0:00:02 > 0:00:12This programme contains some strong language
0:00:24 > 0:00:30# Me and baby brother Used to run together... #
0:00:30 > 0:00:31Brothers, eh?
0:00:31 > 0:00:37Good for fighting with, good for arguing with and even good for setting up a band with.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Which is pretty much the same thing, really.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45When you're 12, 13 or 14 and something in your heart says
0:00:45 > 0:00:50you've gotta play music, how do you find somebody else to form a group?
0:00:50 > 0:00:55If you've got a brother, a younger brother particularly, you drag him along into playing the guitar too.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00# I wish they all could be California girls
0:01:00 > 0:01:03# I wish they all could be California... #
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Forming a band of brothers
0:01:05 > 0:01:08has been a tried and tested way of forming a band.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11From the innocent days of West Coast surf
0:01:11 > 0:01:16to the modern craziness of East Anglian rock.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20And all points and pantaloons in between!
0:01:24 > 0:01:26It's a dangerous game for two brothers to go into the same band.
0:01:26 > 0:01:32I'd describe me and Rob like, um, chalk and cheese.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38At the end of the day, blood's thicker than water and always will be.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43Yes, it's not so much Brothers at Arms, as brothers at arm's length.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48Here's our survivors guide - Seven Rules for Seven Brothers.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Let's go and kick some arse.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Country music's always been very family-orientated.
0:02:03 > 0:02:09So no surprise that the first famous brothers in pop sprung from hillbilly heritage.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12My grandfather, Ike, and my grandmother, Margaret,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17had their own radio show and they would tell stories and sing songs,
0:02:17 > 0:02:23mostly very spiritual things, very wholesome stuff, and they had two little boys, Don and Phil.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26This is Dad Everly, and we got the whole gang on deck.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Mom, Don and baby boy, Phil.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32The brothers part was easy to do.
0:02:32 > 0:02:38# Oh, what can I do to make you believe? #
0:02:38 > 0:02:44A duet was an unknown commodity in pop music but in country music it's very traditional.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Don and Phil were the Everly Brothers.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52# Bye, bye, love, bye... #
0:02:52 > 0:02:59And by 1957 the whole world would know them and their harmonies.
0:02:59 > 0:03:05It's almost miraculous the way that the two voices matched and produced
0:03:05 > 0:03:07those harmonies and the layered texture.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10# Wake up, little Susie, wake up... #
0:03:10 > 0:03:17Which became the sort of signpost in terms of matching voices.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22# We've both been sound asleep Wake up, little Susie and weep... #
0:03:22 > 0:03:27There's nothing sweeter than brothers singing together or families singing together.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31I don't think two people that aren't related can sound the same.
0:03:31 > 0:03:37# Drea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream Drea-ea-ea-eam... #
0:03:37 > 0:03:40There's a tremendous sweetness and gentleness, at their best,
0:03:40 > 0:03:41which nobody else matches -
0:03:41 > 0:03:44not even Lennon and McCartney.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48I don't think they go even anywhere near the sweetness of the Everlys.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53#...and all your charms Whenever I want you all I have to do
0:03:53 > 0:03:58# Is drea-ea-ea-eam Dream, dream, dream... #
0:03:58 > 0:04:03The vocal harmony was on contrast to the relationship the brothers enjoyed,
0:04:03 > 0:04:08especially when they were forced to tour relentlessly to fend off the British sound they inspired.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14They were pushed very, very hard by management.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17They toured all the time,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19under a lot of pressure.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22You've got to do a lot of gigs and everybody wants a piece of you,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and, hey - surprisingly it doesn't always go smoothly.
0:04:25 > 0:04:31The pair tried to disguise their growing antipathy by making light of it on stage.
0:04:31 > 0:04:37You know, people have said that I pick on Phil, and recently I've been receiving notes and messages
0:04:37 > 0:04:40wherever we appear that say, "Don't pick on Phil."
0:04:42 > 0:04:48They're signed anonymous and they're written in crayon - that's what Phil uses in his correspondence.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53All the buttons can be pushed by your brother faster than anybody cos they've known you longer.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58I put two and two together and figured it out - he's learning to write.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00If they were
0:05:00 > 0:05:04unhappy about the fact they were forced into it, they were brothers
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and I think Don wanted to be a solo artist right from the beginning.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10# Talking to myself again
0:05:11 > 0:05:14# Wondering if this travelling is good... #
0:05:16 > 0:05:19You made a solo LP a few months ago.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24Was that an attempt to break out of the strictness of the old songs?
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I think so.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30It's an attempt to attain and identity
0:05:30 > 0:05:35so that you can realise that there's two individuals onstage singing.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41# Is there somethin' else we're doing, we'd be doing if we could. #
0:05:41 > 0:05:43The cracks were starting to show.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47There was a lot of tension and more energy going into conflict
0:05:47 > 0:05:53than there was going into putting what they're doing out to the rest of the world.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55It all came to a head in 1973,
0:05:55 > 0:06:01ironically, at a gig the brothers were playing in an amusement park.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04I was hanging out in the dressing room with Don.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Everything seemed like it would go all right.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10I guess the stuff was hitting him a little bit harder
0:06:10 > 0:06:14than what I thought, so we had a couple of drinks and went on.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19When he had a bit too much to drink, he'd sing a quarter note flat.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24Of course, with that tight harmony Phil was trying to do what he can,
0:06:24 > 0:06:29and how do you sing harmony with somebody who's singing out of tune?
0:06:29 > 0:06:33People had paid their money, they've hired their babysitter,
0:06:33 > 0:06:39they've driven to this place - they've got a vested interest in you doing your job right.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42# Woe is me I should have stayed in bed... #
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Ten minutes into the show people started walking out.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50I think it was probably about halfway through the third song that
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Phil just got up on his tip-toes and brought the J200 down.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56He took it and he threw it on the stage.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01His 1,200 Everly Brother, Gibson guitar, and he came by me and said,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04"I'm really sorry Bill, I have to go,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07"I can't go back onstage with that man again."
0:07:07 > 0:07:16# It breaks my heart to see us part... #
0:07:18 > 0:07:22My dad's always been chagrined about it being in a public place.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Brothers can disagree. I can disagree with my brother, you with yours,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30maybe we really yell at each other and have a good row,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33but publicly it becomes embarrassing.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37#...the love go back... #
0:07:37 > 0:07:42The brothers didn't play together for ten years, with Don returning to his country roots.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46I knew Don was going to be there, as a solo artist, and he said,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50"Would you play some songs with me?" I said, "Sure, I've love to."
0:07:50 > 0:07:54So we had a run through and after about 10 minutes he said,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58"We're going to do 'Bye Bye Love' and maybe 'All I Have To Do Is Dream'."
