Matt Goss has revealed that he is now “completely estranged” from his twin brother and former Bros bandmate Luke.
The ’80s pop duo were the subject of the 2018 BBC documentary Bros: After The Screaming Stops, which became an unlikely TV Christmas hit that year and stemmed countless memes.
- READ MORE: Bros: After The Screaming Stops: the most WTF one-liners from pop’s answer to ‘Spinal Tap’
It offered a behind-the-scenes look at Bros’ 2017 reunion and subsequent return to the stage with two shows at The O2 in London. The pair have only played two live gigs together since, in 2019.
NME described the doc as “part Spinal Tap, part The Office, part Alan Partridge (and even, at points, somewhat poignant)”.
The review added: “At its heart are the two brothers themselves, Matt and Luke Goss, former (and often current) warring factions, who spend the majority of the film trying to stave off squabbles as a huge reunion show at London’s The O2 approaches. Most brilliant of all, though, are the quotes the pair come out with: half philosophical, half complete nonsense, 100 per cent entertaining.”
During a new interview with The Guardian, Matt was asked how he was getting on with Luke these days. “I don’t want to go into detail, but I also don’t want to lie any more. We are completely estranged,” he responded.
The singer, who will head out on a solo UK tour in March, continued: “When you do your best, that is enough. And I’ve done my best. I really have.
“Listen, I want to be on the stage with him, I want to be touring with the band, I want to be having a pint, I want him to meet my girl, I want to meet his. I want to live with him. But I’m not going to make myself unwell. I’m not.”
When asked what was behind these tensions, Matt replied: “It’s a tough one. I don’t want to say too much, out of respect for him. But I’m not going to say it’s kumbaya, because it certainly isn’t.”
However, the vocalist insisted that he does still “love Luke, I do”. He said: “But I can’t comment on that on the record. I don’t want to put myself in harm’s way. This is not a rehearsal.
“We have a finite amount of time on this Earth, and I want to be around people who really love me, and I want to be around people I really love. And it should be a reciprocal experience.”
Reflecting on the challenges of life, Matt went on: “I’ve got a tattoo saying: ‘Never waste good agony’. I had two choices. You either let it control you or you control it. Pain. Agony. You literally have two choices.”
Matt released his fifth and latest solo album, ‘The Beautiful Unknown’, in 2022. Luke is also an actor and director.
Speaking to NME in 2021, Matt revealed that he was on good terms with his twin brother at that point. “I’ve also realised that – apart from Luke who I talk to every day – I don’t have a supportive family,” he said at the time.
He hinted at a potential future film project from the duo too. “Me and my brother, Luke, would love a biopic, but it wouldn’t be a Bros one – it would have to be a hybrid of both of our life stories, because at one point we didn’t think we’d ever get back together,” he told NME.
“We couldn’t find common ground. We were happy going out at Wembley Stadium [in 1989] as the youngest fellas to headline that venue. But the two nights at the O2 [in 2017] we did were extraordinary and we learnt so much about each other.”
Matt added: “We’re hot-headed together and push each other’s buttons, but we’ve figured out that even if we have a tense argument, the love we have for each other is far greater.”
Formed in 1986, Bros are well-known for their 1987 single ‘When Will I Be Famous?’ – which peaked at Number Two in the UK. They scored a UK Number One with ‘I Owe You Nothing’ in 1988, and have eight Top 10 hits overall (via Official Charts).
