H is artists called him Big Poppa, but the late boyband mogul Lou Pearlman was also a big old conman, convicted of running a substantial Ponzi scheme which earned him a 25-year prison sentence. He died in custody, after eight years in jail. Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam tells the story of how he unleashed Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync on the world, while also engaging in large-scale financial fraud.
Both are compelling stories, and the combination of the two makes for a surreal and undeniably intriguing spectacle. Pearlman ran a blimp-hire company in the 1980s, with the help of friends who had “Wall Street” connections, and who, according to one of the interviewees here, had some involvement with the mob. He also hired out aircrafts to pop stars and celebrities.
After Pearlman saw New Kids on the Block on television, he was astonished to learn that the boyband, who he says he’d never heard of before, were raking in tens of millions of dollars a year. He began to plot his move from the air to the airwaves. Pearlman’s wealth allowed him to launch first the Backstreet Boys, and then ‘NSync, treating both groups as if they were already megastars, flying them around the world in private jets and visiting US high schools in luxury tour-buses.
This “fake it till you make it” approach paid off. While the US was slower to catch on, Germany adored the Backstreet Boys and made them into stars. Other nations soon followed.
Two of the Backstreet Boys, Howie Dorough and AJ McLe.