0:07:58 > 0:08:03He said, "Would you sing with me?" I said, "You're kidding!" He said, "Would you like to sing the harmony?"
0:08:03 > 0:08:06There I was, thrown in totally at the deep end.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09# Bye bye, love
0:08:09 > 0:08:12# Bye bye, sweet caress... #
0:08:12 > 0:08:16I think he really appreciated. I know he really appreciated it
0:08:16 > 0:08:21because he was on his own but he did miss having a companionship.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23# There goes my baby
0:08:23 > 0:08:25# With someone new... #
0:08:27 > 0:08:33In 1983, the brothers decided to reunite for a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38It had been so long, they needed signs to remind each other of their names.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42It could be I'm tired of everyone saying, "Why don't you do it?
0:08:42 > 0:08:44"Why don't you?" every day.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47When we finally decided to do it, people stopped asking that question
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and...I don't know...times change.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Even though you want to go solo and try your things and see, "Who am I?"
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and so on. You've grown up as this, you've evolved as this
0:08:57 > 0:09:02and at some point you go, "I am first and foremost an Everly Brother."
0:09:05 > 0:09:12I think enough time had passed and it was time to get on with being family.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Don and Phil walked down from opposite sides of the stage and met
0:09:16 > 0:09:20in the centre and it all added to the drama.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Everybody stood up. It was a fantastic response from the audience.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26People had flown in from all over the world.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31# I want you to tell me why you walked out on me... #
0:09:34 > 0:09:38I know we're infamous for having fought but that's funny
0:09:38 > 0:09:40because it's really not true.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44We've had more time when we've worked together than we worked apart.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49Don and I were lucky that we worked together.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Together we had real power.
0:09:51 > 0:09:57# I'm so lonesome every day... #
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Aw, I can't do it!
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Family fun in Muswell Hill, North London, in the early '60s.
0:10:16 > 0:10:22But this is no ordinary family. These boys would become the beacon-carriers for British pop -
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Older brother Ray Davies and his more out-going sibling, Dave.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33Dave was not somebody who'd you'd easily squash. He's very feisty
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and the pattern of sibling rivalry was established very early on.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42It was music that really brought us together.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46We didn't have to really talk to much about, "How does that go?"
0:10:46 > 0:10:48It just seemed to happen.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53The Brothers Davies beamed up schoolmate Pete Quaife on guitar
0:10:53 > 0:10:57to form the basis of the band that would become The Kinks.
0:10:57 > 0:11:05Pete, really, became like a family member...because our interests in music were very similar.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09It was great fun. We just used to sit up there and jam.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13It was like, "Wow! all this world is unfolding in front of us!"
0:11:14 > 0:11:18You could feel that there was this animosity going on -
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Ray going, "I'm going to be better than you,"
0:11:22 > 0:11:24and Dave going, "I'm going to be better than you" -
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and they'd come up with something.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Ray started playing these two notes on the piano.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34# Da dada dada, Da dada dada. #
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Like a little jazz riff.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38INTRO TO: "You Really Got Me"
0:11:38 > 0:11:40I thought, "I can try that."
0:11:40 > 0:11:44I can remember us both looking at each other.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47# Girl, you really got me going
0:11:47 > 0:11:50# You got me so I don't know what I'm doing
0:11:50 > 0:11:53# Yeah, you really got me now... #
0:11:53 > 0:11:59Driven by Dave, the Kinks provided the perfect soundtrack to swinging '60s London.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01# You really got me now
0:12:01 > 0:12:04# You got me so I don't know what I'm doing... #
0:12:04 > 0:12:07The whole thing with Dave's life is he attacks!
0:12:07 > 0:12:12He doesn't sit back and think about anything, he just, "YAH!" goes into it.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15That's the way he played guitar.
0:12:15 > 0:12:21By Christ, he could make a bloody guitar sing! Just by FORCING it.
0:12:25 > 0:12:32Ray and I expressed ourselves so differently, and Pete was right stuck in the middle.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37Poor sod, I can't imagine at times what used to go through his head.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46You had like Jimi Hendrix at that end, Noel Coward at the other end!
0:12:46 > 0:12:51There was always me in the middle, rocking it backwards and forwards.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55# All day and all of the night... #
0:12:55 > 0:13:00Ray and Dave certainly didn't want to be together all day and all of the night.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Their creative friction occasionally exploded into very uncreative fist-action.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10I caught Ray with a lucky punch
0:13:10 > 0:13:16and he went down but, also, he hit his head on the side of the piano
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and he was lying flat on his back
0:13:19 > 0:13:23and I thought, "Oh, shit! I've killed him!"
0:13:23 > 0:13:28I went up to him, close up to his face to see if he was breathing.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30He opens his eyes and...
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Smashed me in the face.
0:13:34 > 0:13:41- The Kinks were one of the few bands- I- thought was kind of similar to Steve and I.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44We used to do gigs with them and we could hear them arguing
0:13:44 > 0:13:48in the dressing room, just the same as they could hear us.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Sibling rivalry - it happens!
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Ray wasn't just winning the physical fights,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58he was also starting to assert his more mellow style on the band.
0:13:58 > 0:14:04- BOB HARRIS:- His music, lyrically, became gradually more and more observational
0:14:04 > 0:14:08and wistful, as time went by... And quintessentially English.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10THEY PLAY: "Waterloo Sunset"
0:14:10 > 0:14:13It's almost Lowry-like, isn't it,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Waterloo Sunset, in its observational qualities?
0:14:16 > 0:14:21# Dirty old river Must you keep rolling
0:14:21 > 0:14:25# Flowing into the night?
0:14:26 > 0:14:30# People so busy Make me feel dizzy
0:14:30 > 0:14:33# Taxi-lights shine so bright
0:14:34 > 0:14:37# But I don't... #
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Ray might say the opposite
0:14:40 > 0:14:45but I think all the really great songs were a collaboration.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48# ..As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset
0:14:48 > 0:14:51# I am in paradise... #
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Ray was getting all of the notice.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Dave was being left behind.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Of course, being his brother, that's really irksome.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Ray had become the pampered star.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Never one to take things lying down Dave tried for a solo hit.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16# My make up is dry and it cracks round my chin... #
0:15:16 > 0:15:23With "Death of a Clown", I did feel like I was getting a bit fed up.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28And it was just about the way I was feeling.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32# ..Let's all drink to the death of a clown... #
0:15:32 > 0:15:36The solo sideline fizzled out but it did provide another stick
0:15:36 > 0:15:39for Ray to beat his younger brother with.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Audiences would often ask for "Death of a Clown"
0:15:42 > 0:15:45which we hadn't done live that many times.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48So, eventually, it looked like we were going to do it.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Dave would step out and begin to play it,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54and Ray would often walk straight in front of him
0:15:54 > 0:15:58and begin to sing "Sunday Afternoon" or some such song.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01On the guitar, yes - Mr "Death of a Clown" Dave Davis!
