The Making of a Boyband (1996)

• 69%
• 1996
• James Cohen

"Pre X Factor, pre-digital, pre-#MeToo, The Making of a Boyband lurks in a creepier, more cynical time. Broadcast on the BBC in 1996, the documentary follows two wannabe Watermans as they audition 7,000 floppy-haired hunks for their new boyband. "It's a product – you have to package and sell the product," says the one who made his millions in car hire. The product this time is Upside Down – four really-too-nice-for-this lads who tickled the UK top 20 before hitting their best before date. The boys preen, they pose, they worry that their single is "too black" for the 12-year-olds besotted with them. The quality of the product never matters. It's designed to break.