Q Manufactured pop bands: What's it all about

A. The simple answer It's about making money.�Its��not called the music 'business' for nothing�- record companies have always tried to find 'the next big thing' and sign it to a long-term contract. These days, more and more companies aren't bothering to go out and find the next thing, which takes time and trouble, far easier to simply 'manufacture' a group, and have a large say in getting exactly what you want, and then selling it to the public.

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Q. Hear'say have started a new trend then

A. No, Hear'say is actually the logical end of the chain, not the beginning. It may seem as though a show like Popstars is a new idea, but the only new bit is showing the audition process and that's a reflection of the modern trend of 'reality' TV and 'docu-soaps'. The notion of manufacturing a pop group has gone on since the 1960's.

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Q. Since groups like The Beatles

A. The Beatles were not a 'manufactured' group�- they were already an established group, they simply�had a manager with the vision to change their image and create an appeal that plugged into a ready-made teenage market. The success they had soon showed others the way from there.

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Q. Have there have been other manufactured groups before this latest lot

A. Many of them. The Monkees in the 60s, the Partridge Family from 70s American TV, and the band who kick-started the current crop, New Kids On The Block. Rapidly followed by Take That, N'Sync, Boyzone, S Club 7, Steps, The Spice Girls, and so on.

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Q. So what makes a group 'manufactured'

A. The simple definition is a group of singers or musicians who are brought together with the express intention of forming a group which can be sold to the waiting public, as opposed to a group who have formed in the usual way, and then been groomed for stardom by a manager or record label. The best example is The Beatles, who were a naturally formed pop group, and The Monkees who were manufactured to work on an already written TV series.

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Q. Does that mean you don't have to have any talent

A. A large proportion of music fans would adopt that sentiment, but to be realistic, you do have to have talent to be a success in pop, even if hardheaded business types create your band. The Monkees would be the first to admit that they were chosen as actors who could sing, rather than as musicians who could act, but talent has to be there to be developed, you can't pretend, even in pop music. The entire band had acting experience, and in Mike Nesmith, they had a bona fide musician who wrote several of the band's hits and went on to a respectable solo career.

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Q. So you can't just walk off the street into a manufactured pop group

A. It would be nice, but no. As the series Pop Stars showed, and the resulting Hear'say have proved, the audition process is long and arduous, and a combination of looks, personality, and yes, ability to sing, are all required, contrary to the popular notion that just anyone can be in a pop band.

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Q. Why would anyone bother to manufacture a pop group in the first place

A. Because there is serious money to be made, especially if you look at some facts and figures. In 1996, just five years go, the average Number One album sales per week were around 107,000, which have dropped to just under 95,000 this year. The pop single, perpetually rumoured to be on its last legs, has seen an increase from average weekly Number One sales on 145,000 in 1996, to around 218,000 now. Add to that the interesting statistic that 32% of the population is under 25, and hey presto, you can see pound signs floating before your eyes, if you're a record or TV company boss that is.

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Q. It's a licence to print money then

Hardly, there are risks involved. Look at Take That, a run of chart hits and suddenly the cheeky one starts hanging around at pop festivals and getting photographed in night-clubs. No problem, the song-writing one will carry on and make everyone a fortune. Then what happens The songwriter has one hit and disappears, and the 'cheeky' one evolves into one of the biggest pop stars�of the moment. If you can predict changes in fortune like that, then you wouldn't be bothering with the hard work of getting a pop group off the ground, you'd play the stock market instead, much easier. As if that isn't a big enough warning, remember Milli Vanilli, the most 'manufactured' pop group of all time�- exposed as having sung not a note on any of their hits, in spite of being awarded Grammies for their 'talent'. Cue rapid fall from fame, and tragedy.�The rewards are great, but the risks are greater.

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Q. Why does everyone look down on this type of band

A. Snobbery, pure and simple. For some reason, bands who turn up dressed and made up by the company, singing someone else's songs played by studio musicians seem to incur the sort of temper tantrums that should be reserved for devious politicians. It's comparable to being a famous chef and looking down your nose at McDonalds hamburgers. Manufactured and unoriginal they might be, but millions of people love them and pay to enjoy them, so do you really think they, or Hear'say really care if Keith Floyd or Elton John think they are rubbish Doubtful!

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By Andy Hughes

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