''Bands Reunited'' is a television program produced by

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documents attempted reunions of formerly popular musical groups for special

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s in either

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. A show normally consists of the crew first hunting down the ex-members of the band (often first in a ruse) one-by-one, and convincing them to agree for the one-time concert. The members are "contracted" by signing an

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

by their former band. The band members are interviewed, usually focusing on the reasons of their disbandment. The final segment is the formal reunion of the band in the rehearsing studio, and a joint interview about having disbanded. If the reunion was successful, the episode ends with the final performance. In 2005, VH1 attempted to reunite the English rock band

the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

, but the show abandoned its attempt after Aamer Haleem unsuccessfully apprehended their former lead vocalist

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

before a show.

Criticism

The artificial and invasive nature of the reality show, and the contractual arrangements behind it, have been criticized. Kurt Harland of

Information Society An information society is a society or subculture where the usage, Content creation, creation, information distribution, distribution, manipulation and information integration, integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drive ...

detailed his own negative experiences with the program, and how his experiences differed from the portrayal of events as broadcast, on his website; citing examples of misinformation, poor background research and manipulation from the show's production crew, regarding the show to have been more interested in sensationalising his band's breakup than a genuine reunion.

Bands

References

External links

Bands Reunited Homepage
* * {{cite web, url=http://insoc.org/texts/BandReunion.HTML , title=Kurt Harland of Information Society details his experiences with the program , accessdate=2007-12-30 , url-status=bot: unknown , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230112756/http://insoc.org/texts/BandReunion.HTML , archive-date=2007-12-30 American non-fiction television series 2000s American reality television series VH1 original programming Pop music television series Rock music television series VH1 music shows American English-language television shows 2000s American music television series 2004 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings Television series by Evolution Film & Tape