Fans savor chance to see reunited New Kids on the Block

In the summer of 1990, the hottest ticket in Atlanta was for the New Kids on the Block concert at Georgia Tech's football stadium. Tens of thousands of teen girls squealed as one very high voice for the hottest boy band in existence.

In their heyday, NKOTB sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and were merchandised to the max. By 1994, they had broken up.

Fans packed away their collages and pillows and went on with their lives. Now in their early 30s, they're married, with kids, and jobs. And they're going nuts all over again for the New Kids reunion tour.

Tickets go on sale Monday through Ticketmaster for the only Georgia show, Oct. 29 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. But the true fans have been snatching up advance sales, like the VIP tickets that guarantee a seat in the first 10 rows and a backstage meet-and-greet for $350 per ticket. (Regular tickets are $37.50-$77.50.)

Here are some metro Atlanta fans' New Kids stories, in their own words.

Patrice Carthan, 31

She is a chef at the Osprey Cove Golf Club in St. Marys. She bought 5-star VIP tickets to meet the band backstage and has set up a myspace page just for people going to the Atlanta concert.

"I was raised by my father, who was a racist. I was raised to believe black people were bad, and I believed it. When I was 13, I started liking this band, New Kids on the Block, and they said racism is bad. Donnie [Wahlberg] would wear shirts that said 'Racism is Ignorant.' They kind of opened my mind. It sounds silly. But I said, 'maybe my dad is wrong.'

"I eventually married an African-American man and I have two biracial children. And I owe it all to New Kids in a way. I want to go backstage and thank them. Who knows what I would be like without them?"

Amy Bentley, 32

She is associate director of the Evening MBA program at Emory University. She spent more than half of her $600 stimulus check from the IRS on a VIP ticket for the Chicago show and also has advance tickets for shows in Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Portland, Ore.

"I was laying on the sofa watching 'Regis and Kelly' and they told me the New Kids are getting back together. I sat bolt upright and screamed and ran to my computer and went to their Web site.

"My friends and I would have birthday parties for them. We were 13, 14 years old. Joe's [McIntyre's] birthday is on New Year's Eve, and what else are you gonna do at that age? We sang happy birthday to Joe, we made a cake, we watched videos of all the stuff we'd recorded off TV.

"Looking back on it, I just thank God for the ability to just go nuts over something. Not everybody has that opportunity, to experience the purest form of joy."

Tracey Peluso, 29

She is a producer on radio station Q100's The Bert Show. When she heard the New Kids might reunite, she flew to California, tracked them down and talked them into an interview. Even though she's likely to get free tickets through her station, she didn't want to take a chance and went online and bought some anyway.

"I still have all my memorabilia. It's at my mom's house in a trunk — puzzles, cards, magazines, pajamas, pins, pillows, dolls, all my collages I made, all their tapes, and every single one of their cartoons on VHS.

"My husband says, 'You're almost 30. You can't obsess over a boy band.' I'm almost embarrassed by how I am. I'll be online on their Web site almost every day, reading the message boards. My husband walks in and I minimize the Web site 'cause I'm embarrassed. It's not like I'm doing anything wrong!"

Melissa Smithwick, 33

She lives in Stockbridge with her husband, Tim. She went to New York for the "Today" show concert and bought two VIP tickets, $175 apiece, for the Atlanta show.

"I actually chose where I went to college because of them. Danny Wood was always talking about how he'd gone to Boston University. I thought if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.

A friend and I went to a radio station in 1993 and waited outside to meet them. They were kind of weirded out, 'cause some of the girls were hysterical. I tried to stay cool. I actually got a ride back to campus with Danny 'cause the buses had stopped running. I hung out with Danny a few times after that, but it never got romantic.

"I put their music on and my husband says, 'I can't believe you're listening to them.' For other people there were the Beatles, but they were the first boy band for me."

Mitzy Gann, 29

She works in an office in Duluth. She's organizing some local fans who know each other only online to meet at the Loafing Leprechaun restaurant before the concert.

"This will be my first New Kids concert ever! My mother was a very religious woman; once I convinced my mother that the New Kids didn't do drugs or talk about sex, she allowed me to listen to them. I would even rake leaves for my grandmother to earn enough money to buy one of the magazines like Tiger Beat.

"I've been going on eBay lately to re-establish my collection. I bought a lunchbox, a pillow, bumper sticker, earrings. The lunch box is pink. I hate pink, but it's hot pink. I brought it to work the other day, and I got some odd looks.

"For me the New Kids are not just another boy band from the '80s who decided to reunite. They're an old friend from my childhood who have returned to remind me of who I have become."

TIMELINE

• 1984:

Producer Maurice Starr assembles five youngsters — brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Joe McIntyre and Danny Wood — and begins grooming them.

• 1986: Debut album, "New Kids on the Block," does badly at first, but later sells millions.

• 1988: On the verge of being dropped by label, they score first hit, "Please Don't Go Girl." More singles follow, as does MTV heavy rotation and increasing crowds and sales.

• 1990: "Step by Step," their third album and single, is No. 1. Coke sponsors a massive summer concert tour. In Atlanta, they play the Omni and Grant Field at Georgia State within a few months. ABC starts a "New Kids" Saturday morning cartoon show. Forbes magazine ranks them the highest-paid entertainers of 1990, ahead of Michael Jackson.

• 1992: The Kids fight back against allegations of lip syncing, later disproved. Their popularity starts to wane.

• 1994: NKOTB breaks up. Some members pursue solo careers; Wahlberg has the most success, in acting.

• 2008: NKOTB announces they are reuniting, releasing new music and going on tour. They do a live concert May 16 on the "Today" show.