A little over a week ago, New Edition’s Michael Bivins told fans that the group would no longer be going on tour as expected. He also said there was some internal strife within N.E. but didn’t give any details.
Days later, it was announced that some of the members — Ricky Bell, Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown and Bivins to be specific — would be going on tour under the name RBRM, short for Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike.
According to reports, the two other members, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill, own the New Edition trademark and haven’t allowed the others members to have ownership. There were also rumors about Tresvant and Gill being ousted from the group, which is something Bell denied on social media.
“I know that some of you may be a bit confused and/or disappointed that N.E., as you know us, is not going on tour at this time,” he wrote. “Trust me when I tell you, I’m just as disappointed as you are. Especially after pouring out our hearts to you guys in the form of the ‘New Edition Story.'”
“We know that you’ve come to expect excellence from us,” Bell continued. “Although I’m not able to go into specific details at this very moment, I will say this much: Nobody gets kicked out of N.E. anymore. Those days are long behind us.”
Although Bell followed Bivins’ lead by not providing details about the infighting, he did express his commitment to work things out and get all six members back on stage together.
“Like all families, we have differences that plague us and those differences must be dealt with and smoothed out for us to function as the single unit that will allow us to tour as N.E. again,” he wrote. “But make no mistake about it, when that time comes please know that Ricky Bell will be there front and center ready to rock.”
“As always, I will be at every meeting, rehearsal and on every conference call (early to be exact),” added Bell. “I’m willing to do my part to ensure that the legacy that you, our beautiful fans, have helped us build and sustain for the better part of 30 plus years.”
Neither Tresvant or Gill have respond, but you can read Bell’s full post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bim15gvnvoj/?hl=en&taken-by=mrrickybell
