Nearly 30 years since releasing the iconic Friends theme song, pop rock duo the Rembrandts would leave many doing a double take.
Formed in 1989, the duo consists of Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, who released their first album in 1990.
Two years later their next album, Untitled, received minor successes with some singles, with the song Rollin’ Down the Hill also being used in the film Dumb and Dumber.
But it was after being selected to perform the theme song for a new sitcom that they became household names.
The song I’ll Be There For You wasn’t actually written by the pair, but by Friends creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, alongside Michael Skloff, and Allee Willis.
Rock band R.E.M. had initially been approached and asked if their song Shiny Happy People could be used in the opening credits, but they turned the offer down.
It was then Warner Bros. Television selected the only available band under its music arm to record it – the Rembrandts.
At the time the pair were often seen wearing small, round sunglasses when performing and posing for photos.
The music video for the track also saw the cast of the show – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc – appear and interact with the duo as they performed.
The song was used on all 10 seasons of the show, which ran from 1994 until 2004.
The year after its release, the duo also expanded the song with two new verses and included that version on their third album L.P.
Following its release, the single reached the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand and Norway, as well as in Ireland and the United Kingdom in both 1995 and 1997.
In Canada, the song reached number one for five weeks and was the most successful single of 1995, while in the United States, the song reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Following a brief split, which went from 1997 until 2000, the pair continued to release music together, with their most recent album Via Satellite coming out in 2019.
Now, 29 years on, regularly share snaps together on social media, with fans saying they ‘look great’ years after hitting the big time.
In 2019 they also posted a photo on the set of the show alongside stars Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice, and Michael Slate who played Gunter.
Despite the Friends theme song seeing the band achieve great success, they’ve spoken in the past about how they were initially reluctant to record it.
‘It didn’t have our name on the credits. We were a pretty hip band, so stipulated that we didn’t want anyone to know we’d sold out,’ Wilde told the Guardian last year.
‘Once people realised it was us, it killed our cool vibe. We went from doing cool clubs to matinee shows where parents would bring their kids. The song became an albatross round our necks and broke up the band for a few years.’
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However, he went on to explain how appreciative they were.
‘Friends is on 24 hours a day somewhere. Every time it gets played, there’s a little “ker-ching!”. It’s only a nickel or whatever, but they add up. It put my kids through college and got me a beautiful home. I’m not rich but I’m comfortable.’
Although he said they were ‘snobby’ about it early on, the song had been a ‘gift’ and he might have been ‘living on the streets’ if not given the opportunity.
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