In 1998, one of the biggest boy bands of the 90s split up: Caught in the Act. Since the turn of the year 2015/2016, the group has been back together - the three of them, without Benjamin Boyce - and are even starting their reunion tour in Zurich. We spoke to Eloy de Jong about the reunion.
You've been performing with Caught in the Act again since the turn of the year. Why this reunion?
The last year with the band wasn't great. Then there was the break-up, which came from the management and which we found out about in the press. We hadn't been in touch for a long time, and now we've sat down together again to get to know each other again after a long time. And that's where the idea of a reunion came about. We were offered the chance to perform at the Brandenburg Gate for the ZDF New Year's Eve show, and we jumped at the chance.
But Benjamin Boyce wasn't there.
No, he was there at the meeting, but he still decided to pursue his solo career. We all have our lives alongside the band, I develop TV formats, Bastiaan is a theater producer and Lee organizes parties. We just do it on the side.
What can we expect from your tour?
"...the evergreens will certainly be heard here."
It will be a journey back in time. We've re-recorded and produced our greatest hits. There will also be two brand new tracks. I was at a Nena concert with my partner a few years ago and everyone there was waiting for "99 Luftballons". So you're sure to hear the evergreens with us.
What wasn't good in the last year before the band split up?
There were several things. Although it was a secret at the time, we were a cast band. The great success made us a bit of lone warriors, and the four of us had to face a lot of questions at an age when others were just building up their personalities.
How do you feel when you look at the video clips from the past?
(Laughs)I'm proud of what we've achieved. But of course, the clips with these clothes, especially "Love Is Everywhere", are very funny. And everyone remembers them! What's important is that we don't take ourselves too seriously.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/PMz_0Wu256E
Has your five-year-old daughter already seen your clips?
Yes, of course she has. Sometimes I proudly show her my stuff and then she says: "But Dad, I've already seen this clip!" and runs away.
How do you feel about Switzerland?
I'm a skier and like to go to Switzerland with my partner and our daughter. The last time we were in Adelboden, the Swiss landscape is really fantastic.
Your daughter has two fathers and a mother. What are the reactions?
There's a boy at Indy's school who has two mothers. That helps. And the children who go to school with Indy all think it's great and go to their parents and say: "Why don't I have two dads?" - It's all quite normal for them. I hope it will be even more accepted in the future. We have a lot of love to give our daughter and live like a normal family. Half the time she is with us and the other half with her mother.
And how does Indy deal with this?
It's fun for her: she can do arts and crafts and cook together with a daddy, that's me, and she can do sports activities with my partner Ibo.
Her coming-out only came after the break-up of Caught in the Act: was that a taboo at the time?
"I have lots of records and awards at home, but my freedom is what I value most."
My father was always against gays when I was a child. And then I joined this boy band where the management said there were no gays in the band. That wasn't supportive. That's why I came out with my boyfriend at the time, Stephen Gately (†33) from Boyzone, and I have a lot of records and awards at home, but my freedom is the most precious thing to me.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Fri., 18.11.16/Complex 457, Zurich
TICKETS
