The Banned (EastEnders)

The Banned
Clockwise from top left: Eddie, Ian, Harry, Simon, Kelvin, Sharon
Background information
Genres	Pop/Rock
Years active	1986 (fictional)
Members	Eddie Hunter (guitar), Simon Wicks (keyboard), Kelvin Carpenter (vocals), Sharon Watts (vocals), Ian Beale (drums)

The Banned are a fictional band in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The storyline first aired in 1986 and although it was considered to be a failure on-screen, it nevertheless became a successful part of the serial's extensive merchandising industry that year, as it spawned two Hit singles in the UK Music Charts.

In 1986, the creators of EastEnders, scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer Julia Smith, decided to tackle "an important and complicated story about the ups and downs of a pop group." The idea was considered to be an "interesting and major undertaking" in the serial. It featured the majority of teenage characters in the soap at the time. Prominent characters such as Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), Simon Wicks (Nick Berry) and Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford), were joined by several new characters, introduced especially for the storyline, including "lefty-student stereotype" Harry Reynolds (Gareth Potter). Actors such as Paul Medford, Letitia Dean and Nick Berry were musically trained, having attended London stage schools. They were chosen as the group's singers, and renamed themselves "The Banned" after their first gig got them kicked out of The Queen Victoria public house.

The storyline proved to be a successful merchandising tool for the serial, as it spawned two hit singles in the "real world". Actor Nick Berry released a ballad entitled "Every Loser Wins" in October 1986, having previously sung the song in character on-screen (accompanied by a piano). The song was written and produced by Stewart and Bradley James, along with Simon May who famously composed the EastEnders theme tune. "Every Loser Wins" was a smash hit, reaching number 1 in the UK singles chart, where it stayed for three weeks, knocking Madonna's "True Blue" off the top spot. It was the second biggest-selling single in the UK that year after "Don't Leave Me This Way" by The Communards, and held the record as the highest climbing chart single ever until 2001, when it was eclipsed by "It's the Way You Make Me Feel" by Steps (which climbed from 72-2). "Every Loser Wins" sold over a million copies and earned composer Simon May an Ivor Novello award. The song "also provided levity" on-screen, when it was used as Lofty Holloway's (Tom Watt) break-up song after Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) had jilted him at the altar. One critic has commented "[Lofty] played it to death. He played it so much it caused Dirty Den (Leslie Grantham) to ask whether he had any other records". The second song "Something Outa Nothing" (also performed in the on-screen serial) was released by Letitia Dean and Paul Medford. The song was a modest success, making number 12 in the UK singles chart in November 1986.