paul McCartney’s successful bid to dissolve the group. In the song he accuses his former band mate of being a ‘yes man’, questions his song-­w riting ability, insinuating that he lacks originality, while poking fun at the banality of his efforts with new group Wings: The only thing you done was yesterday And since you’re gone you’re just another day McCartney also behaved in a similar way in ‘Too Many People’ (1971), which includes the lines: You took your lucky break and broke it in two Now what can be done for you? You broke it in two He admitted the song “was a bit of a dig at John, actually, because he was digging at me. We were digging at each other in the press. Not harsh, but pissed off with each other basically” (du Noyer, 2016: 96). Prior to their breakup, members of *NSYNC began to pull in different directions before blaming one another for the ultimate demise. Lance Bass, speaking of fellow singer Justin Timberlake who was beginning to take on solo work said: He didn’t think any of us was operating in the best interest of the band  …  I  asked him what he meant by that, and he said, “Well, you know, when y’all did your movie,” meaning Joey [Fatone] and me [in the 2001 film On The Line] … I couldn’t believe it. That sounded like the lamest excuse imaginable. Joey and I looked at each other in amazement. (Garis, 2017)

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Bass subsequently confessed to feeling betrayed by his bandmate who had taken part in a film a year before himself. In an equally acrimonious split, the individual artists in East 17 turned upon each other: Tony Mortimer describes how his personal experience was coloured by anger and blame: I was angry with them for a long time, especially when we tried to reform and it didn’t work out [the reunion ended with Mortimer punching Harvey]. Now I say good luck to them. I’ve got my own life, I’ve played good gigs recently, and I’m writing new music, which will be released next year. It’s hard seeing bands like Take That get big again, though, especially when they’re releasing singles with bloody ukuleles all over them. We were a big deal in the 1990s. We made great records. It makes me sad that people don’t remember. (Rogers, 2009) The mental wellbeing of artists in the grip of such conflict inevitably suffers. A UK charity; Love Music, Help Musicians acknowledges that “the highs and lows of performing, financial insecurity and anti-­social working hours” have a detrimental effect on the mental health of musicians. A survey of 2,211 professional musicians commissioned by the organization found that 71.1% of respondents believed they had experienced incidences of anxiety and panic attacks, 68.5% of respondents experienced incidences of depression … nearly 1 in 5 of the population suffer from anxiety and/ or depression (aged 16 years +). This research suggests that musicians could be up to three times more likely to suffer from depression compared to the general public. (Gross and Musgrave, 2016: 5) Record companies are unlikely to offer support in the event of an emotional downturn when a band is breaking up. More than likely they will have moved on to the next up-­and-coming band, leaving shell-­shocked artists alone, adjusting to the absence of adoring fans, not to mention the prospect of a return to anonymity. In the absence of any clear direction, individuals who are used to being in the spotlight and following directives from management, face an uncertain future. Sudden loss of identity can lead to problems adjusting and destructive behaviour patterns. [W]hen people are unsure of what lies over the crest of the hill and they find themselves without a map, they tend to follow one of two well-­ trodden paths. When people are no longer famous they feel lost, they don’t know who they are. Often people who’ve been in boybands have

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either found religion or found alcohol. That feeling of being on stage. It’s hard for people once it’s over, and they’ve had to find a way to deal with not having that adoration. (Masoliver, 2016: 30) Simon Webbe, describing his own nadir, admitted: “That’s when I went into heavy drinking, long nights out, sleeping all day, curtains closed, watching DVDs over and over again  …  I used to have thoughts of how I’m going to end it. How do I do this? Do I just jump on my motorbike and take a corner at 70 mph and see what happens?” (Masoliver, 2016: 30). When East 17 folded, Brian Harvey’s post-­pop career was plagued by false starts, major depression and chaotic public outbursts, including a bid to draw attention to the music industry’s shortcomings by posting an online video of himself destroying his platinum records (Allen, 2017). Gary Barlow turned to binge-­eating as a way of filling the void when Take That ended. In a recent revelation, he confessed to an ongoing problem, admitting that “weight has always been my enemy … with every mouthful of food I have always felt guilty” (Smith, 2013: 193). No doubt pop’s emphasis on looking good fuelled Barlow’s negative body image. His difficulties also demonstrate how psychosomatic symptoms emerge or are aggravated by the stress of breaking up with a group that has taken on the role of a surrogate family. For young fans the problems are magnified by the collective distress generated by the fandom. The disintegration of a much-­loved group or even the defection of an individual band member can trigger a major grief response as witnessed in the mass hysteria when Gary Barlow announced Take That’s impending demise. Emergency counselling and phone lines were organized to provide support for traumatized fans as they struggled to come to terms with the shocking news. Twenty years after the shock announcement one fan admitted to still being upset, saying: “I still think about the split and randomly included this fact into a conversation about my weekend plans. It has stuck with me forever … I was a heart-­broken 12-­year-old” (Davis, 2016). Zayn Malik’s exodus from One Direction sparked widespread waves of shock and anger, leading some fans to resort to organized outbreaks of self-­ harming. In common with the shell-­shocked artists, younger fans are unlikely to have much experience of death, and a pop group splitting up is possibly the closest they have come to the loss of an important relationship. Rather than blaming the love object, it is not uncommon for them to look to an alternative repository for the torrent of rage. Thus, when the Beatles broke up, fans directed their pent-­up emotions at Yoko Ono, on whom they unleashed their anger in no uncertain terms.1 Similarly, One Direction fans were quick to place blame for Zayn Malik’s departure on his fiancée Perrie Edwards, referring to her as the ‘Yoko Ono’ of the band (Barnett, 2015). The anger is quite irrational  –  no pop group can go on together forever, and individual members must sometimes leave in order to fulfil ambitions that

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cannot be met within the confines of a band. Sometimes interpersonal dynamics have become toxic to the point that it would be unhealthy or unwise for all concerned to continue, but as Kübler-­Ross reminds us, when it comes to grief: “Anger does not have to be logical or valid. You may be angry that you didn’t see this coming and when you did there was nothing you could do” (Kübler-­Ross, 2005: 11). Moreover, she argues, the anger only surfaces when the bereaved are feeling safe enough to believe that they will survive whatever the loss entails. The negative portrayal of distraught teenage girls conceals a much wider societal problem regarding the processing of grief. Western secular society has difficulty in accommodating death and loss to the point that extreme emotional outbursts are suppressed. As a patriarchal environment, overt signs of distress are rejected in favour of stoicism and the denial of emotionality (Harris, 2010). When a favoured band splits or a favoured music icon dies, older male fans may not scream and wail in public but they too experience shock, anger and distress, even if it is expressed differently. Men were among the crowd at the vigil held following John Lennon’s death in 1980 when more than 50,000 people congregated in New York’s Central Park, silently sharing their grief.2 However, in another example, footage of a wake after rock star Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994 shows a predominantly male crowd exhibiting clear signs of distress as the fans try to come to terms with his untimely death.3 Adult male fans of Prince also expressed deep sadness at his sudden demise, some expressing the depth of the grief within the privacy and safety of the internet: “Just out of the tube and seen the news. Tears on the underground. Thank you for everything, Prince. Devastated doesn’t even cover it” (Terry ‘Beez’ Bezzer). Another distraught male writes “Prince is dead. I’m crying” (Tewpyioc).4 Young and female fans are clearly not the only ones to feel extreme distress when faced with sudden loss but the media prefers to pathologize female behaviour. The girls’ abjection is compounded by the fact that the outpouring of grief is directed towards young, male pop stars who under patriarchy, are judged unworthy of such emotional incontinence.

