30 Daily Express Friday October 18 2013 Daily Express Friday October 18 2013 31 By Adrian Lee

ack in their heyday, post- ers of the Osmond brothers adorned the bedroom walls of a million young girls. Screaming fans besieged airports everywhere they Bperformed and they sold records by the million. The world hadn’t really seen anything like it since the days of The Beatles. But looking back on those crazy times in the early Seventies the youngest of the six performing THE BROTHERS ARE BACK brothers from Salt Lake City Utah has a confession to make. “In those days we were untouch- able and were becoming jerks,” says Jimmy Osmond, now 50. “You can be the nicest person on earth but if Older and wiser... it’s the Osmonds ­— or what’s left of them you are looking at yourself in the mirror too much every day you have thises with another Seventies heart- against diabetes and heart disease. all our fans back then were girls. a distorted view of reality. That’s throb David Cassidy who has bat- He contemplated retiring but adds: But I don’t really have any regrets.” what happened to us.” tled against alcohol addiction. “Not now. I feel fine and my health Jay is also keen to set the record It took financial disaster, not to Jimmy, Merrill and Jay Jimmy adds: “I understand it. I is in good shape. To have been straight on the Osmonds’ songs, mention a few family feuds as fame have yet to meet an entertainer that through some of the disasters we’ve adding: “I do think a lot of people overtook them, to force the ­brothers isn’t a little insecure. I feel for him.” had I’m most proud that I can look focused unfairly on the early bub- to take a step back and ­re-evaluate. prepare to tour the UK He also believes that he and his back and say the family is still blegum pop, which was meant to The result is that the Osmonds, in a brothers, who began performing at together.” appeal to young girls, and didn’t scaled-down form, are still going Disneyland and became regulars on It’s a sentiment shared by Jay, look at the quality of some of the strong. These days the band, the Andy Williams Show in the who has three sons and a ­grandchild. later material. We wrote the music reduced by illness, consists of just and recall the family ­Sixties, were exploited. Unlike many of ourselves and Jimmy, Merrill, 60, and Jay, 57. “We were very young so it was their peers no played all the Next year the trio will be back in inevitable,” he says. “The train was one has ever read instruments.” Pictures: IMPRESSIVEPR.COM, REX Pictures: the UK for a tour, appearing along- feuds and financial leaving the station and you either stories about the ‘A combination of Now with yet side veterans the Bay City Rollers, got on or got off. I guess I didn’t Osmonds trash- another tour on Showaddywaddy and David Essex. have much choice but it was fun. I ing hotel rooms family and religion the horizon Jay Jimmy, who remains the young- aspired to be one of the brothers or going into says they are all est performer to have a UK No1 hit disasters that toppled and to have my own successes here rehab and he has kept us stable’ having far too (he was nine) with Long Haired and there was really the frosting on says: “It’s a com- much fun to Lover From Liverpool, adds: “We go the cake.” bination of our think of bringing on performing because we love it. If the teenybop stars The Osmonds have been accused family and religion that has kept ­us the curtain down on their careers. you really enjoy what you do, you of producing saccharine pop from stable. “I think we will just take it year by just hit the stage and every venue behind shiny teeth, such as Puppy “There was a time when I was 18 year and see what happens but we you play whether it’s an arena or a Love and Love Me For A Reason. years old and wondered what the are sure enjoying it now. We work cruise ship it is a different experi- But the band was also responsible other side was like. I just wanted to well together.” ence and a different challenge. for edgier hits including Crazy be a normal kid going through high “We were trained in the old-school Horses – which is about pollution school. l The Once In A Lifetime Tour way when you had to fight to stay in caused by cars. “The worst part of being an starts on June 20, 2014. Tickets the spotlight and I don’t want to Osmond in the Seventies was all are on sale from today via the guys poking fun at us because ticketmaster.co.uk BANDED TOGETHER: At the height of their fame in 1973, Merrill, Wayne, Jay, Jimmy and Alan. Donny is not shown

‘At one stage they he track was mistaken for a song about drugs and was were reduced to banned in South Africa, Tmuch to the amusement of the performing in gyms’ clean-living brothers who are all Mormons. The extended family is growing quit. It’s a real honour to look out all the time. Merrill has six children there and see everyone from our and 12 grandchildren while at a fans from the Seventies to their recent family get-together almost children experiencing our music for 200 Osmonds showed up. They the first time.” come from all walks of life but In one form or another the group there’s no sign yet of the next gen- has been performing for more than erations forming a band. 50 years. Donny and Marie Osmond So what do younger members of still appear regularly as a duo in the family make of the three broth- Las Vegas but Alan, 64, who has ers still belting out the old hits in ­multiple sclerosis, and Wayne, 62, addition to new material? who ­suffered a stroke, have called “The reaction is mixed,” says it a day. Jimmy, who spends much of his It’s a remarkable achievement for time living in England and appeared a group that has never really been on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of considered cool but has still sold Here! in 2005. 102 million records worldwide. “Some of the kids in the family are embarrassed but others are proud. I asked my son Zachary, who is turning 16 and looks just like I used to, if it bugs him but he says it et it has not been an easy makes him happy. But some of my ride. The Osmonds have brothers’ kids hardly use their last been beset by squabbles name so being an Osmond can be a andY jealousies, such as when Donny curse or a blessing.” replaced Merrill as the front man, Merrill admits that it was “a which might have destroyed other tough time” personally when Donny families. replaced him as the lead singer. There was also a series of calami- Their father George, who pulled tous business ventures by their the strings, is said to have told Mer- father which saw the family fortune rill bluntly that he was being sacked. eroded. That coincided with a The siblings were worked relent- slump in their careers in the Eight- lessly by their ambitious father, a ies after the hits dried up. former army sergeant, who often Jimmy, now a father of four, says: insisted they perform three shows a “We’ve had ego problems and there day. Mistakes and bad behaviour are peaks and valleys in everyone’s were punished by beatings. career but somehow we’ve got Merrill says: “We’ve been through through it. I don’t think there’s any- our ups and downs but it’s a broth- thing in this business that’s easy. erhood. We’re on the road, we write We’ve all had those days when you songs and the fan base continues to want to be the only guy but the truth grow. We see our fans bring their is we have a great team spirit.” children to our concerts and that However he admits he is still drives me because I think maybe we haunted by the amount of money still have something to give. that has slipped through the “During the Seventies we lived in ­family’s hands. It has been reported STILL SMILING: After weathering troubled times the brothers, from left, Jay, Jimmy and Merrill, are touring again a bubble. We went through life not that £40million was lost. really touched by the outside world. “To be honest it freaks me out. We side falls. In a way, though, it was money and the importance of ­family. are now on a secure financial foot- At one stage I wanted to be a ­doctor were pretty naive and very trusting. the best thing that happened. When Tell me anyone who has not had ing, were reduced to performing in but when I look back I’m grateful When you are focused on the artis- we lost a lot of our wealth it really trouble in life.” school gyms to make ends meet. we stayed together.” tic side sometimes the business made us appreciate the value of At one stage the Osmonds, who For that reason Jimmy sympa- Recently Merrill has struggled