0:16:03 > 0:16:05'It used to really get on my tits.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10'There was a period when he disappeared up his own arse.'
0:16:10 > 0:16:15I probably began to not like him as a person
0:16:15 > 0:16:17although I loved him, and I still do.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20But Ray had his reasons.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24His struggles to come to terms with the music industry
0:16:24 > 0:16:27were taking their toll on his health, physical and mental.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31# ..Success walks hand in hand with failure... #
0:16:32 > 0:16:38All Ray's inner turmoil came to a head at a gig at White City in 1973.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42There was obviously something quite wrong with Ray onstage.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45He interrupted the set and announced he was leaving the band.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48None of us took it seriously, we thought, "He'll be back
0:16:48 > 0:16:51"in a few days when he's calmed down."
0:16:51 > 0:16:55I didn't know that he was completely stoned out of his mind.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58He tried to commit suicide.
0:16:58 > 0:17:05I get a phone call saying, "Could you come and get your brother? He's in a bad way."
0:17:05 > 0:17:07I went into the hospital.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12And he just looked like this sad, lost, little boy.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Family was always very important to the Davies,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21so when Ray did have his breakdown
0:17:21 > 0:17:24it was Dave who got him back on his feet.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28It IS love and hate, it's not just hate.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33It's the ultimate love and misunderstanding relationship.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37On his recovery, Ray returned to lead the group
0:17:37 > 0:17:41but in a direction that increasingly sidelined Dave.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45His resentment came to a head when Ray opted for fancy dress
0:17:45 > 0:17:47to promote a Christmas single.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53# When I was five I believed in Santa Claus
0:17:53 > 0:17:56# Though I knew it was my dad... #
0:17:56 > 0:18:00We were supposed to attack Father Christmas - Ray -
0:18:00 > 0:18:02and steal his bag of toys.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06And Dave got a bit further into the action than he should've done,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10and we had to pull Dave away from Ray, who was on the floor by now
0:18:10 > 0:18:13with his Father Christmas beard round to the side
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and Dave's attacking him like this. "No, Dave!"
0:18:17 > 0:18:20# Thank you for the day... #
0:18:22 > 0:18:27Amazingly, the two brothers coexisted in the band for 33 years.
0:18:27 > 0:18:33But in 1996, they decided to go their own way, and both now perform separately.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38If we hadn't have been in this business,
0:18:38 > 0:18:44I think that we would've become much better friends.
0:18:44 > 0:18:50That gap between Ray and Dave has got broader over the time.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55You put those two together, they will be...nice...
0:18:55 > 0:18:57for about 2 or 3 minutes
0:18:57 > 0:19:02and then all of a sudden it's you know, ring 911, "Hello? Ambulance?"
0:19:02 > 0:19:04You know! Geez!
0:19:09 > 0:19:12MUSIC: "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits
0:19:15 > 0:19:20Brothers In Arms was a gigantic album for Dire Straits,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23topping the charts in 22 countries.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25But it's hardly an apt description
0:19:25 > 0:19:30of the story behind the Knopfler brothers who started the band.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35We used to walk past a window, Mark and I, where we lived in Gosforth.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38It had guitars in the window. Whenever we were together,
0:19:38 > 0:19:43we would always visit the guitar shops, always look in the windows.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Mark eventually got an imitation Fender
0:19:46 > 0:19:49in the form of a Hofner Super Solid, which I still have somewhere.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52I shouldn't say that - he'll want it back.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Mark learnt to play on that, primarily, but without an amp.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Whenever he went out to do his thing,
0:20:01 > 0:20:05I'd pull it out from under his bed and learn to play it myself.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10But Mark and I didn't really get into seriously playing together
0:20:10 > 0:20:16until I'd finished college. Then I moved to Essex where he was a lecturer
0:20:16 > 0:20:20and I was starting my first job as a social worker, can you believe?
0:20:20 > 0:20:25A social worker and a lecturer - it didn't sound the most promising of beginnings.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30We did most of the writing for the first album in that burst of togetherness.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34# Red sun going down
0:20:34 > 0:20:38# Way over dirty town... #
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Dire Straits' debut album was recorded for £12,500.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45It went on to sell millions.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Very early on it was clear to me
0:20:48 > 0:20:51that David would generally be overruled.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Usually by the words "shut up".
0:20:54 > 0:21:01So, he would say something and Mark would go, "Shut up, just shut UP!"
0:21:08 > 0:21:14I tried to sign them for Island but we got beaten by Phonogram,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17but they asked me if I would produce their first album.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25It was clear to me that Mark's facility for playing the guitar
0:21:25 > 0:21:28was unusual and very good.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33That's what was going to give us our extra turbo-charge.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41Mark was very dominant in Dire Straits.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43However, I'd noticed that his brother
0:21:43 > 0:21:45also wrote some very good songs
0:21:45 > 0:21:53and why not cut eight songs of Mark's and a couple of songs of Dave's?
0:21:53 > 0:21:58I suddenly found a great deal of resistance to this from Mark.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Dire Straits was a vehicle for Mark Knopfler's songs.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03That's what the band was.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07There wasn't room for anybody else's stuff.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14I thought it was a democracy but I was probably deluded.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16It wasn't really - it was Mark's band.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20"Sultans of Swing" was the stand-out track,
0:22:20 > 0:22:22totally against the grain of New Wave,
0:22:22 > 0:22:27but in 1979, it went Top Ten in the UK and USA.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32# Check out Guitar George He knows all the chords... #
0:22:32 > 0:22:38I was five yards away when they performed that song
0:22:38 > 0:22:44and I vividly remember being absolutely knocked out.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53David Knopfler was totally capable, extremely good guitar player
0:22:53 > 0:23:00and as good or as bad as any other top quality, rock-band musician.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Mark Knopfler was one above that
0:23:04 > 0:23:07and there are very few that are one above that.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09I was a good musician,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12I wasn't a great musician but I was still quite a newbie.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Mark could get me out of difficulties.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16If I was struggling a bit,
0:23:16 > 0:23:21only he would notice. Because being brothers, you do.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26We could each communicate to each other with such a subtle gesture
0:23:26 > 0:23:30no-one else would know what it meant, but it communicated exactly
0:23:30 > 0:23:32what we wanted to say to each other.