Moving On Due to their extreme youth at the point of recruitment, those making a move might anticipate a lengthy career ahead of them and for some fortunate individuals, the transition from teen idol to adult star is relatively straightforward. Alanis Morrissette lived down her past as a Canadian child star; Ricky Martin did his time in Menudo, the Puerto Rican boy band. Robbie Williams, formerly of the English boy band Take That, was a smash in England and has been moderately successful here. Jordan Knight, a former New Kid on the Block, recently had a Top 10 single, and Geri

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Halliwell, who bailed out of the Spice Girls after two albums, has started to present herself as an adult. (Pareles, 1999) For the majority, however, the breakup turned out to be catastrophic because over the years alumni of boy bands regularly disappear without trace, making the trajectory of Robbie Williams, Ronan Keating and Justin Timberlake seem exceptional. Indeed, in the words of one music journalist: “you can name on one hand the number of former boy banders who went on to lead careers as successful as the ones they enjoyed as part of their groups” (Masoliver, 2016: 28). To some extent the problem of sustaining a long-­term pop career is caused by popular music culture’s difficulties in coming to terms with ageing. Bennett and Taylor raise the issue in relation to society’s problem with accepting the audience’s long-­term investment in popular music. In their words: there seems to be the nagging assertion that ageing audiences’ continuing investment in popular music, in anything other than a private sphere context, can only be understood via a need to ‘reject’ ageing through absorption in a ‘youth’ cultural environment within which they are increasingly out of place and redundant. (Bennett and Taylor, 2012: 233) Like fans, musicians have to deal with societal concerns surrounding the process of ageing. If they are to continue participating in popular music, they must endure social pressure to remain young in a sphere of culture that rejects growing old. Using existing skills is one way of moving forward, as they are already well known and have the security blanket of a fan following. If those fans are happy to ‘grow up’ with the artists, they can be counted on to remain faithful. Hence those heading for a singing career can test the water by releasing material in a solo capacity. Ronan Keating of Boyzone took this route, releasing the song ‘When You Say Nothing At All’, which was recorded for the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill in 1999. He also used his inside knowledge of working as a pop singer to act in a pop management capacity where he could draw on his connections and awareness of the industry to help Westlife achieve two number one hits in the UK (Levy, 2000: 47). A combination of singing, dancing and dramaturgic skills equipped some candidates for a new career in musical theatre, a direction pursued by Duncan James and Simon Webbe who both found roles in West End theatre productions of Sister Act.5 Perhaps because mainstream pop singers appear more apolitical it is also relatively easy for them to find work in the media mainstream, particularly in film, television and radio, where a blend of performing arts skills are very useful. Marvin Humes of British group JLS made a successful transition from

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singing and dancing to become a television and radio presenter, hosting reality show The Voice and co-­presenting the ITV programme This Morning. He has also found work as a presenter on a national radio station, a career move pursued by Union J alumnus George Shelley, who worked as a presenter on ­Capital FM.6 Like many fellow artists, Shelly has pursued celebrity status, notably appearing as a contestant in the fifteenth series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me out of Here! where he was a runner up. The exposure enabled him to secure work as an actor and he successfully auditioned for roles in comedy and sitcom. Whichever direction they choose, it still seems to be easier for male artists to change direction in a culture that is prejudiced against older women, most of whom struggle to forge post teen-­pop careers as radio presenters or social commentators. The music industry’s gender politics ensure that female performers must continually strive to remain sexy and appealing to men of all ages yet, “As male entertainers age, there are numerous possibilities open to them if they have talent, regardless of their looks” (Lieb, 2013: 93).

Acquiring Authenticity Even though it involves an element of risk, espousing a new musical identity is one effective way of creating distance from the past. Following initial declarations of continuing friendship, defectors are likely to distance themselves from bandmates. Shaking off a boy band image is not easy for anyone coming from a pop-­oriented background but since Sanders (2002) suggests the primary motivation for leaving these groups is a desire to prove artistic legitimacy, this is a central challenge. The existing music output lacks credibility with esteemed peers therefore artists strive to reinvent themselves as mature, self-­ directed adults. John Lennon established the tradition by leaving the Beatles in a flurry of publicity before embarking on a solo career. In one of his first appearances as a solo artist, he featured in a concert as part of super group the Dirty Mac, featuring Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell and his second wife Yoko Ono (Harry, 2000). By assembling such a venerated team of rock musicians, Lennon demonstrated his credentials as a rock star and, in doing so, placed his pop history firmly behind him. Subsequently taking on the mantle of social critic, he used his new identity to challenge inequality and pursue quasi-­ political causes, a position normally off limits for pop performers The change was reflected in anti-­establishment themes of later songs including ‘Give Peace a Chance’ (1969), ‘Power to the People’ (1970) and ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’ (1972). Having made the decision to leave, artists will typically instigate an extensive reinvention of their image, whether by modifying iconography and music style or through the creation of new personal narratives. No longer a cheeky Liverpudlian pop singer with a penchant for jokes, Lennon’s new narrative portrayed him as a serious-­m inded political commentator and fully

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paid-­up member of the international avant-­g arde. Whereas Brian Epstein had always encouraged him to avoid controversy and to dress in a business-­l ike manner, Lennon’s image evolved to fit his new identity. When they play the role of pop ambassadors, young singers are taught to avoid swearing, saying anything remotely controversial or attracting negative publicity associated with drug and alcohol abuse. These attributes are the preserve of popular music’s ‘bad boys’, a role traditionally occupied by male performers in music genres other than mainstream pop. If they wish to outgrow an unduly wholesome image then they can profit from acquiring a bad boy persona as this provides access to new fans, notably male followers who find it easier to identify with rebellious male figures. It is somewhat easier for those already labelled mysterious or rebellious to accomplish the feat, as Kari Hansen explains, showing how a combination of “provocative lyrical themes, shock effects, and surreal aesthetics” were employed to shift perceptions of Zayn ­Malik’s masculinity from safe and innocent to “dangerous and seductive” (Hansen, 2016:1). His credentials were already partially established within One Direction where he was pictured wearing a T-­shirt emblazoned with the text ‘Fuck you’ printed large. Although these token images of rebellion function mainly as expressions of teenage playfulness, in Malik’s case, the subliminal message provided him with a bad boy platform. As a joker with rebellious tendencies, Robbie Williams also successfully cultivated a bad boy identity, ditching his clean-­cut image by dyeing his hair blonde and partying with members of rock band Oasis. Whatever image is eventually adopted, the process of change is fraught with risks, not least due to the fact that the artists are so well known, making transition a very public trajectory. Unlike normal teenagers, a musical artist does not have the luxury of (re)making [their] image in the privacy of his or her bedroom. When an artist decides, or the producers decide, that it is time to shed innocence, music video presents this newly blown sexuality in full force, much to the initial shock of the fans and the dismay of their parents. (Andsager and Roe, 2003: 88) One of the first things to modify is the artist’s appearance. In the early stage of their career, the Beatles were always presented as clean-­shaven whereas later, when starting to establish more adult and independent identities, their lengthening hair, beards and moustaches, signified a rejection of their ‘boys next door’ identity. During the early 1970s John Lennon espoused a beard and dressed in faded denim jeans, more in keeping with the role of a rock provocateur and to a greater or lesser extent, his bandmates accomplished a similar overhaul of their pop image. The change illustrates Erving Goffman’s (1961) observations on ‘role distance’, whereby symbolic means are used to effect a break from a

