FEATURE
1980’ s with hits such as ' Candy Girl ', ' Cool it Now ' and ' Mr Telephone Man '.
THE
NEW
EDITION
' The New Edition Story ', a threepart mini series biopic, was aired on BET in America at the end of January. The show which casts Luke James, Elijah Kelley, Keith Powers, Woody McClain, Algee Smith and Bryshere Y. Gray as the New Edition members has turned attention to the feuds,
fame, turmoil and legacy of the RnB boy-band that has spanned almost four decades. New Edition first formed in 1978 and stole our hearts in the early eighties. Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Mike Bivins, Ronnie Devoe and Ricky Bell reached the height of their success in the
Dubbed the next Jackson Five by local manager and choreographer Brooke Payne, who gave them their name, entered them into a local talent show, which they won, and led to them being signed to writer and producer Maurice Starr’ s label Streetwise. After the success of their first album ' Candy Girl ', the group fired Maurice and signed with MCA. After the departure of Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, a friend of the group, became his replacement and they recorded and released the 1989 album ' Heartbreak ' with the no. 1 smash ' Can you Stand the Rain '.
After the success of ' Heartbreak ', the group split to work on their individual solo projects. Lead singer Ralph Tresvant was last to release his solo work but it paid off with his self-titled debut album which went platinum. The album ' s lead song ' Sensitivity ' went to no. 1 on the RnB and no. 4 on the pop billboard charts. Johnny Gill’ s self titled album saw the successful chart toppers ' My, My, MY ', ' Rub You The Right Way ' and ' Wrap You Tight '. The remaining members: Ricky Bell, Mike Bivins and Ronnie Devoe formed the group Bell Biv Devoe( BBD), which saw them release the smash hit ' Poison ' showcasing the new jack swing genre that had been made popular by Bobby Brown and the RnB groupGuy.
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