Las Vegas Weekly

October 16, 2008 · 10:56 AM

New Kids on the Block set off fan mayhem

By Robin Leach

They were one of the hottest boy bands of our time! They were pop sensations and were mobbed by fans everywhere they went as hit chart-makers. Their slow start back in 1986 was a rocky beginning but by 1991 they were at the top of Forbes’ list of richest singers alongside Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna. But The New Kids on the Block broke apart in a sea of frenzied flashbulbs at the height of their then-short career as they left teenage years for their more adult 20s.

Then this year – some 16 years after they split in 1992 – Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight and Joey McIntyre contemplated the impossible. Could they reunite and win back the screaming fans all over again? Skeptics thought they were crazy thinking the boy band could become an adult group.

Photo: Pure Management Group

Donnie Wahlberg

Photo: Pure Management Group

Joey McIntyre

Two past attempts at a reunion show failed. The guys just didn’t want to get back together again. To test the waters in May this year they released "Summertime" as a download single and posted the tune on their MySpace page. Then they performed a medley of their old hits along with "Summertime" live at the MuchMoreMusic Awards in June. The dice had been rolled – and they came up unexpected winners.

The fans were still there in force – even though they were all grown up, too, and a new tour that began two months ago in Toronto with a stop at Mandalay Bay here in Vegas was put together. Box office sales soared. Critics raved and music writers went into overdrive with praise. The fans followed in a frenzy not seen since rap and hip-hop had aced them out of the charts 16 years ago! Here it was a total sell-out and when they showed, after the concert, on the red-carpet at the LAX nightclub in the Luxor it was as if time had stood still.

Photo: Pure Management Group

Jordan Knight, Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Greco, Joey McIntyre and Jonathan_Knight

Photo: Pure Management Group

Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg and Jonathan Knight.

The fans were back by the thousands, mobbing the club’s entrance, hanging from, balconies and stairwells – and extra security was pulled in to keep it all under control! The club was jam-packed with fans who hadn’t had enough yet of the singers -- and persuaded the men of music to perform again. They put on an electrifying impromptu show including Dirty dancing, Single and Put It On My Tab from their new reconciled album.

Among the crowd on the VIP stage was actor Dennis Haskins, who played the headmaster, Mr. Belding, on "Saved by the Bell” who got as much applause and admiration as the aging rockers. But they were young all over again dancing to the music of DJ Hollywood until the lights had to be turned on and dawn broke!

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