Breaking Up, Making Up and Moving On  131

prescribed role. Through a combination of gestures and clothing the rejection of a former identity is clearly signposted, allowing those involved to take on new attitudes and behaviours. If earlier promotional images promote conservative values through the medium of business clothing and a lack of facial hair, signifiers such as stubble and unconventional dress connote signs of rebellion and a rejection of authority. Moving between genres and becoming comfortable with a new set of conventions is not easy. Brabazon suggests that if they wish to “move away from a boy band and become men” alumni need to exhibit “less dancing, more singing [and] more musicianship” (Brabazon, 2011: 218). The denigration of dance has helped to cement distinctions between genres and styles of popular music performance. For example, during the 1990s, Noel Gallagher famously dismissed Robbie Williams as a “fat dancer from Take That” (Gibsone, 2013), a remark designed to magnify the importance of his own capabilities as a guitarist/songwriter while defending the ideology of rock as a cerebral genre. In order to make the transition from pop to R&B, heartthrob Justin Bieber confessed he used the services of an expert to acquire some street capital: “I have a swagger coach that helps me and teaches me … He has helped me with my style and just putting different pieces together and being able to layer and stuff like that” (Huffington Post, 2011). Sometimes there is a tendency towards overkill in the new role. When Zayn Malik left One Direction his new rebel identity involved changing his hair colour, wearing dark clothing, posting moody black and white images of himself on Instagram and releasing a single containing strong language and references to X-­rated sexual marathons.7 In a bid to overcome his middlebrow pop credentials he used the hashtag #realmusic to announce a new record with RCA Records. During an interview he claimed his focus had shifted to “dirty R and B” because “everybody has sex, and it’s something people wanna hear about. It’s part of everybody’s life, a very big part of life. And you don’t want to sweep it under the carpet” (Renshaw, 2016). A lack of life experience can inadvertently propel the boys into the bad boy role. They are vulnerable to falls from grace because unlike other young people, their lives are continually under the watchful eye of the media. Furthermore pop singers who move too far into uncharted moral and behavioural territory can be rejected by the public, and suffering rejection after years of adoration is a major obstacle to adjustment. Prior to leaving East 17 group Brian Harvey confessed to taking ecstasy pills, endorsing his actions by arguing that “It’s cool to take drugs” and that the drug had the capacity to “make you a better person”. The story was immediately conflated with the death of teenager Leah Betts who had died after taking MDMA. A media furore led to questions in the House of Commons and Harvey was asked to leave the group (Boffey, 2015). His career floundered to the point that he now lives on benefits and suffers from severe mental illness. At a particularly low point during a hospital stay Harvey contemplated suicide: “I could have walked out of that place that

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night, walked off and jumped off a bridge … Because, I tell you what: I felt like it” (dePeyer, 2015).

The Man Band Phenomenon Not all breakups are permanent. In an era where audiences are accustomed to parody, pastiche and the return of a past “without affect” ( Jameson, 1991: xvii), disbanded groups have the option of reincarnating and returning to the live circuit as adult versions of former selves. The prospect of a lucrative tour is often enough to entice some individuals to settle their differences. Music journalist Craig McLean (2011) suggests the man band phenomenon flourishes in the context of a wider societal drift towards nostalgia. The proliferation of tribute bands paying homage to the dead and defunct is symptomatic of this preoccupation with the past, and man bands are likely to find themselves in competition with a parodic workforce who are already regurgitating their repertoire and identity. Nevertheless, for anyone whose efforts as a solo artist stalled or diminished, the man band is a particularly attractive proposition. When Robbie Williams’ solo career lost momentum he was eventually persuaded to join the reformed Take That who had been operating as a four-­piece in his absence. Emily Herbert points out how he and Gary Barlow were able to put aside longstanding hostilities in a bid to rekindle the rapport they once had. She reports how Robbie said “Ever since I left Take That I’ve wanted to be in a band … We’ve all matured a lot since we parted, I’m very pleased to say the differences we’ve had have just melted away” (Herbert, 2011). Other high-­profile ensembles have followed a similar trajectory. In 2011, New Kids on The Block also joined the nostalgia circuit, touring alongside the Backstreet Boys – that same year East 17 joined the bandwagon and Blue were reunited to represent Britain in the Eurovision song contest.8 If the reunion works, artists stand to reap significant benefits. Following Robbie’s return, Take That

Figure 7.1 

Westlife.

Breaking Up, Making Up and Moving On  133

released Progress, which became the second-­fastest selling album in British ­ music history. As they approach their forties there is a poignancy about the late-­career performances of boy bands, forever cast in the role of lovelorn young men. Kai Hansen elaborates on the issues arising from arrested adulthood. Though the sentiment of sustained adolescence may sit well with particular audiences, it is far from unproblematic. As artists grow older, the non-­threatening qualities of extended boyhood are likely to raise feelings of unease about manhood unfulfilled. And, while their clean, youthful images allow boy bands to successfully engage their target audiences and withstand the scrutiny of protective parents, their representations of sustained adolescence can carry with them various stigma that are difficult to escape. (Hansen, 2016: 3) Their dilemma mirrors that of Hollywood child stars who, whatever their true age, were compelled to continue playing junior roles. In this respect the perpetually youthful are victims of the more widespread cultural phenomenon of “juvenation”, coined by John Hartley to describe, “the creative practice of communicating with a readership via the medium of youthfulness” (Hartley, 2002: 51). He argues that the over-­representation of young people in twentiethand twenty-­fi rst-century imagery is symptomatic of a widespread obsession with youth. Positive reception of the juvenated and cultural rejection of all signs of ageing demonstrate the extent of the trend which makes a transition to man band particularly challenging. Like women in pop who are traditionally forced to look much younger than their years: ageing male performers are expected to maintain a trim figure, youthful features and a level of fitness more befitting a callow youth. Back flips, handstands and body rolls can be modified or eliminated entirely, but signs of hair loss, ‘moobs’, wrinkles or an expanding waistline are unacceptable. The rise of the man band shows how masculine culture responds to challenging social and economic circumstances but we should not assume that because softer, female-­f riendly male identities are gaining acceptance, that the representations by themselves will dismantle hegemonic masculinity, still “currently [the] most honoured way of being a man” (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005: 832). The performance of gender-­neutral masculine identity is not going to counter centuries of female subordination or the suppression of homosexuality and minorities. Moreover, Jarman-­Ivens (2013) reminds us of the tenacity of tradition and how within the gender milieu, normative formations always manage to maintain a robust presence.9 Hegemony is perfectly capable of adapting to maintain a preferred social order even if this involves men abandoning long-­established customs, behaviours and visual cues.

