One of the surprisingly most talked about shows on the BBC this Christmas was this "Access all areas" documentary on the reunion tour in 2017 by the short-lived boy-band of the late 80, Bros. Of course reunion tours like this are very much in vogue as we can see with the likes of the Spice Girls, Bananarama, Spandau Ballet etc all on the road again in the recent past or future. This particular group had half a dozen or so hits here in the UK and briefly inspired fan-mania amongst their young teenage predominantly female following who called themselves Brosettes. Comprising twin brothers lead-singer Matt and drummer Luke Goss (for some reason the third member of the original band one Craig Logan doesn't get a look-in or even a mention) it's all about the brothers from first to last as we get to hear their unintentionally hilarious philosophical musings - example "Ever since I heard Stevie Wonder I've never been superstitious" - and see them rage at each other over the delayed entry of a keyboard to one of their numbers. We see this mutual sulk carried on to the next day when we see them preparing for a nationwide daytime TV promotional appearance where the only hatchet-burying that seems likely is in each other's heads.
Of course we know that sibling rivalry makes for good copy in pop music from the battling Wilson, Fogerty and Davies brothers of the 60's to the notorious Gallagher brothers of more recent memory, but the love-hate-love relationship these guys proffer is compelling stuff.
The documentary production team gives them more than enough rope to hang themselves as we see them go back to their old family house in London reminiscing about the hours of fun they had throwing a solitary dart in the air (no dartboard, mind), using their own mobile-phones for bleary, self-pitying late-night vox-pops to camera and to painfully and fractiously rehearse for the first time in 28 years in front of their doubting backing band.
They do achieve some pathos when talking about the loss of their beloved young sister and then their equally revered mother but right after that you get the two of them milking the fame moment as they wait to go on at the London O2 Arena (a host of other planned nationwide tour dates had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales, but you don't hear any mention of that) as Matt literally licks and makes up with his 11 minute younger sibling before wittering on about fifteen dual carriageways going one way and him and Luke meeting at some other single intersection.
Packed with unintentionally hilarious moments and quotes, it's little wonder people are calling it the funniest rockumentary since "Spinal Tap" only of course here it's all too real. Actually, if the boys, sorry, I should drop the boys, men want to reestablish themselves on the road at all they should drop the music and just go on as they are, a pair of bickering, vacuous, lost-in-showbiz but uproariously funny brothers, although this two would never believe the audience was laughing at them rather than with them .
Of course we know that sibling rivalry makes for good copy in pop music from the battling Wilson, Fogerty and Davies brothers of the 60's to the notorious Gallagher brothers of more recent memory, but the love-hate-love relationship these guys proffer is compelling stuff.
The documentary production team gives them more than enough rope to hang themselves as we see them go back to their old family house in London reminiscing about the hours of fun they had throwing a solitary dart in the air (no dartboard, mind), using their own mobile-phones for bleary, self-pitying late-night vox-pops to camera and to painfully and fractiously rehearse for the first time in 28 years in front of their doubting backing band.
They do achieve some pathos when talking about the loss of their beloved young sister and then their equally revered mother but right after that you get the two of them milking the fame moment as they wait to go on at the London O2 Arena (a host of other planned nationwide tour dates had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales, but you don't hear any mention of that) as Matt literally licks and makes up with his 11 minute younger sibling before wittering on about fifteen dual carriageways going one way and him and Luke meeting at some other single intersection.
Packed with unintentionally hilarious moments and quotes, it's little wonder people are calling it the funniest rockumentary since "Spinal Tap" only of course here it's all too real. Actually, if the boys, sorry, I should drop the boys, men want to reestablish themselves on the road at all they should drop the music and just go on as they are, a pair of bickering, vacuous, lost-in-showbiz but uproariously funny brothers, although this two would never believe the audience was laughing at them rather than with them .