0:23:32 > 0:23:38It also proved to be the downfall because if things are tense, you read the body language well, too.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41# We're the Sultans of Swing... #
0:23:43 > 0:23:50"Sultans of Swing" hit really quickly and, all of a sudden, everything changes.
0:23:50 > 0:23:51..We'd like to take the first...
0:23:53 > 0:23:56They want to take the first, yeah.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01'From December '77 to January of 1980...'
0:24:01 > 0:24:03we didn't stop.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05We really didn't stop.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11Tim, we've had this discussion innumerable times. There are no extra dates possible.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12Be thankful for what we have.
0:24:12 > 0:24:19The pressures are unbelievable and you're travelling 200-300 miles every day as well.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24That kind of success is going to put pressure on a relationship.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27No relationship is going to stand that scrutiny.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29It's murder being up here.
0:24:29 > 0:24:35I had a fear quite early on that the whole thing might collapse because of their relationship.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39I was the only person who could disagree with him
0:24:39 > 0:24:43and that was an enormous inconvenience to Mark.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47If you're with people saying, "What colour ashtray do you want?"
0:24:47 > 0:24:52you don't really need your kid brother around kind of reminding that you're still just Mark.
0:24:52 > 0:24:53Super!
0:24:53 > 0:24:59Super for Mark, but as the band recorded their third album, David was super-frustrated.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04David was increasingly uncomfortable with the prominence that his brother was getting.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09Most of the media attention - and he was being hailed as a genius and all the rest of it.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17He needed me to get the first album away and to get the first band together and to be successful.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19It wouldn't have happened without me.
0:25:19 > 0:25:25By the time he was at "Making Movies" I was just in the way of what he wanted to do.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30'We were in New York recording it and things were very rocky.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35'Mark was being particularly...Mark,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37'and he was taking no prisoners.'
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Yeah, you can get used to just coming in on that, "# Whoa, yeah #"
0:25:41 > 0:25:44at the end of that, after your E and your F...
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Don't want to worry. Can we go right back to the start?
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- Oh, yes, OK.- I haven't got a clue.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Starts with the chorus, does it?
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Mark said, "I don't care what you play.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00"You can play whatever the fuck you want. It makes no difference."
0:26:00 > 0:26:03And we were heading towards rock bottom at that point.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07I'd suggested Mark take a break and have a beer, which apparently you don't do
0:26:07 > 0:26:11to major rock stars playing in American recording studios.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15It wasn't just the musical relationship that was breaking down,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18the personal relationship was too.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Case of the right place, wrong time.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23It was just getting too difficult to work together.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27David walked out on the band never to return.
0:26:27 > 0:26:35Mark went onto establish Dire Straits as one of the biggest stadium rock acts of all time.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38David has had more modest success.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41# Soul kissing in the early hours
0:26:41 > 0:26:43# Soul kissing... #
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Since I left the band I've made nine albums I can call mine,
0:26:47 > 0:26:53which I've enjoyed increasingly because each one's become closer to the heart
0:26:53 > 0:26:56of where I originally thought we were going with the Straits.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00# I cannot hold you if you won't hold me too... #
0:27:01 > 0:27:04If brothers form a band, you take the risk
0:27:04 > 0:27:08that the relationship may be permanently damaged. And it's a tragedy if that happens.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11In the case of the Knopflers it has been.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13# ..All this love I feel... #
0:27:13 > 0:27:18I had no vision about what the consequences and the price might be.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21You don't when you're a young kid with a guitar.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26# I take you any place Risk anything for you... #
0:27:31 > 0:27:35These two Parka-wearing brothers would one day become The Krays.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40- And a fantastic save from Bob Wilson, it really was. - So watch the other match.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44But before that, they'd establish another terrifying gang
0:27:44 > 0:27:46with its own dress code - Spandau Ballet.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52# Gold, always believe in your soul
0:27:52 > 0:27:55# You've got the power to know
0:27:55 > 0:27:57# You're indestructible... #
0:27:57 > 0:28:01We used to share a bedroom when we were younger.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06On my side of the wall it used to be Bruce Lee and all-action heroes,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08and on Gary's side it would be all guitars.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Posters of Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18The Kemps, Gary and Martin, started out in a London drama school
0:28:18 > 0:28:21determined to make it one way or another.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24I was drawn towards fame,
0:28:24 > 0:28:28whether it be as a footballer, in a rock band - whatever.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30I was drawn to the idea of being famous.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34It was always a big choice in my head.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Do I go down the acting road or do I become a musician?
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Gary formed a band with his mates.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42I learnt two chords and wrote a song.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46I was never interested in playing anyone else's songs.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49But Martin had his uses - he lugged the gear.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53It was my way of staying in touch and being part of it
0:28:53 > 0:28:59because if Gary went on with this band and became successful, I would be left behind.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02And then, without me knowing,
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Steve Dagger, the manager, was talking to Gary about putting me in the band.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12Steve came to me and he said, "Your brother should be in the band because he looks great."
0:29:12 > 0:29:14I said, "He can hardly play!"
0:29:14 > 0:29:21It was my mum that swayed it in the end because I think she had a word with Gary
0:29:21 > 0:29:25and put him in his place, and said, "If you're going, Martin's coming."
0:29:26 > 0:29:33And I sat up all night one night teaching him all the bass lines for the set that we played.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37And then he went and played a gig with us and that was it.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40# Soldier is turning
0:29:40 > 0:29:44# See him through white light
0:29:44 > 0:29:47# Running from strangers
0:29:47 > 0:29:51# See you in the valley
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Spandau Ballet were born.
0:29:53 > 0:29:59Gary's group playing Gary's songs with a carefully choreographed New Romantic look.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04And Gary's little brother plodding on bass.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06I think at first Gary wasn't aware
0:30:06 > 0:30:09of the sort of power
0:30:09 > 0:30:12that his brother had - because he was his little brother!
0:30:12 > 0:30:15You only had to walk into a nightclub with Martin
0:30:15 > 0:30:20and you saw girls AND boys go "Ooh!" He was a good looking kid.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25Martin impressed you for everything about him visually
0:30:25 > 0:30:31in the same way Gary immediately impressed you for everything about him intellectually and verbally.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34They seemed to be two halves from the very beginning.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38Gary wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a rock star.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42Five guys from Islington are causing a buzz in the music industry.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47As a 21-year-old, my brother was a 19-year-old, we were very arrogant. There was no humility.
0:30:47 > 0:30:54We all believed it was our destiny, that we were going to play on Top Of The Pops and be in a big band.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01There was always a pull cos Tony was the front man, he was the voice of Spandau.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04# This might not last too long... #
0:31:05 > 0:31:10And yet, somehow he wasn't the front man. There were two other front men, who were the brothers.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14I think everybody knew that it was Gary and Martin were the axis
0:31:14 > 0:31:16on which it revolved.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Gary wrote the songs which propelled the group
0:31:19 > 0:31:24to consistent chart success in the early 80's, but his brother was the creative crutch.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27It was like a confidence-building thing.