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Notes 1 See Johnstone (2010) for Yoko Ono’s account of the wrath she incurred at the time. 2 See http://ultimateclassicrock.com/john-­lennon-silent-­vigil/ [Accessed 28 ­November 2018]. 3 The vigil can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3f WXeWOKH0 [­Accessed 28 November 2018]. 4 See www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-­news/devastated-­prince-fans-­tears-after-­7805647 [Accessed 28 November 2018]. 5 See www.westendtheatre.com/2608/news/casting-­simon-webbe-­joins-sister-­actand-­r ichard-fleeshman-­joins-legally-­blonde/ [Accessed 28 November 2018]. 6 Since 2013 Humes has been presenting his own show on Capital Radio. 7 The single ‘Pillowtalk’ was released in 2016, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot Hundred and the UK Singles Chart. 8 They ended up in eleventh place. 9 For example, although emo music challenges conventional gender boundaries by allowing men levels of emotional expression normatively judged as feminine, the subculture only attracts a minority male following. Although the subculture’s ­a mbiguous masculinity appears to challenge convention, according to Emily Ryalls it “privileges a masked hegemonic masculinity in which a fluid gender performance only serves heteronormative ends” (Ryalls, 2013: 83).

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Index

Note: italic page numbers refer to figures; page numbers followed by “n” denote endnotes. 5ive 54, 115, 122, 123 98 degrees 54, 102 360 deals 61 911 52, 54, 108 A1 54, 108 ABBA 45 Abercrombie, N. 103 Abz 123 acapella music/groups 19, 20–1 Ace Hood 54 Acrush 117 Action, the 111 Adams, Ben 108 Adams, G. 68 Adler, J. 46 Adorno, T. 42, 105–6 Albarn, Damon 42, 112 alcohol promotion 65 Allen, Lily 51 All-4-One 55 alter egos 77 Altman, Rick 10 amateur harmony groups 18–21 Anderson, J. 113 Andsager, J. 130 anger, following breakups 124, 127 Animals, the 11 Anka, Paul 27

archetypes 52–3 Archibald Ingall Stretton 80 Arnold, Shirley 105 Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts 41 Atkins, Cholly 33, 34 Atlantic record label 21 Attali, Jacques 45 Attitude 115 Austen, J. 50 auteurs 5, 38; emergence of in pop music 29–31, 31 authenticity 11, 129–32 Auto-Tune software 58n8 Awaz 17 baby-faced blonde archetype 53 Bachelors, the 21, 29 Backstreet Boys 18, 24, 36n15, 45, 47, 53, 58n17, 75, 95, 117; dance routines 11; fandom and fan culture 115; marketing and presentation of 3; and professional songwriters 56; record sales 82n5; re-forming of 2, 132; regional identity 66–7; and romance 92; youthful identity 55 bad boy archetype 52–3, 130, 131–2 Bad Boys Inc. 115 Baker, Sarah 101, 104 ballroom dancing 85

158 Index

barbershop groups 18, 19 baritone voices 95–6 Barker, Hugh 42 Barlow, Gary 43, 45, 56, 126, 132 Baron, Katie 78 Barter, C. 36n21 Bartlesville Barflies, the 18 Bass, Lance 71–2, 76, 115, 124–4 bass voices 95–6 Bauhaus 36n22 Bay City Rollers 8, 22, 47; concealment of relationships 72; fandom and fan culture 101, 111–12; and professional songwriters 56; record sales 60; Scottish identity 54, 66, 67 BBMak 52 Beach Boys 7n3, 9, 26, 30, 40 Beastie Boys 15n13 beat groups 28–9 Beatles, the 1, 8, 11, 15n2, 26, 28, 30, 36n18, 37, 53, 75; breakup of 123, 124, 126, 129; and Brian Epstein 2, 47, 48–9, 68, 79, 114, 130; concealment of relationships 72; contrast with the Monkees 42, 43; dress and appearance 27–8, 79, 111, 130; fandom and fan culture 101, 102, 104–5, 110, 114; as the first boy band 28; influence of 17; influence of doo-wop on 25–6; logo 69, 70; male fans 110, 114; and masculinities 27; merchandising 62–3, 63; non-sexual image 71; original songwriting 55; record sales 60; repertoire creation 55; and the Rolling Stones 67–8, 68; socio-economic background 99n12; uniformity and group identity 73, 74 Bee Gees 40 Bekiempis,V. 15n2 Benjamin, Walter 97 Bennett, A. 109, 112, 128 Bennett, L. 103 Berry, Bill 15n10 Betts, Leah 131 Billboard magazine 9 bisexual performers 7 Björnberg, Alf 15n8 black musical culture 4–5, 17, 20, 23–4; church singing 18–19; and hip-hop 35 blackface minstrel shows 19–20 Blackstreet 21, 24 Blake, Stacia 36n24 blame, and breakups 124 Blazin’ Squad 52

Blue 24, 44, 51, 56, 76, 132 Blur 42, 56, 112 ‘bobby soxers’ 27 “body music” 17 Bono 77 Boone, Pat 27 Booth, P. 103 Bourdieu, Pierre 6, 65, 103 Bourne, James 51 Bowie, David 14, 72, 77, 85, 117 boy bands: archetypes in 52–3; critical perspectives on 5, 36; definitions 58n18; emergence of the expression 28; historical evolution of 16–36; musicianship of 10, 14–15, 37, 38, 43–5; naming conventions 53–5; number in 52; overview and context 1–7; pressure and stress on 122–3; re-forming of 132–3; short life cycle of 46–7; youth and good looks in 12–13, 89–90; see also breakups; construction of boy bands; fandom and fan culture; marketing and promotion; masculinity boyhood 13 boys: contemporary roles 4; language and terminology 13–14; reference to adult males as 13 Boyzone 14, 18, 21, 29, 58n17, 76; branding 64; breakup of 128; dance routines 11, 24; fandom and fan culture 114; Irish identity 66; non-sexual image 71; visual appearance 79; youthful identity 55 Boyz II Men 21, 24, 36n15, 55, 67, 92, 96–7; male fans 112–13 Brabazon, Tara 11, 131 brand ambassadors, artist as 62 branding 61–5, 63; and the Beatles 62–3, 63; taste and social class 65–6 breakups 120–1, 122–7; emotional reactions of band members to 123–6; emotional reactions of fans to 126–7; see also re-forming of bands Brinton, Mary 93 Britpop 49 bromances 74, 107 Brooks, Garth 54 Bros 8, 15n3, 52, 57n2 Brown, Anastasia 41 Buffalo Bills, the 18 Burnim, M. 32–3 Burns, J.M. 48 Bush, Kate 110

