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The Nelson twins — heirs to a television dynasty — burst onto the music scene as rock stars, earning Geffen Records about $23 million while packing arenas. But at the height of their success, they learned a devastating truth: a $1 million equity line had been opened in their names without their consent. The young, inexperienced rockers were suddenly broke and blindsided by debt.
The brothers, famous for their unmistakable platinum-blonde manes, which they joked made them look like “hot Swedish chicks,” shot onto the music scene in 1990 with their debut single, “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love & Affection.”
The 58-year-old twins have written a memoir, “What Happened to Your Hair?” detailing their rise to stardom — and how it all came crashing down.
FORMER GUNS N’ ROSES MANAGER EXPOSES UNBRIDLED CHAOS OF ‘THE MOST DANGEROUS BAND IN THE WORLD’
The Nelson twins at the 18th annual American Music Awards on Jan. 28, 1991. Their memoir “What Happened to Your Hair?” details their rise to stardom and the betrayal that unfolded. (Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty Images)
“There were so many things we had to go through,” Matthew told Fox News Digital. “There were so many sacrifices we had to make. But we played loud, proud and we never backed down. We needed each other because this is a horrible business, honestly. There’s got to be something profoundly wrong.”
The Nelson twins, performing as “Nelson,” grew up steeped in Hollywood royalty. Their lineage includes grandparents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, father Ricky Nelson, sister Tracy Nelson, and uncle Mark Harmon. Still, the brothers bristle at the idea of being classified as “nepo babies.”
A publicity postcard sent to fans of the television sitcom “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” which aired on ABC from 1952 until 1966. Pictures are Ozzie, Ricky, David and Harriet Nelson. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
“We sold millions of records of songs that we wrote and produced ourselves to people who had no idea who Ricky Nelson or Ozzie and Harriet were,” Gunnar explained. “Our fans had no clue. The only people who were impressed were the older interviewers at the time who were interviewing us. To us, it was always surprising when we got a family-related question.”
WATCH: NELSON TWINS REFLECT ON FAMILY LEGACY AND THE TRUE COST OF FAME
The brothers began performing at clubs in Los Angeles a decade before they found themselves at the center of the hair-metal craze that took over the Sunset Strip. With their signature tresses, the siblings appeared to be another band eager to make their mark.
“We had long hair, but it was different,” said Matthew. “We thought our music was a little smarter, maybe more heavy-folk than metal.”
From left, Gunnar Nelson, Ricky Nelson, Tracy Nelson, Kristin Nelson and Matthew Nelson pose for a portrait in Los Angeles, circa 1968. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“I remember exactly where Gunnar and I were the very first time that we heard our song, ‘Love and Affection,’ on the radio in a car with our manager back then,” he shared.
“What Happened to Your Hair?” by Matthew and Gunnar Nelson is out now. (Permuted Press)
“We’d just gone to a promotional event for our upcoming single release, and the disc jockey came on and said, ‘I think this is going to be a hit record.’… We had no idea how big it was going to get — how quickly it was going to blow up.”
The Nelsons were signed by Geffen Records, which Gunnar described as “the 800-pound gorilla in the industry at the time.” The label’s roster included Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, Whitesnake and Cher — just to name a few.
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson attend the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. (Barry King/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to David Geffen for taking a chance on us, and [executive] John Kalodner as well,” said Gunnar. “Neither one of those gentlemen is easy to work with. They’re very opinionated, and they’ve had incredible careers because of that. And we were kids, man. But that friction made great art.”
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Musicians Gunnar Nelson and Matthew Nelson of the band Nelson skyrocketed to fame with their 1990 single, “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love & Affection.” (Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
But fame came at a price.
“We made the record company millions and millions of dollars,” Gunnar explained. “Actually, we made everybody around us millions of dollars — and we wound up in the hole.… Everybody’s there getting their commission off the top, but they’re not around when that fiddler has to get paid. You have to recoup as an artist at the reduced royalty rate.”