0:31:27 > 0:31:33Rather than walking into a rehearsal room and saying to all of us together, "This is the new song",
0:31:33 > 0:31:38Gary would show it to me - and we'd always done that ever since we were much younger.
0:31:41 > 0:31:47I wrote most of the True album at my mum and dad's house, in my bedroom.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50And my brother would be watching TV or something,
0:31:50 > 0:31:55and I'd call him in and say, "What do you think of this?" Play him a song.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57"Good, good, yeah - keep working."
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Gary said, "I've written this ballad. What do you think of this?"
0:32:03 > 0:32:08He played it to me...and I KNEW. You know, when you hear a song like that,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10how good it is - straight away.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14I said to Gary, "I can see the dollar signs already."
0:32:14 > 0:32:17# Ah ha ha ha ah ah, I know... #
0:32:17 > 0:32:22One thing was true - despite the dodgy haircuts and jackets,
0:32:22 > 0:32:24Spandau were now international megastars,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28a new level of pressure for the brothers to contend with.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35I'm sure, Gary in particular, who's a real student of pop mythology,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38would have been very aware of the history of brothers in bands.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42He would have known about The Kinks, because they were one of his favourite bands.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46But I think he also knew that his relationship with his brother
0:32:46 > 0:32:50was not that Ray Davies/Dave Davies "at each other's throats" thing.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52I've never seen Gary and Martin argue.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57# I don't need this pressure on I don't need this pressure on
0:32:57 > 0:33:00# I don't need this pressure on. #
0:33:00 > 0:33:03They did, but only behind closed doors.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07My brother and I were always the pressure valve.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11When pressure built up, we would have an enormous fist fight.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Then you forget about it a second after,
0:33:15 > 0:33:19because you're brothers. It doesn't stay with you.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23When the movie of The Krays was first mooted,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25it almost seemed inevitable
0:33:25 > 0:33:29that the Kemp brothers would portray those roles.
0:33:29 > 0:33:34Steve Dagger had said to me YEARS before, "This is so right for Gary and Martin."
0:33:34 > 0:33:38I want these fucking Maltese brothers off the map once and for all.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43It was kind of unsaid who'd play Ronnie and who Reggie. I think Ronnie was leader of THEIR relationship.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47I never asked to be Ronnie and Gary never asked to be Reggie.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Some of the band members were really unhappy.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53They saw it as being a bit disloyal.
0:33:55 > 0:34:01I guess they were scared, really, that it may be the end of the group.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05I wanted the band to carry on another album
0:34:05 > 0:34:08but Gary was definite about it - he didn't.
0:34:14 > 0:34:19They were the archetypal '80s band, so when the '90s hit, Spandau split.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23But they reunited nine years later in the High Court.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28The non-Kemp members unsuccessfully sued Gary for non-payment of royalties,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31leaving Martin a very uncomfortable piggy in the middle.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35It was horrible because... I was stuck in the middle.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40My best friends were taking my brother to court.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46Although the split between the rest of the band and Gary was very messy,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50I don't think that was ever going to split the two brothers.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Because I think they're indivisible.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58# I know this much is true... #
0:34:58 > 0:35:03At the end of the day, blood's thicker than water and it always will be.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12# When will I Will I be famous...? #
0:35:12 > 0:35:15Twins are a whole different ballgame.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18That's a natural selling point if ever there was one.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23People almost looked at the whole things as, "Oh, is it contrived?"
0:35:23 > 0:35:25You can't help being identical twins.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28It just worked, and the name was very apt.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31# Be at one With your body in the sun
0:35:31 > 0:35:35# Yes, you are... #
0:35:35 > 0:35:38You can see why, if you're a manager, you're gonna say,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42"Wow! Good looking brothers. Girls will love 'em. We'll dress them up."
0:35:42 > 0:35:47They had... an alien quality about them.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49They looked rather perfect,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52and they very much worked hard to portray
0:35:52 > 0:35:57that the relationship between them was also one of perfection.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59# When will I... #
0:35:59 > 0:36:01We didn't audition for Bros.
0:36:01 > 0:36:07We started playing in bands together when we were 12 years old. We had our first band. We were called Caviar.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09We didn't have a fucking clue what caviar was,
0:36:09 > 0:36:15just knew it was expensive. We found out it was fish eggs, we were like, "OK, drop the name!"
0:36:17 > 0:36:21Their songs were interesting, they had a fantastic image
0:36:21 > 0:36:26and good, strong management who had a vision of where they should go.
0:36:29 > 0:36:35# I watch you crumble Like a very old wall
0:36:35 > 0:36:36# Ooh...! #
0:36:36 > 0:36:41They were told what to wear, they were helped in how to find the right clothing. They LOOKED manufactured.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45#...for a fool Ooh, I've have my revenge... #
0:36:45 > 0:36:51If you're the brother and you're the twin, it's purely just DNA, it's just coincidence.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53There's nothing set-up about it.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57# I owe you nothing... #
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Tell that to a no-nonsense John Stapleton!
0:37:00 > 0:37:04But in fairness, you are quite carefully marketed, aren't you?
0:37:04 > 0:37:10To be honest about it, it's skilful and I'm sure many people admire it, but it's also a little bit callous.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12'You tell 'em Johnny!'
0:37:12 > 0:37:17# I came down to dry my hair With a little touch of gel... #
0:37:17 > 0:37:21They stood there and told you, "We are big stars.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25"There is absolutely no other way you can conceive of this band.
0:37:25 > 0:37:30"We're massively famous." And immediately they fell into the lifestyle.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37I think it was only after their first single, a few days later,
0:37:37 > 0:37:41they turned up in this beautiful 911 Porsche. It was brand new.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43Straight away I was, "Where's the money coming from?"
0:37:43 > 0:37:46I'd been doing it for three years, then, and I never had any money.
0:37:46 > 0:37:52Well, it helps when your first five singles all go Top Five in one year.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56- # Drop the boy, drop the boy...- Woo-oh...! #
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Everybody knew who we were. That was the epitome of rock'n'roll.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05We landed by helicopter. 10,000 people waiting for us... That was...what we did.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09It was always larger than life, always mad.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Press the button!
0:38:11 > 0:38:15I did a radio programme with them. I really liked them. They were great!
0:38:16 > 0:38:20We couldn't have come from further ends of the musical spectrum.
0:38:20 > 0:38:26They couldn't believe that all this had arrived. They were saying that they couldn't sleep at night
0:38:26 > 0:38:30because there were so many girls outside their flat, 24 hours a day!
