I’LL BE LOVING YOU MOVED ON MEET THE FANSNEVER WHO THEIR HAIR MAY BE THINNING, THEIR VOICES HAVE BROKEN AND THEIR GROUPIES ARE NOW WORKING FULL-TIME JOBS, BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK, ARE BACK. AND SO ARE THEIR FANS. BY REBECCA WALLWORK

t’s not unusual to see people asleep on park CLOCKWISE Katie McCabe benches in New York City. On a cool, spring with her favourite band; evening outside Rockefeller Plaza however, New Kids fan Pernille there are over 500 wrapped in sleeping bags Bach Heinel (left) with or curled into fold-up chairs. Have they a friend in NYC; and (far been evicted? Lost their jobs? No – but their left) in the band’s heyday. husbands and colleagues back home might tell you they’ve lost their minds. None of the women – most of them in their 30s – seems concerned that it’s started to rain or that they still have hours on the dark city streets ahead of them. After all, most ofI them have been waiting for this night their whole lives. Katie McCabe arrived from her home in Norwalk, Connecticut, at around 10pm and has been updating friends via text message all night. At 1.09am she writes, “Pple are trying to sleep now. Every 2 min: cab – who R U waiting 4? Us (screaming): New Kids!” Yes, McCabe – an attractive 29-year old with a good job and a husband of just over a year – is waiting like a love- struck teen to see her childhood idols, the New Kids on the LEFT Malina Hansen wears her Block (NKOTB). The band is due to perform together for heart on her chest. BELOW A the fi rst time in 15 years on NBC’s Today Show. But that’s treasured autographed snap of her still hours away. “It’s quiet here,” she writes at 2am. Then at with the members of the New Kids 2.32am: “Wind has picked up. It’s chilly.” On The Block. Single mum, Malina Hansen, 32, has fl own in from California after convincing her daughter’s father to babysit and arranging to take a few days off work. She’s come to New York alone, but has connected with other New Kids fans she previously met online. Hansen hasn’t slept a wink; she’s been too busy singing New Kids songs and feverishly discussing the band’s comeback with her new friends. By 6am the following morning, the crowd is wet and rowdy. “Let us in! Let us in!” they chant until NBC staff them to the stage area. Veteran fan, Pernille Bach Heinel, 31, describes the scenes as like “an episode of Survivor”. She should 054 madisonmag.com.au madison february 09 COMEBACK I’LL BE LOVING YOU foreverforever THEIR HAIR MAY BE THINNING, THEIR VOICES HAVE BROKEN AND THEIR GROUPIES ARE NOW WORKING FULL-TIME JOBS, BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK, ARE BACK. AND SO ARE THEIR FANS. BY REBECCA WALLWORK

know. The striking mother-of-two has come all the way from Denmark, leaving her husband back in the couple’s luxury hotel room while she joins the rain-soaked queue at around 3am. She tried to sleep standing up in her expensive Burberry coat but by 5am, gave in, sat down and now sports a plastic poncho. “My perfectly straightened hair turned into one big frizz,” she says. By 6.30am, the fi ve New Kids – now all pushing 40 – take the Today Show stage for a sound check. “To walk around the corner into Rockefeller Plaza and see all fi ve Through a blend of guys on stage singing – it really took my breath away,” clean-cut McCabe says later. archetypes and The 5000 or so women around her agree. By the time unlimited amounts the band went on air, even the journalists from Rolling of hair mousse, Stone, People, and – yes – madison dropped their cool and NKOTB became unleashed their inner 13-year-olds. The seen-it-all Today a phenomenon. Show staffers and New York photographers were shaking their heads in disbelief. “You had to be there to understand the madness,” says Bach Heinel. “We absolutely have the greatest fans in the world,” Between 1989 and New Kid Joey McIntyre told Today Show host Matt Lauer 1991, everybody after their performance. “The story here is the fans, not us.” wanted a piece At their peak from 1989-1991, NKOTB, the clean-cut of the NKOTB. pop group from , was the biggest thing to happen One of those was to millions of girls around the world. They sold more Alan Hassenfeld, than 70 million albums worldwide, dominated the singles CEO of toy giant charts with their infectious bubblegum pop and even had Hasbro, who proudly their own line of fashion dolls. There was a New Kid for presented a range everyone – the cute baby-faced one (Joey), the tall, dark of dolls modelled on and handsome one (Jordan), the bad boy (Donnie), the each of the group to buff breakdancer (Danny) and the shy guy (Jonathan). a voracious public. They were fi rst crushes for so many teenagers, exhilarating yet safe. And they formed the blueprint for all the boy bands that came after them, from the and N Sync, right up to the Jonas Brothers today. ➔ 055 madison february 09 madisonmag.com.au COMEBACK

