You know, I honestly didn't know what to make of Boy Banned when I first heard about them. They are basically four guys who are signed to a gay porn company Eurocream – not to do porn, but to be an all-signing, all-dancing gay boy band. Confusing I know. But I guess in this day and age when you can be anything you like as long as you're not hurting anyone, the novelty of being in an openly gay boy band isn't that far of the track if you ask me.
If we look at the boy bands of yesteryear, there most always was a gay one in the band in the end…and let's face it, they usually were my favorites…Let's make a list shall we? There's Duncan James from Blue, Westlife's Mark Feehily, Boyzone's the late yet still great Stephen Gately, New Kids On The Block's Jonathan Knight, N'Sync's Lance Bass and if you are talking about Take That, well Robbie Williams flirts so much with being gay anyways that he might as well be…shoot I happen to know there is at least one gayer in JLS too…but what happens when all the boys are gay? Well that's where Boy Banned comes in.
Now their music has a little bit to be desired. It's euro cheese pop at it's finest and their new single "One World" is like straight outta Pete Waterman's dusty relics, but if you ask me, something has to be said for their honesty. Yes it's a little hard to take them really seriously when they are getting their tops off and performing to the masses all around Pride festivals and such – but I guess if you're gonna be a gay boy band, then do what most gay boy bands would do and appeal to gay audiences. I have to applaud Boy Banned for putting themselves out there, open to ridicule and just going for it. In the music industry, there has been so much covering up of the gay lifestyle that it makes me a little happy that acts like Boy Banned are just busting open the closet doors and being role models for young gay boys around the world via the internet and social networking. I really do hope they can gain wider attention and garner a little respect from us fickle gays in general. It will take some work (let's face it – a lot of work) but it's not unachievable in the slightest. If the likes of Susan Boyle, Bob The Builder and James Corden & Dizzee Rascal can exist in pop – then so can Boy Banned in my book…
Put it to you this way – I'd rather listen to Boy Banned on repeat rather than half a minute of Rage Against The Machine…and who knows, maybe Boy Banned could be the next Pet Shop Boys or Erasure – you never know…
How sweet of the Boy Banned boys to put together a little hello video to EQ…
And this just in – I'm told one of the boys is actually straight – gasp! I'm not telling…