After almost 2 decades, British pop band 911 is finally back in Malaysia to perform their comeback concert, “The Reunion”.
Members Lee Brennan, Simon “Spike” Dawbarn, and Jimmy Constable performed a sold-out show at the Quill Convention Centre on 22nd June 2019 which featured 2 opening acts, upcoming British singer-songwriter Andreah and local artist DJ Nesh.
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The band last performed in Malaysia 19 years ago in 2000, the same year when the band officially broke up, but now the members are glad to be back again.
“We have very fond memories of our tours in Malaysia, our last visit was 2000 and we are looking forward to revisiting some of the places where we met our fans, plus seeing some of the local attractions,” Lee said.
A few days before their concert, Hype Malaysia had an exclusive session with the boys (now men) as they revealed their intention for this concert and their plans moving forward.
Reason why Malaysia is the 1st location for “The Reunion”
One of the biggest reason why Malaysia is chosen as the first location for 911 to hold their comeback concert is because Malaysia was apparently the first country the band’s had number one hits. In fact, their debut album “The Journey” was number one for 20 weeks and every one of their singles was number one as well.
“First time we came here, we were just shocked. Because we didn’t know we got number 1 album. When we turned up it was just mental and we didn’t know what was going on. It was amazing,” Spike said when asked about his first impression of Malaysia 20 years ago.
“It took an army to get us out of the airport. It was so mental,” Jimmy added. “We literally got off the plane with dribbles all over us, but now it’s good. First impression of Malaysia was fantastic.”
According to the members, their song “The Day We Find Love” was the most successful one in Malaysia. Even their second album “Moving On” also went to number 1 in Malaysia.
Thoughts on 90s boy band making comebacks
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#Repost @hananinoah • • • • • • 911 – The Reunion Live in KL. Definitely a Night to Remember!
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911 is certainly not the first boy band who made a comeback this year. Blue and Boyzone just had concerts in Malaysia not too long ago, and coming soon Westlife. Even bigger names like Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls are reuniting for a tour.
“I think it’s great. It started in the UK and seems to be spreading around the world. In the UK, everyone is going nuts again for the boy bands and most of them are retro artists. It’s brilliant,” Spike commented.
“I think it’s always good for boy bands… old ones to come back and new ones to be there. There are always fans out there that are looking for boy band songs,” Lee added.
Meanwhile, Jimmy believe that it may due to the fact that there isn’t a lot of boy band’s music in the chart nowadays, and people are feeling nostalgic.
“I think it’s got to do with the music these days. There isn’t a lot of boy bands and maybe people are just missing that now. Cos in the 90s there’s a lot of boy bands like Westlife, Take That, Boyzone. And they are all back on tour again. People are missing the feel-good factor,” Jimmy said.
How are they different now compared to before
911 members may have a few wrinkles here and there, and may have put on a few pounds, but essentially, they are still the same. Even with their current age now, the members are still able to do a few flips and pull off some sick dance moves just like how they did back when they were younger.
Though Spike did admit that he may not able to do as much or as good as he used to, he will try his best to bring loads of energy and fun onto the stage. Apart from that, Spike also mentioned that the gang kept in touch even after they split. “We’ve always done shows together. Though I’d love to keep away from Lee a bit,” he joked.
Jimmy said the reason why their bond are still so strong after all these years is because the 3 of them were the one who put the band together instead of having someone else gather them and put them in a band.
“Because we kind of started from nothing and had nothing, and we kind of respected the fact that we all built everything from nothing and the success came slowly, and I think that’s why the relationship is there,” he said.
Plans after “The Reunion” in Malaysia
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After Malaysia, 911 will be heading back to the UK to hold an 18 months arena tour around the country. The band plans to invite some cover bands and bands from the 90s to join on their tour.
Spike also said that the members plan to release some new materials specially for Asia and maybe redo one of their top singles “I Do”, a song Jimmy wrote for his wife for their wedding.
The band are unsure if they would be releasing a new album, but they did plan on releasing some new songs. One of the artists that they would love to work with is Ed Sheeran. According to Spike, the reason they want to work with Ed is because they know that the song will become number 1.
Thoughts on today’s boy band scene and Asia’s biggest boy band, BTS
It is so obvious that the boy band scene today has changed so much compared to how we remember back in the 90s, and 911 members certainly has a lot to say about it.
“I see all these up and coming artists coming up and it’s good. I think they miss the spirit of what we have in the 90s. It was also a lot more fun in the 90s. When I think of the songs, I remembered more from the 90s. A lot of the boy bands now don’t seem to be producing songs that you remembered,” Spike said.
“This new boy band, BTS,” Jimmy said. “They’re huge!” Lee interrupted.
“You kind of see the response and obviously it’s great. Good luck to them. It’s a hard business to work in. Like Spike said, it’s one of those things where it’s about the memory thing. People remember when you had certain songs and certain titles. All the best to them,” Jimmy continued.
Check out the Hype’s full interview with 911!
