Bands Reunited

Bands Reunited
Genre	Reality television
Written by	Greg Heller
Directed by	Steve Jones David Charles Sullivan
Presented by	Aamer Haleem
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	19
Production
Running time	44 minutes
Production company(s)	Evolution Film & Tape
Release
Original network	VH1
Original release	19 January 2004 – 1 January 2006

Bands Reunited is a television program produced by VH1 in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documented an attempted reunion of a formerly popular musical ensemble for a special concert in either London or Los Angeles.

A show normally consisted of the crew first hunting down the ex-members of the band (often first in disguise) one-by-one, and convincing them to agree for the one-time concert; the members were "contracted" by signing a record album by their former band. The band members were then interviewed, usually focusing on the reasons of the breakup. The final segment would consist of the formal reunion of the band in the rehearsing studio, and a joint interview about why the group parted ways. If the reunion was successful, the episode ended with the final performance.

In 2005, VH1 attempted to reunite the British band The Smiths, but the show abandoned its attempt after Aamer Haleem was unsuccessful in his attempt to corner lead singer Morrissey before a show.

Bands which have appeared

Note: The bands that did the reunion performance are noted, as well.

Band	Formed	Disbanded	Result
A Flock of Seagulls	1979	1986	All members reunited,[1] performed "I Ran" & "Space Age Love Song".
ABC	1980	1990	Only Martin Fry and David Palmer reunited, performed with Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo.[2] Fry and Palmer later permanently reunited ABC, and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.
The Alarm	1981	1992	All members reunited, performed "68 Guns". A version of the band led by frontman Mike Peters, released a new album titled Under Attack in 2006 and subsequently had a Top 30 single in the UK with the song "Superchannel"
The Beat	1978	1983	David Steele and Andy Cox refused to participate, the remaining members did not perform although Dave Wakeling did perform with the current version of The Beat at their own concert.
Berlin	1982	1987	All members reunited including original drummer Rod Learned,[3] performed "The Metro" and "No More Words."
Dramarama	1983	1994	All members reunited, performed "Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)," inspired band to get back together permanently. The group released a new album, Everybody Dies, in 2005.
Extreme	1985	1996	Nuno Bettencourt refused to be filmed on camera. After a conversation with Gary Cherone (who was not sure on participating either), they ultimately decided that it was not a good time to reunite, citing issues that had been unresolved since disbanding as the main reason. Since then, they have reunited in 2004 and 2006. A full reunion occurred in 2008 and a new album, Saudades de Rock, was released that yeaar.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood	1980	1987	All members reunited, but Holly Johnson refused to perform.
Haircut One Hundred	1981	1983	All members reunited,[4] performed "Love Plus One" and "Fantastic Day".
Information Society	1982	1997	All members but Kurt Harland reunited, no performance. The band was eventually reformed in 2006 by Paul Robb and James Cassidy, with Harland occasionally participating (he has since rejoined full-time). The band subsequently recorded three new albums following their reunion.
Kajagoogoo	1981	1986	All members reunited.[5] Attempted to stay reunited, initially failed. The band regrouped in 2007 and released a new album, Gone to the Moon, in 2008.
Klymaxx	1979	1990	Five members reunited (Robbin Grider could not be located), but Cheryl Cooley did not participate in the performance due to friction between her and the other bandmates for forming her own version of Klymaxx, and trademarking the band name without permission. As of 2011, there are two versions of Klymaxx performing: One led by Cooley, while the other is led by Bernadette Cooper, Joyce Irby and Lorena Stuart.
The Motels	1971	1987	All members reunited. The band, with no returning members except for lead singer Martha Davis, subsequently released two new studio albums in 2008 and 2011.
New Kids on the Block	1984	1994	Brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight agreed to reunite, but Joe McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood declined to participate in the reunion. McIntyre cited that the only way he would rejoin the group was if the group made the decision to reunite permanently. Wahlberg and Wood declined on-camera interviews. All 5 members reunited in 2008, and released an album titled The Block.
Romeo Void	1979	1985	Original saxophonist Benjamin Bossi was unable to perform, due to hearing loss; Sheldon Brown filled in. He met with his former bandmates, however, and watched the taping of the band's reunion performance from a nearby trailer.
Scandal	1981	1985	All surviving members reunited.[6] Bassist Ivan Elias died of cancer in 1995. Kasim Sulton of the band Utopia played bass in the reunion performance.
Squeeze	1974	1999	Did not reunite after lead vocalist/guitarist Glenn Tilbrook expressed reservations, keyboardist Jools Holland refused to participate, and drummer Gilson Lavis was unable to commit to it. Oddly, after Holland declined, the show did not pursue any of the keyboardists who had replaced Holland during the band's original tenure: Paul Carrack (who provided lead vocals on the original version of the band's best-known record, "Tempted"), Don Snow, or Steve Nieve. Squeeze reformed in 2007 with a revised line-up, including original members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook and early 1980s bassist John Bentley. The band released Cradle to the Grave, their first new album of studio material since 1998, in late 2015. The album reached number 12 on the UK Album Charts, and would be the best performing reunion album of any group featured on the show.
Vixen	1980	1991	All members of the famous lineup reunited and performed.

Criticism of the show

The artificial nature of parts of the show and the contractual arrangements behind it have been criticised. Kurt Harland of Information Society detailed his own negative experiences with the program, and how his experiences differed from the portrayal of events as broadcast, on his website; citing examples of poor background research by VH1 and difficult interactions with the television crew.^[7]

References

1. Shennan, Paddy (22 March 2004). "The Seagulls have landed.". Liverpool Echo. p. 10. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
2. "ABC Reunite With Kajagoogoo Pal". World Entertainment News Network. 10 September 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
3. Iwasaki, Scott (30 July 2004). "Berlin vocalist catches her breath". Deseret Morning News. p. W08. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
4. Spencer, Kathryn; Carpenter, Julie; Bohdanowicz, Kate (6 October 2004). "Nick's smart Haircut". The Daily Express. p. 37.
5. "Kaja chance to go goo goo...". Wigan Evening Post. 12 April 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
6. Shanahan, Mark (4 February 2005). "Revisiting Scandal Suits Smyth She Doesn't Regret This Scandal". The Boston Globe. p. C12. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
7. "InSoc vs. TV!". 2007-12-30. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved 2015-10-30.

External links

• Bands Reunited Homepage
• Bands Reunited at the Internet Movie Database
• "Kurt Harland of Information Society details his experiences with the program". Archived from the original on 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2007-12-30.