REVEALED : Between The Boy Bands Of The 1990’s And The Boy Bands Of Today… Who Is Making More Money? We Have The Answers.

Boy bands are a phenomena that didn’t start with the Backstreet Boys. They’ve been here much longer than we can imagine,from the days of the legendary Beatles to the eras of the Jackson 5 moving on even to the Bob Marley-led The Wailers and also the Freddie Mercury-led Queen.

And as we moved into the 1990’s,boy bands found a new voice and reformation with a much less menacing tone,more manicured look,softer style of music,more crossover appeal and even bigger and better exposure and packaging.

Most boy bands of the 1990’s that were wildly popular in Kenya were comprised mostly of R&B singers and also pop stars.

Backstreet Boys. Boys || Men. N’Sync.  Westlife. Take That.

But unbeknownst to many,even Kenya had her own local boy band that was all the rave, driving girls wild at the Carnivore Grounds on many a cold,idyllic nights.

Before the Sauti Sols and the HarttheBands and the Just A Bands,there was Five Alive,a musical powerhouse made up of the iconic Eric Wainaina,the burly Victor Seii,Bob Kioko, Chris Kamau, and David Mageria, who was later replaced by Joe Kiragu.

These Kenyans dominated the music scene in 1996 and drew their musical influence from Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

And anyone who was an avid music lover back then will not forget the band’s evergreen hits including the classic Oh Ndio Ndio and more.

Even though they didn’t last long,they did leave a lasting impact.

Victor Seii went on to become a producer of note and Bob Kioko went into broadcasting before leaving to get into real estate. Chris Kamau married the group’s producer Amina Noordin and headed to the US and it’s still not clear what happened to both David Mageria and Joe Kiragu.

Eric went to to become our Bob Marley… Ok,that’s too ambitious an analysis but still…

But Amina Noordin,to whom one of the band members was married,was not the only producer of the band.

Also,there was Bruce Odhiambo,one of the most esteemed and accomplished master producers of the 90’s and still,even of today.

Odhiambo even says that,at some point in 1995,the band received a cool Ksh. 250,000 as payment for a performance.

And in 1995,that was wayyy too much money. We’re talking millions here… For five dudes with cool voices,much more than the bands of today have ever received at a go.

And to keep fit,stay in shape,protect their vocal chords and maintain their ability to belt out the highest and deepest of notes,these band members would jog to Libra House daily. Yes,all the way and swim almost on a daily basis to clear up their lungs.

“Music was business… It was everything… I have never seen,to date,the kind of commitment,dedication and pure hard work that the Five Alive Band exemplified… It was sheer effort. Absolute drive and willpower… ” Bob remembers.

“Five Alive took home cheques worth 100,000 thousand Kenya Shillings plenty of times… That was like a million shillings plus… Back then,” Bob recalls.

Few of the local bands sweating it out on stage today pockets that much.

Maybe Sauti Sol have gone home with a pretty fat paycheck but not quite as fat and scrumptious as the one that Five Alive used to walk to the bank with.

“Back then,music was a business. Music was music. Three weren’t too many players in the field… And the thirst for authentic Kenyan tunes was very real and unquenchable, ” Bob says.

Today,with around a hundred thousand Bob,which really is not much,you can easily book a band to perform for you all night. And even cook dinner for you as the other members scrap your floor.

In the 1990’s,that was purely unheard of.

Big money was spent back then in the good old days of Carnivorizing a Friday night out in 1995 Nairobi City.