Sweet Harmony

This tale of two cities began three and a half years ago when Lexington-born Kevin Richardson, 24, heard about ‘these guys who harmonize all the time’. He arranged an introduction and was amazed by the wonderful vocal harmonies of Orlando-based Nick Carter, 16, Howie Dorough, 23 and AJ McLean,18. ‘Why not team up?’ they all immediately thought. But the sound was not complete - they needed one more singer. Richardson phoned his talented cousin in Lexington, Brian Litrell, 21, who immediately flew to Orlando to join the group (I can imagine this! Brian’s Mum: Wait up Brian, you forgot your underwear!! Brian: Don’t worry Mum. I’ll borrow cousin Kev’s.). And the Backstreet Boys were born (And this event forever changed the lives of millions and gave them reasons to live.....yep, that’s it).

Shortly afterwards the boys were introduced to managers Donna and Johnny Wright. The Wrights realised that the boys didn’t need a great deal of rehearsal and decided to get them on the road as soon as possible. When one record company failed to give the Wrights an answer, Donna telephoned the company during a concert and left a recording of their screaming fans on the answer phone. (I can imagine these recording comp. heads listening to their answering machine and thinking 'What is that?' and the secretary replying 'Oh it's those boys you turned away as being no talent') A week later the boys were signed.

The next move was to harness their amazing a cappella harmonies on record. Their first single We’ve Got It Goin’ On (1995) reached the number 54 in the UK charts and the Top 50 in the US Billboard Charts - not bad for a group of unknowns. Get Down (1996) reached the UK top 20, and the re-release of We’ve Got It Goin’ On in the summer of 1996 rocketed to number three in the UK.

The Backstreet Boys’ self-title debut album captured their energy and heart-wrenching harmonies. It was an instant worldwide success with the album making gold in Malaysia the very first day it was released there. ‘We were really psyched to hear that....it was incredible. Very exciting,’ comments Richardson. The album also reached double platinum status in Germany and Canada, single platinum status in Switzerland, Austria, Holland and Belgium, plus 12 gold albums elsewhere.

Having toured extensively, the boys are mobbed by screaming fans wherever they go. Reliving their experience in Canada, Littrell explains,’We recently did a show in a shopping mall there and 3500 girls had turned up and it was the first time we had ever set foot in the country. It was just amazing to see the reaction. The next time we went back when we performed in front of 64,000 people we were literally blown away....we were pinching ourselves but these girls really were there to see us.’

The boys found the Asian audiences to be the most polite (So why don’t they come back to Asia and we can all be even more polite....or more obssessed...

Before fame struck, the boys each pursued their various careers, although they all dreamt of stardom. McLean admits that he tried a bit of ‘anything really. Acting, dancing, singing, commercials’. Dorough first found fame when he landed a part in the film Parenthood with Steve Martin (I thought it was AJ....maybe I’m wrong...). ‘I also did commercials for Walt Disney World,’ he laughs.

Due to their Hispanic looks, McLean and Dorough often met at auditions. ‘We auditioned for a lot, didn’t we Howie? It was funny because I remember that every time that they would call for a Latin-looking character, me and Howie would bump into each other.’ They often sat around harmonizing old Temptations’ songs while they waited for auditions.

Carter was clearly destined for stardom. (All us fans knew that, right?) By the time he was nine years old, he landed a lead in Phantom of the Opera. At 12 he gave a winning performance on the 1992 New Original Amateur Hour and did a couple of advertising commercials. Carter had just been offered a job with Disney when the birth of the Backstreet Boys changed his mind.

Littrell began his singing career at the age of five singing solos for his church choir. ‘I’d get nervous ‘cos the church congregations would be 3-4000 people. I did it because I loved it and I was a little better at it than my peers.’ When he got a telephone call from his cousin offering him a place in the group, Littrell’s love of music forced him to accept.

Before getting involved with the boys, Richardson worked for a local Top 40 cover band. He then moved to Florida and became a tour guide in Disney World. He devoted the majority of his time to becoming a singer-songwriter and then finally met Dorough, McLean and Carter.

The boys’ various backgrounds has meant that their music is a combination of influences and cultures. McLean believes this to be the reason for their success. ‘We harmonize well together ‘cos we’re all from different musical backgrounds. Howie likes Jon Secada and Phil Bailey, Brian likes Luther Vandross, Nick’s into Journey, Kevin’s into Prince and I love R Kelly and Maxwell. So you’ve got real diversity and each of us brings to the band our own sound. In terms of idols we love Take 6, The Stylistics and especially the way the Bee Gees can sing harmonies a cappella together.’

Even though the boys were young at the time, they admit to being huge Saturday Night Fever fans. ‘The Beach Boys and the Beatles were really cool too,’ adds Dorough.

The boys ended 1996 with a sell-out tour of Germany and Scandinavia, where they were supported by Peter Andre. January saw the release of their single Quit Playin’ Games With My Heart. What’s next for this talented troupe? Well, there’s a small rumour about the Bee Gees wanting to write material for their next album, but Dorough’s only comment on the future is that he ‘can’t wait to be on a beach in Florida’ (If they need company on that beach, they just have to find me :) ).