Boybands Forever: this denim-packed history of 90s British pop is a magical piece of TV

Robbie Williams and co open up in this stellar deep dive into the world of male musical groups. It makes you so nostalgic it feels as if your nerves are gnawing at your flesh

I always secretly thought I was evil enough to compile a boyband. How hard can it be, really? You get four but ideally five working-class lads from a top 10 but crucially not top two city in the UK, throw them in a house for six weeks until they figure out which two can dance and which two can sing and which one can write, get some up-and-coming songwriters to give them three bona fide mega-hits, and you’re basically there.

This is what Boybands Forever (16 November, 9.15pm, BBC Two) teaches us, anyway – that for a brief moment between 1991 and 2003 this is all there is to it: scour the shopping centres of the country until you find a Gary Barlow or a Lee Ryan or a Brian McFadden, find the worst denim trousers currently available on the market, put him in them and give him four mates, shove them on a youth-centric magazine show and boomf, you’ve got a million pounds. Don’t worry about the psychic agony of being screamed at by thousands of women when you’re only 20 years old! Not your problem. Count the money and start thinking about repeating the trick, only maybe this time they can wear leather jackets and have fun little nicknames. Honestly, why did we ever stop?

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Boybands Forever: this denim-packed history of 90s British pop is a magical piece of TV

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