PORTLAND – They’re back.

The boy band that filled concert venues to capacity, sent girls screaming and sold 80 million records of American pop music worldwide in the 1980s and ’90s – is back on tour.

And as part of its spring 2009 tour, New Kids On The Block will make a stop Wednesday, March 25, at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert go on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24.

Tickets are $69.50, $49.50 and $39.50, reserved seating, for all ages. They are available at the civic center box office, by calling (207) 775-3458 and online at www.livenation.com.

Together, Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood released back-to-back international No. 1 songs, “Hangin’ Tough” in 1988 and “Step By Step” in 1990, plus a series of crossover smash R&B pop hits like “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” “Cover Girl,” “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time),” “I’ll Be Loving You” and “Tonight.”

The group shattered concert box office records, playing an estimated 200 concerts a year in sold-out stadiums throughout the world. NKOTB still holds many of these records to date. The band was Forbes’ highest paid entertainers of 1990, beating out Michael Jackson and Madonna.

NKOTB won two American Music Awards in 1990 for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo, or Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album. The band broke up in 1994, tried unsuccessfully several times to regroup and then reunited in 2008 – taking on a new style, releasing a new album, “The Block,” in September and undertaking a fall concert tour.

NKOTB’s shows have featured a varied set list including classics such as “Hangin’ Tough,” “Step by Step” and “Right Stuff,” mixed with newer tunes like “Single” and “Summertime” from its “The Block” CD.

“Not only do the New Kids sound better than they ever did, they also look like they’re having even more fun than they did 20 years ago,” according to a review published in Newsday.

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