Timing surrounded the New Edition reunion and its new album "Home Again," said Michael Bivins. And, contrary to popular belief, the singing group didn't do this because they were strapped for cash.
"We're doing this for our fans," Bivins said during a phone call from Atlanta. "And now is the time."Bivins, Ricky Bell, Ronnie DeVoe, Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Browne and Johnny Gill - collectively known as New Edition - will play the Delta Center with Blackstreet and Keith Sweat Wednesday, Jan. 29. The music begins at 7:30 p.m.
New Edition formed with De-Voe, Brown, Bell, Bivins and Tresvant in 1983. After a run of talent show wins, producer Maurice Starr (the New Kids on the Block and Seiko) took them into a studio where the five recorded the album, "Candy Girl," which, incidentally, reached No. 1 on the UK charts.
A year later, the group severed ties with Starr and released the album "New Edition," which spawned "Cool It Now" and "Mr. Telephone Man."
Critics raved about the group, calling it a "modern-day Jackson 5." In 1985, the boys released "All For Love" that contained the hits "Count Me Out," "A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes)" and "With You All the Way."
New Edition also made appearances on the "Dragnet" and "Karate Kid II" soundtracks with a remake of "Earth Angel" and "Help-less-ly In Love," respectively.
Brown was the first to make his declaration of independence in 1987 with the release of his solo album "King of Stage." He was replaced by Gill. By 1988, New Edition had released the platinum album, "Heart-break," which was produced by super studio-wizards Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Bell, Bivins and DeVoe broke off as Bell Biv Devoe and released the hip-hop anthem, "Poison." Tres-vant also got into the solo act and recorded a self-named album, as did Gill.
Through all that, Brown kept his time with "Don't Be Cruel" and "Bobby" that ultimately made him a superstar. Oh, yea. And marrying pop-music princess Whitney Houston didn't hurt, either.
The hardest thing about the reunion wasn't getting over any egos or misconstrued allocations of the past, said Bivins. It was making sure the music was New Edition's style.
"We just tried to make a New Edition album," Bivins said of "Home Again." "We didn't want it sounding like any of our solo music. We all focused on the group."
The concert, Bivins said, would have something for everyone.
"We are going to do a little bit of everything," he said. "Solo, group stuff - everything.
"We made a committment when we decided to do this again," Bivins added. "And we worked to make sure the project was right. I believe it was the right thing to do."