0:38:31 > 0:38:34The enthusiasm of the crowds outside has been enormous.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38How are you going to get through life being screamed at like this?
0:38:38 > 0:38:40- Oh, it's terrible.- It's really hard!
0:38:41 > 0:38:46There were so many girls, the boys didn't know what to do with them...
0:38:46 > 0:38:48until they hit upon a plan.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54They had a dream to fill Wembley Stadium.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58And that, I think, was the ultimate symbol of their tenacity as brothers.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01They dug their heels in. It was what they wanted to do.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05- B-R-O-S! - CROWD: B-R-O-S!
0:39:05 > 0:39:10I remember me and Luke sitting at the back of Wembley Stadium looking at the stage
0:39:10 > 0:39:14and thinking how small it looked. And that was a monstrous stage!
0:39:14 > 0:39:18Luke was the drummer, so not only was he officially the backbone of the band,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22but there's a real ease onstage when your brother's literally watching your back.
0:39:26 > 0:39:33'I'm at the front of the stage. You literally see the whites of their eyes, you feel their sweaty hands...
0:39:33 > 0:39:36'It's just so much more tactile.'
0:39:38 > 0:39:43And I think that, being a drummer, his experience of the whole thing after a while was,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46"Nah, nah, I need more than this."
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Say B-R-O-S!
0:39:51 > 0:39:55In terms of marketing, the twin thing worked very well.
0:39:55 > 0:40:01In reality, in terms of achieving some sort of balance within the band, I think it was a cause of struggle.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06The twins then did what so many boy-bands have done before.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11They rebelled against their management and decided to do their own thing.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Their own serious thing. Oh, dear.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17# Three o'clock in the morning... #
0:40:17 > 0:40:22Possibly, they did write some very good, valid music for that third album
0:40:22 > 0:40:26but that's not really what Bros was ever about.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31# Darkness, a no-man's land
0:40:31 > 0:40:37# Is close at hand... #
0:40:37 > 0:40:42When they really wanted to stretch their wings as musicians and creators,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46couldn't break through that barrier of the hype.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50The new mature style flopped and, for the first time in their lives,
0:40:50 > 0:40:54the brothers started to go their separate ways.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59You're born on the same day, you grow up together, you go to school together,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02you usually have the same friends. And then you had the same career.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05I think that there is an overload factor
0:41:05 > 0:41:07that contributed to end of our band.
0:41:11 > 0:41:17In some ways, I wish I'd hung in there. But Luke called me up and said, "That's it, I'm done."
0:41:17 > 0:41:21If somebody wants to leave the band, What can you do? You can't force 'em.
0:41:21 > 0:41:27I knew in my heart that I would probably never be on the stage with my brother again.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29It's a very painful moment.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34# Why, oh why Are we not famous
0:41:34 > 0:41:36# Any more? #
0:41:36 > 0:41:43Luke remains disillusioned about his music career and refuses to revisit the Bros era to this day.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47He's now trying to establish a movie career in Hollywood.
0:41:47 > 0:41:53Back at the station without you... All asking me how you are.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Matt went from the frying pan into the...
0:41:56 > 0:41:59frying pan in Hell's Kitchen...
0:42:01 > 0:42:04..and is now carving out a solo career.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08# My heart skips a beat, oh!
0:42:08 > 0:42:13# Just the thought of you ever leaving... #
0:42:13 > 0:42:18I have to constantly remind myself that it's OK and we don't have to be connected at the hip.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23I guess I'm the twin that wants to hang out with him. He's more independent.
0:42:25 > 0:42:32To jump on stage for a couple of hours with Luke again, I think would be an amazing, amazing experience.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48This may look like an austere, disapproving dad with his long-haired, layabout son,
0:42:48 > 0:42:53but these two are also band-sharing brothers. They just don't care to advertise it.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58We just think the whole thing with "being brothers" is just corny.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01It's not appealing when it's flaunted in a certain way.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05And these two seem to know all about flaunting.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09They may look somewhat androgynous, but they are MAELS -
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Ron and Russell Mael.
0:43:18 > 0:43:23They were wacky and weird and reminded their first record boss of the Marx Brothers.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27So he suggested they become known as the Sparks Brothers. Genius(!)
0:43:27 > 0:43:35We just hated the idea of having "brothers" attached to the name of the band, so we met him halfway
0:43:35 > 0:43:41and said, "We'll take the Sparks bit and you can keep the Brothers bit."
0:43:41 > 0:43:45To put the innocent record-buying public off the scent even more,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48older brother Ron decided to go for an image change.
0:43:48 > 0:43:54When we moved to England, Russell and I probably looked more alike
0:43:54 > 0:43:57And then I decided to get my hair cut.
0:43:57 > 0:44:03Our manager at the time thought he'd just made the biggest mistake ever.
0:44:03 > 0:44:09Because we had a new record deal with Island Records, everything was going positively.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13I just kinda did it on a whim. And in the end, it worked out better
0:44:13 > 0:44:18than what it might've worked out looking like a member of Grateful Dead.
0:44:19 > 0:44:25..I thought it was your typical LA hype - that they weren't brothers at all!
0:44:26 > 0:44:29One was a really handsome-looking guy and the other
0:44:29 > 0:44:34was this very strange, angular face with this weird Hitler moustache.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37# Zoo time Is she and you time
0:44:37 > 0:44:41# The mammals are your favourite type And you want her tonight... #
0:44:41 > 0:44:44Ron being kinda severe onstage
0:44:44 > 0:44:48apparently had an effect on a lot of people.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51# ..This town ain't big enough for the both of us! #
0:44:51 > 0:44:54It's really odd, cos I don't consider...
0:44:54 > 0:44:55Ron's not frightening to ME.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59We were in Woolworth's - I think in Birmingham - during the first tour.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03The girl at the checkout ran away screaming, "I can't serve him!"
0:45:03 > 0:45:07We all looked at each other and went "Wow! This is having an impact."
0:45:09 > 0:45:13- RON:- He is the singer and the focal point
0:45:13 > 0:45:18and - he might hate me for saying so but - the sex symbol of the band.
0:45:18 > 0:45:24And I do the keyboards. And the people that I attract are a little more unusual, shall we say.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29The irony is that while these brothers couldn't look more different,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32spiritually and creatively they are identical twins.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35- # When I was born a little premature - You gotta beat the clock... #
0:45:35 > 0:45:39I haven't really found another band
0:45:39 > 0:45:43with brothers that are as close as they are.
