Complete, unedited Edition
Tour promises all six members, all the hits
Every little step Bobby Brown takes, the paparazzi will be there. But these days Brown is making news for making music, which is the way it should be.
Brown and all five past members of New Edition – Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant – are hitting the road, and will stop at Northern Quest Resort & Casino on Wednesday.
“We’re having a ball, man,” Brown said from rehearsals in Atlanta. “That’s what you get with old friends who have been doing this a long, long time.”
Brown, Bell, Bivins, DeVoe and Tresvant began singing, dancing and emulating the Jackson 5 in the late ’70s in the Roxbury area of Boston. Eventually the kids caught the eye of local producer Maurice Starr – who would go on to create New Kids on the Block. The original lineup was only together a few years, but after some huge solo successes they have regrouped for the occasional reunion. What makes this return special is that it’s all six members; back in the ’80s Brown and Gill were never in the band at the same time.
“There’s a lot of hits to cover,” said Brown, then with a laugh: “Don’t worry, we’ll get to them.”
Fans can expect New Edition signatures such as “Candy Girl” and “Mr. Telephone Man” and a jukebox’s worth of solo smashes. Imagine Brown’s “My Prerogative,” Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” and Gill’s “My, My, My” in a single set. Wait, you don’t have to; you can just go to the show.
While Brown, 45, says getting those old steps just right has been tough – longtime manager and choreographer Brook Payne has been putting them through their paces – the reward of working with his buddies is paying off. The group is getting on so well, they’ve promised to deliver new music.
“Yes, it’s going to happen,” Brown said. “Everybody has been working on different stuff and we’re going to start to put it all together soon.”
Brown isn’t in a rush. Between rehearsals, recording and the road, he’s been happily hawking his own brand of barbecue sauce.
“When I got in trouble as a kid, my punishment would be to stay inside and I’d end up helping my mom in the kitchen,” he said. “I learned to cook and ever since I’ve found it really relaxing. Now these recipes are all mine, they come out of my love for fresh herbs and spices and experimenting in the kitchen.”
Next up? A cookbook, a New Edition EP and “a long vacation with my family.”