Index  159

Busted 8, 51, 123 Butler, Judith 2, 84, 85, 116 Byrds, the 30, 36n18, 111 Byrne, Nicky 44 Cadillacs, the 95 Calder, Eleanor 107 Calloway, Cab 33 CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) 93 Cambridge Dictionary 10 camp 3 Campbell, Glen 54 Campbell, Michael 24 Capital FM 129 Carlin, R. 30 Carroll Levis’ Discoveries 41 Cars, the 15n10 Carter, Nick 53, 75, 115 Cash, Johnny 95 Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies 102–3 Chaney, David 108 Chasez, J.C. 52 child stars 133 choral singing 11, 95 Chords, the 23 Christian imagery 79 church singing 18–19, 20 Cicero 86 Clapton, Eric 129 Clean Bandit 58n15 Coates, N. 119 Cobain, Kurt 77, 127 Coggin, Richard 80 Cohen, Sara 50, 54 Coker, H. 66 Coldplay 51, 65, 82n6, 110 Cole, Cheryl 90, 119 Coleman, Ray 2 “collective intelligence” 105 Collins, Phil 15n10, 111 Collins English Dictionary 9–10 colours, in visual appearance 79 Columbia 65 Connell, J. 66 Connell, Raewyn 3, 93 construction of boy bands 37–9; archetypes 52–3; critique of reality format 42–3; market saturation 45–6; and musicianship 10, 14–15, 37, 38, 43–5; naming conventions 53–5; and politics of identity 49–52; repertoire creation

55–6; romance codes 56–7, 90–2; sibling bands and friendship groups 39–40; star-makers and pop Svengalis 47–8, 67–8; television talent contests 5, 9, 37, 40–3, 45–6; and transformational leadership 48–9; and visual appearance 43; workplace ideology 46–7; youth and regional identity signification 54–5 consumption, female 10 Cookney, Francesca 106 corporate sponsorship 61 “cosmopedia” 105 ‘cougars’ 90, 119 Coulter, Phil 56 country music 54 cover songs 23, 24, 49, 55 Cowell, Simon 2, 41, 42, 43, 78 Craik, Jennifer 73, 111 Crests, the 36n13 Crew Cuts, the 23 “crisis of proliferation” 45 Crosby, Still and Nash 30, 31 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 9 crowdfunding platforms 38–9 Crows, the 18 “cultural dopes” 6 Curtis, Ian 36n24 Dahlgreen, W. 114 dance 10, 11, 31–3; absence of in rock music 31; denigration of 131; Michael Jackson 24; and pop masculinity 93; punk 95; and Tamla Motown 33–5 dandyism 3 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch 26 Davies, Ray and Dave 82n19 Davis, B. 126 De Boise, S. 112 Del Satins, the 31 Delta Rhythm Boys 35n7 Del-Vikings, the 36n13 Diamond, Neil 56, 100n23 Dirty Mac 129 Ditto, Beth 116 Diver, M. 68 Doane, Mary Ann 97 Döhl, Frederick 20 Dolenz, Micky 42–3 Donohue, S. 118 doo-wap 1, 16, 18, 47, 55; demise of 25–6; identity politics 23–4; low-cost production values 21–2; visual appearance 78

160 Index

Dovells, the 55 downloading music 61 drag kings 3, 117 Drifters, the 7n3 Driver, Susan 115 Dru Hill 21 drug use 72–3, 131–2 du Noyer, P. 124 ‘dual address’ 76 Duffett, Mark 3, 9, 10, 103; 7n5 Duff-Gordon, Lady 15n12 Duralde, A. 78 Durex 65–6 Dylan, Bob 55, 77 East 17, 21, 50–1, 72–3, 95, 131–2; branding 64; breakup of 123, 125, 126; dance routines 11; original songwriting 56; re-forming of 132; regional identity 54, 55, 58n18, 68; socio-economic background 99n12; songwriting by 15n3 ectomorphic bodies 93–4 Edge, the 77 Edison Male Quartet 20 Edison Quartet, the 18 Edsels, the 25 Edwards, Perrie 126 Ehrenreich, B. 102, 111 Eminem 14, 52 emo subculture 72, 113, 134n9 emotional revolution, postwar period 27–8 employment, and fandom and fan culture 104–5 Epstein, Brian 2, 47, 48–9, 68, 79, 114, 130; see also Beatles, the Epstein, J. 114 erotic capital 89–90 European musical culture 20 Eurovision Song Contest 45, 82n6, 132 Eve, M. 11 Everly Brothers 40, 55 Exo 52 expendability, of performers 25, 122 Ezra, George 100n23 Fabian 27 Facebook 7n5, 10, 39, 80, 105 falsetto voices 96 fan magazines 104 fandom and fan culture 5–7, 101–2; alternative forms of 108–9; challenging taste hierarchies 102–3; emotional

reactions to breakups 126–7; and employment 104–5; empowerment through 103–5; female 16–17; feminine role reversal 107–8; gay male fans 74–6, 75, 113–16; and gender identities 110–13; lesbian and trans fans 116–17; ‘mum pop’ and mature female fans 117–21; and passivity stereotypes 105–7; stereotypes of 101; straight male fans 109–10 fashion and dress 49, 78–9; and the Beatles 27–8, 79, 111, 130; and fandom 110–13; and the feminine 88; and male performers 27; see also suits; visual appearance Fatone, Joey 124 Feehily, Markus 76 female consumption 10, 103 female culture: denigration of 102–3; evolution of 16–17 feminine, the, incorporation of 88–9 feminine role reversal, in fandom and fan culture 107–8 feminism 84, 103 Fightstar 123 Filan, Shane 112 financial mismanagement of pop managers 2, 47 Finnegan, R. 54 Fiske, John 104, 105 Five Chances, the 32 Five Keys, the 22 Five Satins, the 22 Flamingoes, the 18, 47, 95 Foley, Kathy 47 Forster, A. 115 Foucault, Michel 5, 14 Four Seasons, the 7n3, 9, 25 Four Tops, the 8, 47 Four Vagabonds, the 35n7 Frankfurt School 6 Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers 23, 25 Franklin, Melvin 35n8 Franks, Ben 58n7 Freud, Sigmund 86 friendship groups 39–40 Frith, Simon 17, 29, 41, 60, 109 G4 54 Gallagher, Liam 42 Gallagher, Noel 131 Game 54 Garis, M. 124

Index  161

Gately, Stephen 76 gay artists 7, 16, 71–2, 76–8, 115 gay culture, and the male body 94–5 gay fans: female 116–17; male 7, 74–6, 75, 109, 113–16, 113–16, 117 Gay Times 115 gay-friendly environment 76–8, 77 gaze, the, and pop masculinity 97–8 gender liminality 117 gender parody 85 ‘gender-bending’ 85 George-Warren, H. 77 Geto Boys 15n13 Gibson, C. 66 Gilbert, S.M. 88 girls: contemporary roles 4; denigration of cultural pursuits of 102–3; empowerment through fandom 103–5; female consumption 10, 103; sexual abuse and violence towards 36n21; status of in pop music 38 girls’ magazines 91 glam rock subculture 72, 85, 88 globalization 17 Goffman, Erving 49, 88, 97, 130–1 Golden Gate Quartetto, the 35n7 good looks: and boy bands 12–13, 89–90, 126; see also visual appearance Goodall, N. 105 Goodman, P. 4 Gordy, Berry 33, 34, 36n14, 44 Gosling, Ryan 99n4 Goss, Matt and Luke 57n2 goth subculture 113 Gourdine, Anthony 25 Gracyk, Theodor 109 Grande, Ariane 66 Grant, Judith 76–7 Grant, Peter 58n11 Grateful Dead 54 Gray, Tyler 2 Green, Mike 113 grief, following breakups 124–7 Griffin, P. 10 Grimes, John and Edward see Jedward (John and Edward Grimes) Groes-Green, Christian 87 Gropius, Walter 36n22 Gross, S.A. 125 group identity 73, 73–4 Hakim, C. 89–90 Halberstam, Jack 2, 84, 102, 117

