Training | 2010.02.10
Matt Goss finds fame again – in Las Vegas
Bros lead singer hailed as new Sinatra and booked to headline Caesars Palace
When he posed the immortal question When Will I Be Famous? in 1988, Matt Goss, one third of the boyband Bros, had little idea that the answer might be: in 2010, in Las Vegas.
More than two decades after he helped spark a questionable craze for threading shoelaces with Grolsch bottletops, Goss, now 41, has just been announced as a headline act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, former home to Rat Pack idols Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
Performing a mixture of big band numbers and original material, Goss has already attracted comparisons to Ol\' Blue Eyes. He has been hailed as the best new act in Vegas by the LA Times, while VegasDeluxe.com called him "the leader of a new ratpack".
"I feel a lot of responsibility," he said from Las Vegas yesterday. "I\'ve played everywhere in the world but playing in the same room as Sinatra, it\'s an amazing feeling."
Gone are the flashy jackets, ripped jeans and jazzy socks, replaced by a tux and trilby that are more than a nod to the Chairman of the Board. Indeed, according to the Las Vegas Sun Goss is "known to his fans across the world as The Voice", although the original bearer of that title – it was the first of Sinatra\'s various nicknames – may have drawn a line at calling his scantily clad backing dancers – trained by Robin Antin, Goss\'s manager and founder of Pussycat Dolls – the Dirty Virgins.
Nevertheless, Goss is bringing back some old-fashioned style to the Strip, said Antin. "Matt is like the new Frank Sinatra, the new Elvis Presley. He\'s exactly what Vegas used to have and lost," she said. "He has a style that men want to be and that women find sexy, as well as the best voice I\'ve ever heard."
Having self-funded his album Gossy, he got his break in Vegas in a small auditorium at the Palms casino six months ago, and has since found an enthusiastic audience. "I\'ve had knickers thrown on stage, lots of knickers. A girl the other night flashed her boobs and started to take off her dress," said Goss. "The thing with a residency is, you just don\'t know what is going to happen."
All three members of Bros, who scored 13 top five singles and sold 16m records worldwide at their peak, have experienced a purple patch in recent years. Goss\'s twin brother Luke, the older of the pair by 10 minutes, turned to acting, getting his break playing Danny in the West End production of Grease, while Craig Logan, the bass player, has carved a career for himself behind the scenes. After suing the twins for unpaid royalties, he made the leap from band to boardroom, becoming Pink\'s manager and managing director of RCA records, one of Sony\'s flagship labels.
However glowing the Vegas reception, Lewisham-born Goss has ambitions to bring his Vegas show back home – ideally to the Royal Albert Hall in London.
"There is life after Bros and fame after a No 1 record," he said. "It was a brilliant Saturday job, but I\'ve moved on, I\'m enjoying being a man who can entertain an eclectic audience."
Still, for the legions of Bros fans looking to relive the mania of the 80s, there may yet be some hope. "I miss my fans in the UK more than you can know," he said. "We had 12 hits and I want to get on stage and sing them. I want the reunion to happen, but everyone has to be in the same headspace. But if it doesn\'t I still want to bring my show to the UK and sing some of those hits."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/feb/10/matt-goss-famous-las-vegas
