Simon Cowell admits he came close to ‘punching 90s boyband icon in the face’ as he opens up about ‘horrible and disgusting’ music industry

Simon Cowell has opened up about the ‘terrible and disgusting’ side of the music industry in a new documentary that reveals the dark side of 1990s boy bands.

The music mogul, 65, recalled working with 5ive in the BBC series Boybands Forever, revealing he almost punched a singer in the face during a heated argument.

5ive – formed by Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, Sean Conlon, J Brown and Abz Love – were signed by Simon and BMG/RCA to a six-album deal in 1997, but struggled to cope with the pressures of fame and their grueling schedules. .

Scott, 44, confessed that he had reached breaking point in 2001, recalling: ‘I pressed one of the big cheeses from the record label against his desk with my foot, pinning him against the wall, and said, ‘I’ll fuck If you leave this band, try to stop me,” while Simon Cowell tries to knock me off him.”

Simon admitted: ‘We almost got into a fistfight. I was so close I punched him in the face.”

5ive – clockwise from bottom Abz Love, Ritchie Neville, Sean Conlon, Scott Robinson and J Brown – were signed by Simon and BMG/RCA to a six-album deal in 1997

As reported by The sunScott further confessed, “I was going crazy. They had to call security and carry me out of the building, kicking and screaming like a damn wild dog.”

5ive disbanded in 2001 and after reuniting several times over the years, the group is currently a trio consisting of Ritchie, Sean and Scott.

Simon admitted that the music industry had a dark side, musing: ‘You could make a lot of money, but it’s a really horrible, disgusting business sometimes. You have to have a thick skin.’

Despite this, he claimed that stars were not allowed to complain because they had been warned what they were getting into.

“There’s a contract you sign that says, I’ll be available to shake hands with everyone, to have my picture taken whenever asked, and my privacy is now pretty much gone. It’s just a fact,” Simon explained.

‘If you don’t want that, become an accountant. You can’t have it both ways.’

Louis Theroux’s documentary Boybands Forever, which takes a deep dive into the careers of acts from the nineties and noughties such as Take That, Westlife and Blue, will hit screens on Saturday.

The three-hour episodes follow the life-changing realities of stars rising to fame at a young age and delve into topics such as booze, drugs, bust-ups and exploitation.

Despite admitting the industry had a dark side, Simon claimed stars were not allowed to complain as they had been warned what they were getting into.

Louis interviewed Robbie Williams and Brian McFadden and music label boss Louis Walsh, among others.

Ahead of his boy band series, Louis said: “I couldn’t be more excited about this series. An epic tale with a cast of stars and star-makers, spanning three decades and involving some of the icons of modern British pop.

‘We see them through their highs and lows, listening to the leading actors, as we chart the golden years of boy bands.

‘How they came together, the experience of sudden fame, the opportunities and temptations that came their way, conflicts within the groups, between the groups and between the boys and their managers.

‘It’s a moving fable about getting everything you dreamed of, and it’s not what you imagined, centering on a generation of young men and their managers, who were hugely successful and also hugely vulnerable, who wasted the time of their had life and in some cases are also running out.

‘Those boys we all saw singing and dancing in tight formation – Take That, East 17, Westlife, Blue, Five, Damage, 911 and so many others – are now middle-aged men who have the time and maturity to return to look. what they have experienced. It took us more than a year to make the series.

“Now I’m just happy for people to see it.”

The first two episodes of Boybands Forever air on BBC Two on Saturday at 9.15pm and 10.15pm

Louis Theroux’s documentary Boybands Forever, which takes a deep dive into the careers of acts from the nineties and noughties such as Take That, Westlife and Blue, will be broadcast on Saturday