Hall, Mitchell 73 Halliwell, Geri 127–8 Handel, George Frederick 45 Hansen, Kai 133 Hansen, Kari 130 Hanson 8, 22, 40, 56; fandom and fan culture 116, 118–19; songwriting by 15n3, 15n5; youth of members 15n11 Harris, C. 102 Harrison, George 53, 114 Hartley, John 133 Harvey, Brian 72–3, 99n12, 126, 131–2 Hawkins, Stan 3, 17, 49 Hawkwind 36n24 Hayes, Isaac 100n23 Heaf, J. 102 heavy metal music 65, 88, 91, 93, 97; misogyny in 86, 87; visual culture 63–4 Hebdige, D. 85 Hector, Wayne 56 Hensley, Jaymi 115 Herbert, Emily 132 Herd, the 7 Hesmondhalgh, David 38–9 Hills, Matt 105 hip-hop 35, 76 Hodgkinson, W. 111 Hollywood child stars 133 homophobia 110, 114 homosocial behaviour 74, 76–7, 77 Horan, Niall 15n5 Hoult, Nicholas 99n4 Human League 15n16 Humes, Marvin 128–9 hymn singing 20; see also church singing identity: group 73, 73–4; national/ international 69–70, 70; non-sexual 71–2, 87–8, 91–2; racial 49–50; regional 54–5, 66–9, 67, 68; youthful and regional 54–5 identity politics 49–52; and doo-wop 23–4 IFPI 64 I’m A Celebrity… Get Me out of Here! 129 “impression management” 48–9 individuality, and group identity 73–4 Inglis, Ian 14 Ink Spots 7n3, 21, 35n7 internet discovery of performers 38–9 internet porn 6, 7 interpersonal conflict, and breakups 123, 127 Iraq, boy bands 17

162 Index

Ireland, “Celtic Tiger” identity 49 Iron Maiden 65 Ja Rule 54 Jackson 5, 6, 8, 11, 15n6, 25, 31, 40, 58n17; family management of 40, 58n10; Osmond’s competition with/copying of 20, 24, 36n14 Jagger, Mick 67, 77, 82n14, 82n19, 100n25; dance routines 11, 36n24; and masculinity 83–4, 85–6 James, Dawn 111 James, Duncan 76, 128 Jameson, Frederic 85 Jamie T. 51 Jamieson, Daryl 3, 115 Jan and Dean 26 Jardine, Al 40 Jarman-Ivens, Freya 3, 13, 52, 109, 111, 133 Jay and the Americans 26 Jay-Z 14 Jedward (John and Edward Grimes) 9 Jenkins, Henry 106 Jewkes, R. 89 JLS 18, 24, 36n15, 56, 65–6, 128 Johnson, J. 19 Johnson, Paul 101 joker archetype 53 Jonas Brothers 15n5, 55, 82n5 Jones, Davy 42–3 Jones, Grace 116 Jones, Hoppy 35n8 Jones, Simon 23–4 Jones, Tom 26 Jordan 90 J-Pop 17, 50 Justin, Ed 69 “juvenation” 133 Keating, Ronan 52, 76, 128 Keightley, Keir 25 Kelly, E. 108 Kelly, Freda 104–5 Kendricks, Eddie 35n8 Kenny, Bill 35n8 King, M. 64 King Crimson 54 Kinks, the 82n19 Kirshner, Don 58n20 Kiss 65 Knight, Jonathan 76 Knight, Jordan 127

knitting 85 K-Pop 17, 50, 52, 98, 107 Kruse, H. 110 Kübler-Ross, Elizabeth 124, 127 Laing, Dave 91 Laing, K.D. 116 Lamarre, T. 104 Lathrop, T. 61 Led Zeppelin 58n11, 77 Lemmy 15n10 Lennon, John 45, 53, 67, 72, 99n12, 123, 124; death of 127; solo career 129–30 Lennox, Annie 116 Leonard, Marion 95 lesbian fans 116–17 Levine, Ian 34 Levis, Carroll 41, 45 Levy, Frank 1–2 Lévy, Pierre 105 LFO 54 LGBT community 16; see also gay artists; gay fans; lesbian fans; trans fans Lieb, K.J. 71, 129 Lin, Elaine 107 Little Anthony and the Imperials 25 Live Nation 61 Löbert, Anja 105 location, and regional identity 54–5 Logan, Craig 57n2 logos 69–70, 70 Longhurst, Brian 28, 31, 62, 103 Love, Mike 40 Love Music, Help Musicians 125 Lurie, Alison 88 Lymon, Frankie 23, 25 Maccabees, the 51 McCartney, Paul 36n17, 114, 124 MacDonald, I. 36n17, 55 McDonald, Paul 3, 98 McFly 51 McGowan, Cathy 111 McGuigan, Jim 50 McGuiness, Paul 58n11 McGuire Sisters 23 Machin, David 79 McLean, A.J. 75 McLean, Craig 51, 123, 132 McMillan, John 67, 74 Maconie, Stuart 110 McRobbie, Angela 57, 103, 109 Madonna 90, 98

Index  163

Making a Band 41 male fans: gay 7, 74–6, 75, 109, 113–16, 117; reaction to death of artists 127; straight 109–10 Malik, Zayn 52, 126, 130, 131 ‘man bands’ 47, 61, 132–3 Manhansett Quartet 20, 35n4 Marcels, the 25, 95 Marder, P. 22 market saturation of boy bands 45–6 marketing, use of sex in 7 marketing and promotion 5, 60–1; branding 61–5, 63; gay male fans 7, 74–6, 75, 109, 113–16, 117; gay-friendly environment 76–8, 77; group identity 73, 73–4; logos 69–70, 70; and national/international identity 69–70, 70; non-sexual identity 71–2, 87–8, 91–2; regional identity 54–5, 66–9, 67, 68; social media 80–1; taste and social class 65–6; visual appearance 78–9; youthful androgyny 72–3 Marks & Spencer 66 Marling, Laura 51 Martin, Bill 56 Martin, Chris 110 Martin, Max 56 Martin, Ricky 76, 127 Martin-Smith, Nigel 44–5, 48, 114 masculinity 7, 83, 83–5; alternative 3, 7; decline of earnest masculinity 26–8; embodiment of 93–5; and erotic capital 89–90; fandom and fan culture 112–13; and the gaze 97–8; incorporating the feminine 88–9; modern 3–4; philogynous 85–8; in pop culture 3–4, 26–7; and romance 90–3; technological ineptitude and vocal transvestism 95–7; testicular mode of 96 Masoliver, D. 125–6, 128 mature female fans 117–21 Maultsby, P. 32–3 Meatloaf 15n10 media licensing 61 ‘mediated charisma’ 6 Meier, Leslie 38–9 Mello Moods, the 25 men: contemporary roles 4; ectomorphic bodies 93–4; and job market changes 93; reference to as ‘boys’ 13; suicide 93; see also masculinity mental health: of band members following breakups 125–6; and fandom 120

