Katrina
Welcome back to my monthly Fuzzable blog! As February is the month of love, I thought I’d share a blog about my one true love – boybands.
For as long as I can remember, boybands have been an integral part of my life. I’ve grown up listening to all sorts of music but being a fan of various boybands over the years has given me a lifetime of unforgettable experiences.
As a child, I danced to the Backstreet Boys in my living room and had posters of Blazin’ Squad in my school folder. My first ever concert was the Disney Channel Kids Awards in Cardiff where I got to see A1 perform live.
no biggie when you meet one tenth of your fave childhood group Blazin’ Squad, aka Marcel from Love Island!
However, once I hit my teens, my love for boybands flourished into something more than just supporting a band. It allowed me to become a part of a community, and to make friends across the country (and the world in some cases). Being a boyband fangirl also gave me the desire to travel, with no location too far or obscure to venture to.
Whilst I’ve adored many a boyband throughout the years, there are seven in particular which have truly shaped my life, making me the person that I am today. Seeing as there’s a lot to say and I don’t want to bore anyone, I’ve decided to split this post into two. My first three boyband loves are below.
4Tune
4Tune were a four-piece boyband who appeared on The X Factor in 2005. They were the first band I truly paid attention to on the show and in the process they also gave me my first experience of being in a fan community.
Back in those days (my god, I sound like I’m 80 or something), social media as we know it know wasn’t really a thing. Instead, bands built whole fan communities on their website through forums. The band also used to take part in live chats to speak with their 4Tune Cookies, which was the closest thing that existed at the time to livestreams and YouNow! I did make a fair few friends in the fandom, some of which I’m still in contact with today.
I only ever got to see them perform once and that was on the X Factor tour in Cardiff – I even had a shoutout on stage! Back then, stalking at stage door and travelling further than an hour and a half wasn’t something I was aware of/allowed to do, so I never met them before they split. However, I always appreciated any contact with them on the live chat and just wish they’d been around for longer.
Jonas Brothers
Once a JoBros fangirl, always a JoBros fangirl. I worshipped the Jonas Brothers and still do, despite Joe, Nick and Kevin not being together anymore. This was my first experience of properly loving a non-UK band, yet I was very fortunate to actually get to see them live before they split when they brought their world tour to Manchester in 2009.
Whilst everyone else had big parties, my 18th birthday present was travelling six hours to Manchester to see them live and I couldn’t have been happier. I remember their stage being in the middle of the arena and our seats were so high up but I didn’t care as it meant getting to finally see them live.
I never got to meet them as a band, however, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet the teenage love of my life Joe three times with his new band DNCE. One day I hope I’ll get to meet Nick and Kevin too and embarrass myself in front of them as I did with Joe haha.
Most boybands I’ve supported through the years have been UK based, so being an ‘overseas’ fan of the Jonas Brothers always made me appreciate how lucky I am to be a homegirl fan of so many artists. I truly applaud the fans who live in the back and beyond but still manage to support their favourite artists with such passion.
Take That
I pretty much missed Take That the first time around, which is fair enough considering that I was around four and a half years old when they first disbanded. However, growing up I did listen to their music, in particular Gary Barlow’s solo material. When Take That reunion talks surfaced in late 2005, I got pretty excited but once they released ‘Patience’ in 2006, I was all over it.
I got to see Take That live for the very first time on their Beautiful World Tour in Birmingham back in 2007. If I wasn’t already hooked on the band, I definitely left that show utterly transfixed. I’ve been to every tour since, doing multiple dates on the last two purely because their shows are so incredible. Whether they’re a five, four or three piece, Take That are truly the greatest showmen on earth.
Not only do they put on incredible spectacles (think along the lines of a giant elephant, a flying car, a human carousel, circus tricks and a robot called OM), but Take That’s music is timeless. I adore the classic tracks such as ‘Relight My Fire’, ‘Sure’, and ‘Never Forget’, however, their music from 2006 to the present day is just as captivating.
In 2014, I fulfilled an almost lifelong dream of meeting Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. Gary is one of my idols and I first met him outside Radio 2. It was quick and I was lost for words but it was such a precious moment. Later on in the day, I was very fortunate to attend Take That’s album signing for III and I got to meet all three members. Every time I go to Oxford Street HMV, I reminisce about the most special meet and greet where we were allowed proper conversations with the guys, pictures and even a Barlow hug!
Come back to my Fuzzable blog on March 16 for part two of my boyband extravaganza!
