Popstars – Hear’Say on DVD

• Cert:
• Cat.no: GVD 026
• Running time: 96 minutes
• Year: 2001
• Pressing: 2001
• Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
• Chapters: 28
• Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: None
• Widescreen: 16:9
• 16:9-enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: Yes
• Disc Format: DVD 5
• Price: £14.99
• Extras: None

  Producer:

  Justin Gorman

  Narrator :

  Daniel Hill

A few months down the line and the band created in Popstars – Hear’Say– have already notched up a record-breaking No.1 debut single, Pure andSimple, with over half-a-million sales in the first week alone, plus asecond No.1 – The Way To Your Love – and a top-slot album, Popstars.All, of course, with the Hear’Say name because they weren’t allowed touse the show’s brand name for their own title, just that of the album.

They’ve also had a short-lived TV series, Hear’Say: It’s Saturday,with songs from the band and special guests including Lionel Richie, althoughthey declined to include Liberty, the band labelled “Flopstars”, madeup of the other five who didn’t make the final cut. A newalbum is expected in November so as to capitalise on their rise to fame andthe fact that their fall back to Earth will eventually be just as quick,starting right about now since sales of forthcoming concerts have been sluggish,only selling out four of the 21 venues.

Until then, experience 96 minutes in this second-half of the band’s storywhich is neatly divided up into a look at each of their initial auditions,their recalls to Birmingham and London, plus the final verdict when Nasty Nigeland co. turned up on each of their doorsteps with the good news.

More hassle was to come as they moved into their new home together, dealtwith press intrusion and pressures from home, such as Kym being away from hertwo small children and being told to lose weight by Nigel, making their firstvideo and reaching No.1 live on air in a live televised event, although thelatter was an obvious eventuality given that the charts are rigged by staggeringsingles releases so that there’s just one major single release each week,most weeks unless the record companies actually want to see some competition.

Suzanne – still my favourite 😉

As per the TV broadcasts, the presentation is in anamorphic 16:9 widescreenand it frequently utilises the full width of the frame. For such a recentshow you’d expect crystal clear quality with zero artifacts and, thankfully,Granada have turned up with the goods.The average bitrate is 5.85Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 8Mb/s.

Sound quality is perfectly fine as well telling the tale for all of thosewith perfect pitch and those who sing like a seal, although many moments arejust dialogue.