NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - NEW KIDS CONFIRM REUNION REPORTS

LATEST: Eighties boy band NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK have confirmed reports they're reuniting for a new album and tour. The quintet went public with their plans on Thursday (03Apr08) - a day before an official reunion on U.S. TV show Today. The reunion comes 20 years after the release of the group's hit album Hangin' Tough, which became one of the biggest hits of the late 1980s and early 1990s - and helped NKOTB amass 70 million album sales during their career. Band member Donnie Wahlberg, who is now a successful U.S. TV actor, insists the time is right for a reunion: "The fan response to this has been incredible." Wahlberg, 38, has written most of the band's new material with bandmates Joey MCIntyre and Jordan Knight. He adds, "I had no interest going out on a nostalgia tour and singing (just) the same material... (but) we absolutely will do the old songs for sure." NKOTB split in 1994.