Menudo 25, 57n2, 76, 96, 127 merchandising 61, 65; and the Beatles 62–3, 63 Merriam Webster Dictionary 10, 14 Millar, Bill 23 Millard, A. 114 millennials: cultural shift in sexual behaviour 91–2 Miller, Janice 1, 43 Mills Brothers 21, 35n7, 40 Miracles, the 21–2, 34 misogyny 84, 86 Mitchell, Mitch 129 mixed-race bands 17, 23, 24, 36n13, 49–50 mod subculture 85, 95 Moe_Shinola 37 Moffatts, the 40 Monkees, the 6, 11, 42–3, 58n20, 73, 111; logo 69–70, 70; merchandising 65; professional songwriters 56; record sales 60 Moody Blues, the 26 Moonglows, the 23, 47 Moore, S. 94 Moos, Jennifer 3, 10, 11, 98, 101, 109 Morris, Wade 63 Morrissette, Alanis 127 Mortimer, Tony 50–1, 56, 99n12, 123, 125 mothers, veneration of 87–8 Mothers of Invention 54 Motörhead 15n10, 65 moving on 127–9 MTV 35, 69 Mulvey, Laura 97 Mumford & Sons 51 ‘mum-pop’ 66, 117–21 Musgrave, G. 125 music industry 38–9 musical qualities of sibling groups 40 musical theatre 128 Musicians Union 36n25 musicianship, of boy bands 10, 14–15, 37, 38, 43–5 My Chemical Romance 15n10 Myers, S.M. 102 naming: impact of 14; naming conventions of boy bands 53–5 Napier-Bell, Simon 74, 114 Nashville Star 41 national/international identity 69–70, 70 Naturally Seven 63n10 NBC 65

164 Index

Negus, Keith 62 NEMS Enterprises 62 Nesmith, Mike 42–3 Neville, Ritchie 115 New Cocks on the Block 117 New Edition 25 New Faces 41 New Kids on the Block 24, 25, 28, 47, 76, 127; fandom and fan culture 114; re-forming of 132 New Lad identity 84 New Man identity 84 new romanticism 85 Nicholas Brothers, the 33 NKOTB 7n1, 8, 52, 54 Noble, B. 117 non-sexual identity 71–2, 87–8, 91–2 Notting Hill 128 *NSYNC 18, 47, 52, 53, 54, 55, 58n6, 58n17, 71–2, 76, 92, 115, 117; breakup of 124–4; logo 70, 70; and professional songwriters 56; re-forming of 2; regional identity 66, 67 number, in band 52 Oasis 42, 112, 130 Ocasek, Ric 15n10 Oedipus myth 86 O’Grady, Maureen 111 older consumers 60–1, 66 older fans 117–21 Oldham, Andrew 68 Oliver, Paul 17 Olver, K. 4 One Direction 11, 15n7, 22, 45, 52–3, 57n3, 119, 130, 131; breakup of 126; concealment of relationships 72; fandom and fan culture 101–2, 106–7, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120; group identity 55; homosocial behaviour 76–7, 77; marketing and promotion of 78; merchandising 65; musicianship 15n5; national/international identity 69; and professional songwriters 56; and romance 92; social media 80 One True Voice 55, 57n1 Ono,Yoko 72, 126, 129 Opportunity Knocks 29, 41 Orioles, the 22 Osmond, Donny 24, 40 Osmond, Jay 118 Osmonds, the 1, 11, 15n6, 25, 31; competition with/copying of Jackson

5, 20, 24, 36n14; family management of 40; fandom and fan culture 118; visual appearance 79 O-Town 47, 54, 58n18 Owen, Mark 53, 71 Page, Jimmy 77 Pakistan: boy bands 17 Pareles, J. 102, 127–8 Parnes, Larry 114 Pasche, John 82n14 passivity, stereotypes of 105–7 Paton, Tam 47 Paul, Sean 58n15 Payne, Liam 53, 119 Pearlman, Lou 2, 24, 28, 47, 67 Peerless Quartet 20 Peñate, Jack 51 Penguins, the 18, 22 Pepys, Samuel 20 Petridis, A. 74 Pfefferman, Richard 18, 25 philogynous masculinity 85–8 Pierre Cardin clothing 79 Pink Floyd 54, 82n19 pitch-correction software 58n8 Pitilli, Lawrence 31–2 Pitney, Gene 26 Plant, Robert 77 poetry, in fan magazines 104 pogoing 95 pop harmony acts 7n3 Pop Idol 41 pop management 2; in family groups 39–40; homosexual 74–5, 114; star-makers and pop Svengalis 47–8, 67–8; and transformational leadership 48–9 pop masculinity see masculinity pop music/bands: cultural separation from rock 28–9; emergence of the auteur 29–31, 31; marketing of 5; masculinities in 3–4, 26–7; “poshification” of 51–2 pop Svengalis 47–8, 67–8 Popstars: the Rivals 41, 57n1 “poshification” of pop 51–2 poststructuralism 103 Power, David 40 Presley, Elvis 5, 95 Press, Joy 86 Price, Simon 50, 51 Prince 77, 85, 127 Pruter, Robert 5

Index  165

psychoanalytic theory 86 punk rock 44, 63, 95 queer theory 84 race, and music culture 4–5, 23 racial identity 49–50 racial politics in pop music 17 racial segregation 23 radio presenters 129 Rafelson, Bob 42 Rag ‘n’ Bone Man 100n23 Railton, Diane 1 R&B music 14, 21, 57, 76 rap music 13, 14, 54, 57, 78 Rave magazine 111 Ravens, the 36n11 reality television see television talent shows record companies: revenues and marketing activities 61 record sales 60 Reed, Leonard 33 Rees, A. 118, 119–20 re-forming of bands 2, 132–3 ‘region behaviour’ 49 regional identity 54–5, 66–9, 67, 68 relationships of band members, concealment of 71–2 REM 15n10 repertoire creation 55–6 Reynolds, Simon 86 Richard, Cliff 36n18 Richards, Keith 77, 82n19, 99n7, 129 Righteous Brothers, the 55 Riot Grrrl 116 Ritzer, George 39 rivalries, between band members 67–9, 77 Robinson, Bill 33 Robinson, William ‘Smokey’ 34 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 5 rock music/bands 13; attitudes to love and romance 57; cultural separation from pop 28–9; dress 88; emergence of 28–9; falsetto voices 96; individuality and group identity 74; and masculinity 27; misogyny in 86; and musicianship 44, 94; songwriting in 30; technological competence in 95; visual appearance 12, 78 Rodriguez, Robert 32, 76 Roe, K. 130 Rogers, J. 50–1, 123, 125 Rojek, Chris 6, 24