After splitting in 1994, to a wave of mass hysteria and shattered teenage hearts, the New Kids went off in their own directions. Joey and Jordan pursued solo careers, Danny started his own record label, bad-boy Donnie hightailed it to Hollywood, while Jonathan went into real estate. Their fans, all close to the Kids’ ages, did likewise, finding jobs, partners and new lives as adults. But they never forgot how it felt to be a New Kids fan. For the past few months, thousands of women across the world have been reconnecting with their teenage selves and all the emotions that brings, flocking to see the reunited NKOTB on tour. The band performs tracks from their new album, The Block, but of course the loudest screams are for the old hits – “Step by Step”, “Hangin’ Tough” and “You Got It (The Right Stuff)”. The “Kids” are now grown men, with marriages, divorces and children under their middle-age belts; there are fewer fainting spells at their concerts and no one gets trampled in a mad rush to get to the stage. But it must be said that the fans still wave their arms in the air and squeal when one of boys grabs his crotch, and they’re still snapping up T-shirts emblazoned with “Property of Jordan”. The band seems genuinely humbled by the sold-out arenas they’ve been playing to night after night. They claim to have returned not for the money, but because , the ringleader of the group, heard a song he liked, one he wanted to record with his old friends. That song, “Click, Click, Click”, became the glue that finally put the band back together after so many years. The past five years have seen a slew of ’80s and ’90s boy bands back on the road. Duran Duran, Boyzone, and more recently , have all climbed back into their skinny jeans to take on crowds of nostalgic fans. But it’s perhaps New Kids who have the most ardent devotees. And, as McIntyre said, it’s the fans who are the story. , 39, thinks it might have something to do know, there are a lot of talented groups out there, but I think with the down-to-earth way they were all raised in Boston. we just got lucky that we all came together. Maybe we feel like McIntyre, 36, agrees. “This group wasn’t a cattle call. You the guys from these girls’ neighbourhoods, or like guys from high school they wanted to go after. Who knows? I don’t know what it is. But it’s not manufactured.” On the contrary, fans talk about ignoring boys when they Kim Carlton and Alexis Lomen not were in high school, too busy daydreaming about marrying only describe NKOTB as a teenage their favourite New Kid. “outlet” but write a blog about “When you are 12 and feeling all goofy about yourself, following the group as adults. having an outlet for that pre-teen angst is important,” says Alexis Lomen, 32. “For me, that outlet was NKOTB. I was able to devote myself to something – or someone – and not be rejected. Now that I am an adult, I still have those feeling of angst sometimes and having the time and money to escape into New Kids Land has been awesome.” Lomen lives with her husband and two kids in St Paul, Minnesota, and has been following the New Kids on tour with her friend Kim Carlton, 31. They have a good sense of humour about their obsession, as their blog, Project NKOTB, makes clear. “On the surface, you get savvy, smart, master’s- degree-holding professionals who excel at their jobs and have loving families,” reads their intro. “Underneath all that lies two raging fan girls.” 056 madisonmag.com.au madison february 09 At packed arenas around the United States, many fans still emblazon personal messages for the band on their T-shirts.

“I think that a huge part of the NKOTB phenomenon is psychological,” says Carlton. “They have this weird, borderline faux-telepathic way of making you feel that every word they’re saying is directed at you.” The average fan pays anywhere from US$100 to thousands of dollars for concert tickets, merchandise and travel, but they will tell you they are indulging in something they couldn’t when they were 12. In most cases, one show is never enough. Malina Hansen admits that the US$5000 she’s spent so far is a lot of money. “But these memories are going to last me a lifetime,” she says. “I have pictures with the guys and some wonderful stories. I’ve travelled the country alone more this year than I ever have. Personally, I’d rather spend the money on this than on Starbucks every day, or a brand new necklace or ring. It puts joy into my life. Is that really so crazy?” The New Kid stirring up most of these post-hormonal ragings is Donnie Wahlberg, 39. The most energetic, frenetic New Kid on stage, but soft-spoken in person, he says, “I don’t know if this is why the fans are coming back, but I do think they appreciate that we’re not scripted. We’re not perfect. We’re not the best singers; we’re not the best dancers. But we do our best. And I think somehow there is a … ➔ 057 madison february 09 madisonmag.com.au COMEBACK

