be a Bros super fan
Natasha Harding explains how one man has held a special place in her life for so many years
Stepping into the hotel lobby, my stomach lurched with excitement. I was about to come face to face with my crush. only I wasn’t a teenager who’d come to meet the pop idol of her dreams. I was a happily married 43-year-old woman who was about to encounter the man she’d been in awe of for more than 20 years.
My obsession had started during the summer of 1988. I was 13, watching
Going Live!, my favourite Saturday morning TV show. Suddenly, the pop group Bros came on and I was transfixed. There was Craig Logan and twins Luke and Matt Goss. But it was Luke who caught my eye. To me, with his short blond hair and faded denims, he was pure perfection.
I soon discovered my best friend Mel was equally obsessed with Bros – luckily she liked Matt, so there was no ‘competition’. We dressed like them with ripped jeans, leather jackets and Grolsch bottle tops attached to our shoes and bought all their records.
That December, Mel and I travelled from our homes in Kent to our first Bros concert in Brighton. We squeezed our way through the crowd to get as close as possible. Overwhelmed, I couldn’t believe Luke Goss was on stage in front of me, in the flesh.
A couple of months later, in February 1989, shopping in London with a friend, I saw a Lotus parked outside their manager’s office. It had to be Matt’s, I thought. I knew he drove one. When Matt emerged from the building, my heart raced. I rushed over, said hello, and asked him to sign a book I was carrying. I couldn’t believe I’d spoken to Matt Goss, and he was lovely. Mel would be gutted!
Over the next few months, Mel and I began waiting outside Matt’s house in North London, and even outside their mum’s in South London, with other fans. The brothers started to recognise us and got to know us by name.
When I was 15, my infatuation even got me arrested. I’d been loitering outside Matt’s house and the neighbours called the police! Luckily, I was let go with a warning!
Over the next few years, Bros stopped recording as much and life moved on. I became a journalist and in 2004, I met Paul, and we became a couple. He found my Bros obsession hilarious! When my son Zak was born in June 2006, followed by Lexi in 2013, I played them my Bros records too – which of course they hated! In 2016, I even persuaded Paul to have some Bros songs played at our wedding reception. Then, in January this year, while working as a journalist, I got my dream assignment to interview Luke for the release of his new book and I found myself in that hotel lobby, nervously waiting to see him. When he finally walked in, I tried hard to contain my excitement and appear professional but I could barely get my questions out. Luke, however, was so charming. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember me or Mel but we had a laugh when I told him about all the crazy things I’d done.
Bros will always be a big part of my life. I may be in my forties, but you’re never too old to be a superfan. If Bros ever tour again, I’ll be at the front of the queue! ✱ Desert Conversation by Luke Goss (£26.99, new Haven Publishing) is out now
‘he WAS pure perfection’