“role distance” 130–1 Rolling Stones 11, 36n18, 81; and the Beatles 67–8, 68; fandom and fan culture 105; logo 69 romance: codes of 56–7, 90–2; ideology of 92–3 Ronson, Mick 77 Rose, Axl 36n24 Ross, Andrew 5 Ross, David 115 Rossolatos, G. 64 Rousseau, J.-J. 10 Rubin, Rick 15n14 Ruffin, David 35n8 Ryalls, Emily 134n9 Saibel, Bernard 101 Sanders, Maria 3, 37, 48, 129 Sanjek, David 39 Santo, S. 111 Savage, Jon 111 Scherzinger, Nicole 57n3 Schneider, Bert 42 Sedgwick, Eve 76, 84 self-promotion 38–9 Seventeen 54 sexual behaviour: cultural shift in 91–2; feminine role reversal, in fandom and fan culture 107–8 Shary, Timothy 53 Shaw, Harry 18 Sheeran, Ed 56, 58n14 sheet music sales 20 Shelley, George 129 Shepherd, John 8–9 Sherman, Maria 5–6, 9 shipping 106–7 sibling bands 39–40, 55 Signorile, M. 94 Simpson, Charlie 51, 123 Sinatra, Frank 5, 27, 95 singing voice: vocal transvestism 95–7 Sister Act 128 slash fiction 106, 107 Small Faces, the 7 Smith, J. 80 Smith, Reggie 32 Smith, Richard 113–14 Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 34 social class: and band member origin 50–1; and branding 65–6 social media 80–1; fandom and fan culture 105

166 Index

solo careers 47, 127–30 songwriting: professional 30, 55–6; and repertoire creation 55–6 Sonny and Cher 36n18 Sony 80 Soulja Boy 15n13 Spector, Phil 36n17 Spice Girls 128 Spike 108 Spotify 61, 118 Stahl, Matthew 3, 16, 38 Standard Quartet 20 Star Search 41, 45 star-makers 47–8 Starr, Maurice 47 Starr, Ringo 53, 72, 74, 82n13 Stars, S. 112 Steps 15n16 stereotypes: of fans 101; of passivity 105–7 Stereo Kicks 52 Stewart, John 56 Straw, Will 110 strong, silent type archetype 53 Styles, Harry 87, 117, 119; fandom and fan culture 106–7; and masculinity 83, 83–4, 86 subcultures 103; emo 72, 113, 134n9; glam rock 72, 85, 88; goth 113; mod 85, 95 suicide 93; see also masculinity suits 78–9; and the Beatles 68; and Tamla Motown 78; white 79 Sullivan, Moynagh 49, 55 Sun,The 112 Swallows, the 22 Swift, Taylor 66, 106 Swinging Blue Jeans 108 Syco 80 symbolic capital 103 Tagg, Phillip 17 Take That 1, 8, 11, 18, 28, 43, 48, 52, 53, 58n17, 73, 81, 87, 96, 98, 131; branding 64; breakup of 123, 126; dance routines 11, 24; fandom and fan culture 105–6, 114, 120; and Marks & Spencer 66; masculine identity 3; musicianship of 44–5; non-sexual image 71; original songwriting 56; re-forming of 2, 125, 132–3; regional identity 68; songwriting by 15n3 Takhar, Sonny 80 Tamla Motown record label 7n4, 21, 44, 47, 78; and dance routines 33–5 tap dancing 33

taste: and branding 65–6; taste hierarchies in fandom 102–3 Taylor, Jodie 116, 128 Taylor,Yuval 42 technological ineptitude 95–7 Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour 41 Teddy Bears, the 36n17 television talent contests 5, 9, 37, 40–1; critique of reality format 42–3; market saturation 45–6 Temptations, the 34 tenor voices 96 ‘text speak’ 54 “textual poaching” 106 This Morning 129 Thompson, Steven 71 Timberlake, Justin 53, 124, 125; solo career 11, 128 Tomlinson, Louis 106–7 Toop, D. 26 ‘Top of the Pops’ 36n25 Tork, Peter 42–3 Toynbee, Jason 23 trans fans 116–17 transvestism 85, 88 Truong, Penny 12 Tumblr 105 Turbans, the 22, 35n8 TV Star Search 45 TVXQ 107 Twitter 80, 105 uniformity, and group identity 73–4 Union J 55, 115, 129 Unique Quartet 20 UNT1 17 U2 58n11, 65, 77 Van Morrison 77 Vannini, P. 102 visual appearance 43, 78–9; changes following breakups 130–1 vocal transvestism 95–7 Voice,The 129 Vroomen, L. 118 Wahlburg, Donnie 52 Wald, Gaye 2, 10, 72, 94, 109 Walker, Scott 100n23 Walker Brothers, the 36n18, 52, 55 Walsh, Louis 2, 42, 44, 49, 52, 71, 114, 122; on ‘bad boy’ archetype 52–3; on marketing and promotion 62 Wanted, the 15n7, 18, 58n21, 69

Index  167

Warner, Jay 1, 16 Warner Music group 61 Waters, Roger 82n19 Way, Gerard 15n10 Webbe, Simon 24, 44, 51, 126, 128 Weber, Max 6 Welch, Florence 51 West, Kanye 14 Westlife 21, 29, 43, 44, 49, 58n17, 76, 128; branding 64, 66; dance routines 24; fandom and fan culture 112; Irish identity 66; non-sexual image 71; and professional songwriters 56; re-forming of 7n1; regional identity 54, 58n18; visual appearance 79 Wham 15n16, 52, 74 WhatsApp 105 White, Barry 100n23 white musical culture 4–5, 17, 20, 23, 24; and hip-hop 35 Whiteley, Sheila 72 Who, the 111 Wikstrom, Patrick 47 Wilkinson, R. B. 110 Williams, A. 115 Williams, Hank 6. 54 Williams, M. 117 Williams, Pharrell 45 Williams, Robbie 48, 52, 53, 73, 81, 131; bad boy persona 130; and the breakup

of Take That 123; return to Take That 132–3; solo career 11–12, 45, 127 Willis, Matt 51 Wilson, Earl 27 Wilson, Jackie 34 Wilson, Sandra 104 Wilson brothers (Brian, Dennis and Carl) 40 Wings 124 Wolfe, Tom 67 women: contemporary roles 4; ‘cougars’ 90, 119; denigration of cultural pursuits of 102–3; empowerment through fandom 103–5; and erotic capital 89–90; female consumption 10, 103; mature female fans 117–21; music journalists 111; socio-economic power of 103 Wood, M.J. 95 Wood, Stuart “Woody” 82n15 working-class youths 50–1, 103 X Factor, the 41, 42, 45, 52; pitch-correction software 58n8 Yardbirds 111 youth: and boy bands 12; cultural obsession with 133; signification of 54–5; young consumers 60–1 youthful androgyny 72–3 YouTube 61, 80