In 1986, the creators of EastEnders, scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer Julia Smith, decided to tackle "an important and complicated story about the ups and downs of a pop group.
[1] Actor Nick Berry released a ballad entitled "Every Loser Wins" in October 1986, having previously sung the song in character on-screen (accompanied by a piano).
"Every Loser Wins" was a smash hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for three weeks, knocking Madonna's "True Blue" off the top spot.
[3] The plot has since been described as "a horrific scenario where fact and soap merged in messy fashion to give the fictional band a real-life hit with the appalling 'Something Out of Nothing'.
[11] A critic for The Guardian newspaper has commented that "The Banned" was EastEnders' "Eighties bid to add a pop angle to their socially conscious template", which "went down like the proverbial ton of bricks".
Eddie was happy to leave Simon with the debt and disappeared to work at Suttons Holiday Camp in Clacton so the band dissolved.
The reformed group consist of Simon, Eddie, Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and band manager Harry Reynolds.
They are due to have their debut in The Queen Victoria public house in August 1986, but after their enormous amplifier fuses the electricity in the pub during a performance of "Venus", publican Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) throws them out, shouting after them "You're banned!
The day of the competition comes and for some reason Harry, who is a political activist, decides to sabotage their performance by switching the cartridge in the synthesizer, wrecking any hopes the group have of getting anywhere.
Harry Reynolds, played by Gareth Potter, is a college friend of Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford) who first appears along with Tessa Parker (Josephine Melville) in June 1986.
On the day of the competition, Harry decides to sabotage the band's performance by switching the cartridge in the synthesizer, wrecking any hopes the group have of getting anywhere.
Tessa Parker, played by Josephine Melville, is a college friend of Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford) and Harry Reynolds (Gareth Potter) who first appears in June 1986.
The reformed group, known as "The Banned", consist of Simon, Eddie, Kelvin Carpenter (Paul J. Medford), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and Harry Reynolds (Gareth Potter).
The Banned take part in a competition for a music contract, but Harry, who is a political activist, sabotages their performance and they end up being booed off stage.
Months later, Eddie attends Kelvin's eighteenth birthday party and tells Simon and Ian that Harry is managing a band in Twickenham.