0:45:43 > 0:45:50# You gotta beat the clock We gotta beat the clock We gotta beat the clock... #
0:45:50 > 0:45:55Part of the reason that we've been able to exist
0:45:55 > 0:46:01both professionally and as brothers for so long is that we have this common vision.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06I think perhaps they're more symbiotic than other siblings I know,
0:46:06 > 0:46:12in that I can't imagine either of them individually being transported into another band scenario.
0:46:14 > 0:46:20That's maybe because, as far as anyone can tell, other partners are not as important to them.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24That's fine...and turn up the click.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28They have created an insular world that's very unique
0:46:28 > 0:46:30and that no one else can penetrate.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34No, turn ME up. Turn me up, I can't hear a thing.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37The people that have problems with their brothers in bands,
0:46:37 > 0:46:43they must have some sort of back-up position, friends, those sorts of things.
0:46:43 > 0:46:49But in my case, I don't have a back-up position so I have to make this work.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51Go ahead... OK, hang on...
0:46:53 > 0:46:59'It's all about the music. If that were to go away because of some disruption in their relationship,'
0:46:59 > 0:47:04then I'm afraid their entire lives would crumble, because that's what their lives are about.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09It's an insular world without commercial compromise.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11The battiness must be in the genes!
0:47:11 > 0:47:14- # How do I get to Carnegie Hall? - Practise, man, practise! #
0:47:14 > 0:47:17Maybe we play it less safe, being brothers.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21We both want to push things as far as we can.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23# Carnegie Hall? Carnegie Hall? #
0:47:23 > 0:47:26I think the secret of working with your sibling
0:47:26 > 0:47:31is just to have something that you are equally as passionate about.
0:47:31 > 0:47:36I don't know if I could ever find another person that would be as...
0:47:36 > 0:47:40singlemindedly focused on achieving that goal.
0:47:50 > 0:47:56One approach is to make the band so big that if you are brothers you get lost in the crowd.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00That's what the Campbell brothers of reggae superstars UB40 did.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11I'd describe me and Rob like chalk...and cheese.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16I'm the grown-up, he's the child.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21It was that way when we were little, it'll be that way when we're 80.
0:48:24 > 0:48:30But none of this comes to the fore in the band because UB40 aren't a small intense group,
0:48:30 > 0:48:32they're a collective...man.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36There's loads of 'em and they've all got different bits and roles
0:48:37 > 0:48:42and therefore, I think the intensity of that brother relationship is slightly more diffuse.
0:48:42 > 0:48:48With The Kinks you've got that front person - Ray, right up front, he's in the spotlight.
0:48:48 > 0:48:55With UB40 the workload and responsibility was spread more evenly across the group.
0:48:55 > 0:49:01The band's members grew up in the Sparkbrook and Mosely, inner city suburbs of Birmingham.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06Two of them are brothers, the others connected by school and neighbourhood friendships.
0:49:06 > 0:49:11It's a democratic process, y'know, there's eight of us and we ALL have the same say, really.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14We were a gang before we were a band.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17# Oh, I'm the man To try me hand... #
0:49:17 > 0:49:22Robin and Ali's dad Ian was a professional singer, a folk singer.
0:49:24 > 0:49:31When he had four lads growing up, I'm sure he had some kind of fantasy of having his own group.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35Like anything else, if you get it rammed down your throat, you start looking for the opposite.
0:49:35 > 0:49:40We were invited to sing at one of our family get-togethers, which was all folk.
0:49:40 > 0:49:47And we had rehearsed "Village Ghettoland", a Stevie Wonder song, and we did it.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51# Village Ghettoland... #
0:49:51 > 0:49:55And there was a silence when we stopped. They were all...
0:49:55 > 0:49:57And me granddad said,
0:49:57 > 0:50:01"What a pity, such beautiful voices singing such crap."
0:50:05 > 0:50:11Two of the brothers, Ali and Robin decided they preferred the folk music of their new neighbourhood...
0:50:11 > 0:50:14# I'm a British subject And I'm proud of it
0:50:14 > 0:50:18# But I carry the burden of shame... #
0:50:18 > 0:50:20..and UB40 began,
0:50:21 > 0:50:26..named after the form used to register for unemployment benefit...
0:50:26 > 0:50:29A friend of ours said, "Call yourself UB40. You're all on the dole,"
0:50:29 > 0:50:35We did. And there you go, we had three million instant, card-carrying fans.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38- # I am the one in ten - A number on a list
0:50:38 > 0:50:42- #I am the one in ten - Even though I don't exist
0:50:42 > 0:50:45- # Nobody knows me - # But I'm always there
0:50:45 > 0:50:50# A statistic, a reminder of a world that doesn't care... #
0:50:50 > 0:50:54It was Rob that moulded my love of reggae music,
0:50:54 > 0:50:57cos he's five years older than me.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01We didn't ever discuss "What kind of music are we going to play."
0:51:01 > 0:51:05It never even occurred to us. It was always gonna be a reggae band.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10# Red, red wine
0:51:10 > 0:51:14# Goes to my head... #
0:51:14 > 0:51:18..and, as it turned out, the biggest reggae band of all time
0:51:18 > 0:51:23and the fourth most successful group in the history of the British charts.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Put that in your folky pipe and smoke it, Dad!
0:51:26 > 0:51:32The band are currently working on their 23rd album.
0:51:32 > 0:51:38- They are real bowed strings...- No, they're...- That've been sampled. - And PLAYED - on a keyboard.
0:51:38 > 0:51:44- Yeah, but they're still real strings. - Oh, dear! You're really making yourself look silly here.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49..I don't think I treat Rob any differently to any other band member and vice versa.
0:51:49 > 0:51:55Me and Ali are a bit bemused by it all, when people keep talking about the "brothers" thing.
0:51:55 > 0:52:01I think the only "brotherly" thing is our vocal blend.
0:52:01 > 0:52:06# Homely girl, You used to be so lonely
0:52:06 > 0:52:09# You're a beautiful woman, oh... #
0:52:09 > 0:52:13I mean, we ARE the Everly Brothers of reggae. We're KNOWN as that...
0:52:13 > 0:52:14Joke!
0:52:14 > 0:52:19I don't think that the brother thing is as important as you may think it is y'know.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24I think if you're going to be in a band you've all got to be brothers, otherwise you ain't gonna make it.
0:52:35 > 0:52:41# Cos we need each other We believe in one another... #
0:52:41 > 0:52:47As fighting with your brother seems to be inevitable, some people will always make the most of it.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51- It's not about YOU, though, is it? - Well, let's go back to that.
0:52:51 > 0:52:56- You or me, you or me?! - Music, music, music!
0:52:57 > 0:53:00I think it got to 52 in the charts.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Two brothers just talking crap. Genius!
