The Osmonds

I was far too young to be in love with Donny Osmond and probably wouldn’t have been anyway, given that my obsession with Blondie and Sally James from Tiswas *kinda* gives an indication as to my future proclivities. (Apart from the fact that I thought he looked like a girl anyway, but not my sort of girl.) Nevertheless I was affected by Osmond fever, if only by tutting and rolling my eyes every time it came on the news.

People are being blown up, there is rising unemployment and crime and we’re always on the brink of a war or economic meltdown. But the most important thing on the news is that The Osmonds have turned up at an airport and there are hordes of screaming girls in big coats waving their handbags and fainting.

The only song I remember is Puppy Love, and I thought it was odd that this boy was singing about being in love with a dog. Mum said he was an odd boy anyway because he was from an odd family so I thought who knows, if they marry lots of people maybe they can marry their dogs?

The Osmonds were one of a spate of family bands just called by their surname like The Jacksons and The Nolans. Most of the popularity of this sort of thing was due to people saying things like, ‘Oh look isn’t it amazing that all the people in this family can sing, even the little ones?’ rather than that they had any special talent. As it turned out some of them grew up and continued to be celebs, while some of them were quite happy to have normal lives and do things like making dolls for a living. And apparently Donny hated being a teen idol – would be nice to have the choice, though.

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 Josie Henley-Einion, author, blogger, Legend in my own Living Room