Music
Interview: Luke Goss is truly excited about the BROS shows
Luke Goss, one half of BROS, discusses what to expect from next year’s reunion shows.
28 years to the day since their iconic performance at London’s Wembley Stadium, brother duo BROS will headline a huge show at The O2. It forms part of their reunion tour, also taking them to Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow.
Drummer Luke Goss is openly embracing the nostalgia, promising to celebrate everything that has come before while looking at new ways to reinvigorate their live performance. They are planning a celebratory experience, mixing old favourites with new technology that should elevate huge 80s hits such as their breakthrough When Will I Be Famous?.
Most importantly, he’s brimming with excitement. “I literally cannot wait,” he beams, noting the second-to-none feeling of being on stage. Check out what else he had to say in our interview below.
How are you doing?
I’m good. I’m a busy boy, enjoying the blessing of two careers. I’m very thankful.
Good to be busy though, I presume?
Oh bloody hell, I’ve tried the other version and this is better, for sure. Primarily a moviemaker, but the band back together too, which I’m bloody excited about, truthfully. I’m having a good time with it.
What led to the reunion?
I think after nearly 20 years of acting, it felt like that’s what I do. Me and my team felt like my career was in a solid position. Matt and I had been hanging out more and more, and we just had a conversation. There were a lot of people asking about the show, and an assumption that it would never happen. And I always thought it would, I just didn’t know when and how. I just wanted to make sure the team were on the same page, and we did it right.
I wanted to do a great show. Sure, it’s going to have nostalgia attached to it, but I also wanted to do a contemporary show; a 2017 BROS show, not a true revival. For me, the one thing I miss about the band – it isn’t the bullshit management trying to do their thing, and the pressure of the record label – but the live touring, where you really just get to do what you do. You don’t have a bunch of suits telling you how to do it. That’s where I was happiest.
Matt and I realised we couldn’t do a damn thing together without being BROS by default, so we just thought it felt right. Who wouldn’t want to get up on stage and play music? It’s fun. It’s genuinely fun.
As an actor I don’t see the audience unless I’m at a premier, or something like that, so it’s been a long time since I’ve actually seen the audience. I miss it greatly and I can’t wait to get back up there.
Are you nervous at all about getting back out there?
The excitement overwhelms everything else. I’ve always been more scared to play smaller venues, because it’s so intimate. The big shows are an event with a big machine around it. You’ve got the huge production, and everything is done right. The rehearsals are done right. The audience collectively become a force.
The reason I love arenas, especially with a BROS show, is that the audience become 50% of the gig. We do what we do, but the noise and the vibe has always been a collaboration. That’s what a BROS show always was, and I believe what it will be again.
From my point of view I’m not getting back on that stage until I’m ready. I’ll practice every day until I believe I’m a better drummer now than I was back then. I’m a perfectionist, so it’s got to be right. I know the audience will deliver, and we will deliver.
How easy has it been to slot back into it all?
The one thing that’s different is that now my career in film comes with a team, and now it’s the two of us. There’s Matt’s team and my team, and it’s a committee. There are two shareholders of the band, so it’s about democracy and communication. We discuss everything, and work in different time zones.
Matt and I are brothers, so the rest of it has been easy. There are no big bridges to build or any of that stuff. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to say “let’s do this” and for it to happen.
How do you plan on making the show contemporary?
We’re not releasing records again. We’re performing hits that people enjoyed in the day. It’s about contemporising the experience but keeping that beautiful nostalgia that we all love. It’s a beautiful thing.
I don’t feel like I have to think from a competitive standpoint. It’s about trying to do justice to the songs that were hits, and maybe giving them some extra weight. We have to honour the iconic 80s sound. It’s not a strategic decision because we’re not doing a new album. It’s just about trying to do the best versions of what we did, I guess.
Do you have any particularly fond memories from your time in the 80s?
For me it was always the touring. BROS was a cacophony of crazy shit so there are a lot of memories. But it’s always been the touring. Live was always where we shined. There was always a sense of freedom about playing live. The executives are not welcome. It’s a place for a musician or an artist.
Live touring was always the adventure; the planes, the jets, the fans, the noise. That’s why it’s such an exciting decision to make to do this again. It’s a giggle.
What can people expect from a BROS show?
Coldplay put on a great show. I’m not going to do a Coldplay show, but there’s an understanding that the audience is really part of the show. Those wristbands really tie in the audience with the colour scheme of the show. Without the audience, it’s just a bunch of equipment and some jamming.
From my point of view I want the stage to look beautiful and colourful, and the sound to be loud. As a drummer I’m looking at how to feature that more in the show, and Matt has his input. We come together with some of the best people in the world to put on the best show we can. It’s about colour, sound and fun, and a bunch of hits that people know every bloody word to.
The songs are nostalgic, the band is about nostalgia, but the delivery is going to be very 2017. I literally cannot wait.
Here are those BROS dates in full:
19 August – The O2, London
20 August – The O2, London
22 August – Arena, Manchester
23 August – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
25 August – Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham
26 August – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
27 August – The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
BROS tickets are available now through Ticketmaster.co.uk.