0:53:02 > 0:53:07Liam does everybody else's share of reckless behaviour. "It's an Oasis thing." It's not, it's just Liam,
0:53:07 > 0:53:08he's out of control, a madman.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10Bollocks!
0:53:10 > 0:53:14One's young, one's a bit older. One's wiser, one's not.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16It's...like Cheech and Chong, tit for tat.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Having a good run at the moment. We haven't argued for about a day.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23I don't understand it all, meself.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25- Do you respect Noel?- Mmm. - Do you always listen to him?
0:53:25 > 0:53:29- Mmm.- Is he always right?- Nope.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Thank God I'm not in a band with either of 'em! I get on with them just fine.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35It's gonna cause an argument now.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40The foremost band with brothers for the last decade has been Oasis.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43#..Along with me... #
0:53:43 > 0:53:49When songwriter Noel joined kid brother Liam's band it all kicked of for the boys from Burnage.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53# Shake along with me... #
0:53:53 > 0:53:58I went to see them in '94, the time of Shakermaker,
0:53:58 > 0:54:02and I was talking to the manager, Marcus Russell.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04And I said, "Oh, I get it. It's the brothers.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08And he said, "Oh, no, no, no, They're a band."
0:54:08 > 0:54:12I thought, "Yeah, right(!)" It was obviously a Ray and Dave situation.
0:54:12 > 0:54:18But having said that, it was more complicated than The Kinks, because they really do need each other.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Without Liam, Noel Gallagher can't carry the whole thing.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26And Liam Gallagher can't write the tunes.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28# Shake along with me... #
0:54:30 > 0:54:37Noel had plenty of experience of carrying - as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets.
0:54:37 > 0:54:42Basically, when he came back from America with the Inspirals, that's when Liam and Bonehead and the rest
0:54:42 > 0:54:44asked Noel to manage them.
0:54:44 > 0:54:49He said, "I'm not gonna manage your band but I'll join it, write the songs and do it that way."
0:54:50 > 0:54:56We used to rehearse Saturday nights. Imagine, 17- 18-year-old Liam wanted to go out, get drunk with his mates.
0:54:56 > 0:55:02"You can't. Gotta rehearse. Go out later." "What? I'm not rehearsing." "You are." "No, I'm not." "Yeah..."
0:55:02 > 0:55:05And that's it. Noel put the discipline in.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07# Today is gonna be the day
0:55:07 > 0:55:09# That they're gonna throw it back to you... #
0:55:09 > 0:55:15Noel's the leader and Liam is an absolute, total star, ain't he?
0:55:15 > 0:55:18Looks like a Hollywood actor.
0:55:18 > 0:55:24It's not that I fancy him, but he is a good looking lad in a way that Noel isn't.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29Noel's...a bit more awkward looking, isn't he? ..Sorry Noel!
0:55:29 > 0:55:34# There are many things That I would like to say to you
0:55:34 > 0:55:36# But I don't know how... #
0:55:36 > 0:55:43The love-hate relationship between the brothers was manna from heaven for the tabloid press.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47They couldn't be interviewed together because they'd just rip each other apart.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51Why do you and Noel never do interviews together, Liam?
0:55:51 > 0:55:56We just don't do interviews together cos, y'know, he's got summat else, he's got different things to say.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04I never know whether to believe all of it
0:56:04 > 0:56:06when they talk about the fights.
0:56:06 > 0:56:13But there are obviously similarities between Oasis and The Kinks, where there's a real tension in there.
0:56:13 > 0:56:19We got it wrong because we nearly killed each other onstage
0:56:19 > 0:56:24a couple of times, but they've got a balance with the media just right.
0:56:25 > 0:56:30The fights between the two have become the stuff of pop legend.
0:56:30 > 0:56:35I've seen them knock each other out over a bottle of beer once. That was in Central Park,
0:56:35 > 0:56:38shooting the video for "Live Forever".
0:56:38 > 0:56:40# We see things they'll never see
0:56:40 > 0:56:44# You and I we're gonna live forever... #
0:56:44 > 0:56:50I walked back to the hotel through Central Park in the middle of the night with Liam. And it was like,
0:56:50 > 0:56:53"What was all that about?" "Nothing."
0:56:53 > 0:56:58By the time we got back to the hotel, I think they were having a drink again.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00Is it the end for Oasis? >
0:57:00 > 0:57:04- NEWSREADER:- Oasis have rarely been out of the headlines. Rumours of a band break-up prompted
0:57:04 > 0:57:06this scrummage at Heathrow Airport.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Both brothers have walked out, having had enough of the other.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Hello, Liam. It's Jeremy Vine from Newsnight here. How are you doing?
0:57:13 > 0:57:16- I'm- BLEEP- sound, how are you? - Not bad. Are you coming out?
0:57:16 > 0:57:20- Am I- BLEEP!- It's raining, mate. - Why aren't you going to Chicago?
0:57:20 > 0:57:23The two are absolutely bound together whether they like it or not.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27And at various points, they haven't liked it at all. But there's nothing they can do about it.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30# You've gotta roll with it You've gotta take your time
0:57:30 > 0:57:33# You've gotta say what you say
0:57:33 > 0:57:36# Don't let anybody get in your way... #
0:57:36 > 0:57:41A lot of the problems have been with Noel's wanting everything to be orderly and efficient
0:57:41 > 0:57:44and Liam being the total rock'n'roll animal.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48# I know the roads On which your life will drive... #
0:57:48 > 0:57:55Oasis are a brand, a worldwide brand. They ain't gonna split up. Too much money to be made.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59Sorry to be shallow about it, but that's the way it is.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03There's still this ironic humour between them, which I see, anyway.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06I dunno if I'm right, but I would hope to think so,
0:58:06 > 0:58:11because they're lucky. They're very, very lucky guys to still be in a band together.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14# You've gotta say what you say Don't let anybody get... #
0:58:14 > 0:58:18They love each other really. Just looking for their feminine sides to come out more.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20"I love ya, our kid."
0:58:20 > 0:58:23"Now, get back on stage and sing them songs!"
0:58:24 > 0:58:27Noel loves to wind Liam up, Liam loves to wind Noel up.
0:58:27 > 0:58:33Me mam loves them to sort it all out and be one happy family.
0:58:33 > 0:58:38I'm like, "Whatever." Brothers will be brothers, it'll always be the same.
0:58:38 > 0:58:44# Who put salt in the sugar bowl? Who put fireworks in the coal?
0:58:44 > 0:58:46# Who put a real live toad in the hole?
0:58:46 > 0:58:49# My brother!
0:58:49 > 0:58:54# Who put jam in mother's shoe? Who made me a caterpillar stew?
0:58:54 > 0:58:58# Who locked Granddad in the loo? My brother! #