American rock band Nelson attend the First Annual Billboard Music Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on Nov. 26, 1990. (Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
“Imagine getting a 30-year mortgage on a house you can’t afford and being diligent with your payments, paying it off over that 30-year period. And at the end of that 30-year period, after you made every single payment, the bank still owns your house. That’s the music business.”
Gunnar Nelson (green headband) and Matthew Nelson (red shirt) perform at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 24, 1991. (Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Gunnar claimed that he and Matthew weren’t given tour support to promote their hit song. They played big venues, but “we had to pay for it,” he said.
“We were the ones fronting the costs,” he said. “We had a 40-person entourage — that’s buses, trucks, sound.”
“Band and crew,” Matthew chimed in.
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Matthew Nelson, Jon Bon Jovi and Gunnar Nelson during the 15th annual American Music Awards after party at Chasen’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“And everything that goes along with that,” Gunnar added.
Gunnar shared that when they got a $1 million advance, “every penny of it went into paying for the tour.”
Nelson’s debut album, “After the Rain,” was released on June 26, 1990. (Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“You get an advance of a million dollars — bang, that’s 20% going to management off the top. So that’s $800,000. Now you’ve got to pay taxes. What’s left over? You’ve got to design the look of the band. You’ve got to fund your own videos — those monster-hit videos that we paid for. There’s the tour that we paid for. We were told, ‘It’s like any starting business, guys. You have to invest at the beginning, and over time, it’s going to pay off.’”
Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson of the band Nelson perform at The Beacon Theater on Dec. 16, 1990, in New York City. (Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
According to their book, the Nelsons had a financially successful tour. They were eager to buy a house for their grandmother when their business manager called to remind them about the $1 million equity line they still owed the bank.
“It was only at that moment that Matthew and I discovered the very hard way that our manager had conspired with our business manager to disguise the shortfall in our tour by going to our bank several months earlier, without our knowledge, and had taken out an equity line in our names for $1 million and had used everything we owned as secured collateral,” Gunnar wrote.
Rock band “The Nelsons” attend an event, United States, circa 1990s. (Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
When Gunnar confronted his manager about having made enough money to put $1 million each in their bank accounts at the end of the tour, the manager reportedly asked, “What $1 million each?”
Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson from Nelson posed on a motorbike in London, circa 1990. (Mike Prior/Getty Images)
“It was all a lie. All of it,” Gunnar wrote. “Everything we’d been told to placate us every time we’d demanded to see the books when we were out on the road…. The truth was, we weren’t just broke… We were f—— broke… Buying a home was off the table now. The bank wanted its money, and it wanted it now… and if we didn’t pay it, we would lose absolutely everything down to the last guitar pick.”
Gunnar and Matthew Nelson went on to pay off their debts and launch a record label. (Jason Davis/Getty Images for IEBA)
Gunnar wrote that Geffen agreed to “give us another half million just to pay our bills… but as a loan, not an advance against future earnings.
“We’d had to pay that back upon demand one day, with interest, no matter what. That ‘loan’ followed us around like an albatross for decades and grew into a fearsome amount.”
It wasn’t just the mounting debt that derailed their career. It was also the sudden arrival of grunge and a new band, Nirvana.
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American singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain (1967–1994), performs with his group Nirvana at a taping of the television program “MTV Unplugged” in New York City on Nov. 18, 1993. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
“It was the single largest paradigm shift in music industry history, except for the whole punk thing that happened with disco,” said Gunnar.
In 1993, the band Nelson was dropped by Geffen. They went on to create their own label, Stone Canyon Records. Over time, they took full control of their music and finances.
Today, the brothers are still performing — and amused by their legacy.
Gunnar Nelson and Matthew Nelson perform at City Winery Nashville on July 30, 2017. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the picture that William Wegman, the famous photographer, took for our second record — it’s his two Weimaraners in blonde wigs,” said Gunnar. “It’s pretty cool when your image is so strong that people see a couple of dogs in blonde wigs and go, ‘Oh, Nelson!’”