I don’t want to say earnestness about us but there is a definite admitted they were huge fans back in the day. Aside from the sense of sincerity about us, you know? I think it just helps access to men that make them swoon (few fans ever get that fans relate to us a little bit more.” close to, say, Brad Pitt), there are more poignant reasons fans It doesn’t hurt that Donnie posts messages on their are spending thousands on NKOTB. website nkotb.com promising fans “face time”, hugging Texan Jennifer Martin, 34, says the reunion forced her everyone he meets and revving them up into the kind of to take a flight for the first time in her life. “I had never flown frenzy that makes grown women forget their husbands and before. I was terrified, but I felt so strongly about the guys and kids, even for just one night. The buzz among fans is that thought that this was my chance to relive something that was Donnie will kiss you on the lips if you’re lucky, or simply ask. such a big part of my life.” She flew to New York for the Today He’s recently divorced and has a reputation as a flirt who can Show appearance (“The best thing I ever did”) and has since make a fan melt just by looking into her eyes. travelled to Cleveland, New Orleans, Dallas and Los Angeles. “The first time around, it didn’t last forever,” says Soon she’ll head to Europe to hang out with new friends and, Wahlberg, explaining his “friendly” behaviour. “And I can of course, catch a New Kids show. assure you this time around it definitely won’t last forever. For Stefanie Marcus, another Texan, the New Kids’ I’m really, really appreciative of the fans. My goal is to give reunion has a special resonance. Now 34, Marcus was diagnosed them everything I can and to enjoy this to the fullest. And if with breast cancer when she was 28, and her kids were just five that means kissing a few extra girls every night at meet and and two. “I was in bed a lot during chemo and after surgery,” greets, then so be it. I’ll do it. If they ask, I’m saying ‘Yes’. I’m she says. “My best friend and I would go through our old a big love machine.” NKOTB stuff. We’d watch videos, listen to music, and laugh That’s also evident on stage. The concerts offer women and reminisce at the great time we had when we were younger. a chance to let loose, to boogie with their girlfriends. “It It helped take my mind off things.” In October, she met the makes both my 32-year-old self and my 13-year-old self so band for the first time and commemorated the occasion with happy,” says Lomen. “It is a show about having sex, thinking her first tattoo. “A star on my back,” she explains. “A star has about sex, videotaping sex and dancing. I can’t get enough.” five point – five guys, they’re all stars.” Sure enough, the fans still chase the band’s bus down New Kid Danny Wood, who lost his mother to breast the highway after concerts and some tear up when they meet cancer nine years ago, spearheaded the band’s NKOTB For the band for the first time. Even TV personalities like The a Cure campaign. Pink-ribbon-themed tank tops are sold at View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck and VH1’s Maria Menounos shows and on their website, with proceeds going to the charity came over all giddy when they interviewed the band and Susan G Komen for the Cure.

Jackie Chase Stevens, 30, Christie MacIntyre, 32, from Sydney, met the New Kids from Finksburg, Maryland, when they toured Australia in 1992. She has been to paid US$375 for a premium Boston three times to see their old homes and hangouts. ticket package, including a “My husband is 100 per cent supportive of my obsession,” brief meet and greet with the she says. “Everyone knows that I am a blockhead.” band before their Philadelphia concert. It seems the passion she showed for the band in childhood in her room and clothing choices has not dimmed over time.

Dane Pernille Bach Heinel sold her wedding dress to fund a return trip to New York in October for a concert and backstage pass at Madison Square Garden. The meeting was rushed, she said, so she’s now plotting a trip to Germany to see the New Kids. “I want my memory of them to be perfect.” 058 madisonmag.com.au madison february 09 “One night,” he says, “there was a girl standing up on her chair for the entire show, screaming at me, ‘I’m a survivor! I’m a survivor!’ And she was holding up the tank top. It doesn’t really get better than that. There hasn’t been one night on the tour where I haven’t been touched.” The New Kids have been a source of comfort for fans who’ve experienced pain and loss of other kinds, too. Australian Diana Miller, 32, says the past year has been one of the toughest times she’s experienced as an adult, after losing a parent. “New Kids reuniting pulled me out of one of the saddest time in my life,” she says. “That may sound cheesy, but only NKOTB fans can understand what I feel in my heart.” Miller is one of the thousands of Aussie fans waiting for the New Kids to return to Australia for the first time since 1992. The word is they’ll be here in April or May. But for some fans, that’s not soon enough. Kylie Jackson, 33, spent $5000 Michelle Gaziano, 28, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on a trip to the US with her husband last year – a holiday that recently stood for hours outside a Chicago arena to meet included a New Kids concert in Atlantic City and a meeting her favourite New Kid, Donnie Wahlberg. “Even after with the band backstage. “It was just amazing,” she says. “I felt standing outside all day in the cold only to get a wave like a teenager again. It brought tears to my eyes.” from Jordan, I was not disappointed. That wave made my They were, of course, tears of happiness. Which is day. I was having a pretty rough year and when NKOTB exactly what gets the five New Kids back out on that stage announced their reunion I was filled with joy. They gave every night, singing the old songs. “We’re ambassadors of joy,” me something to look forward to, helped me make new says Wahlberg. “That’s why we’re here.” m friends, and have turned my year around.”

Christine Giannone, 29, a single mum from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, brought her NKOTB dolls – still in their unopened boxes – to the Philadelphia meet and greet. “I never stopped being a fan. I still have all my memorabilia – my vinyl records, shirts, pins, hats, key chains, you name it. I even have a six-foot cardboard cut-out of them. Their music was always able to comfort me when I was feeling down. Even to this day, if I’m depressed or just want to relax, I just have to pop in one of their CDs and I PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANITA BULAN; CORBIS; GETTY IMAGES; ANN MILLER. ANITA BY PHOTOGRAPHY start to feel better.” 059 madison february 09 madisonmag.com.au