SHORT TAKES : New Kids Repay Favor to Scouts

The New Kids on the Block repaid a favor to the group that helped make them stars.

Two years ago, when they were trying to break into the music business, the New Kids performed for 3,000 people at the Boy Scouts of America National Law Enforcement Explorer Conference in Boston. At the time, it was their biggest show, said group member Donnie Wahlberg.

Now the New Kids’ single “Step by Step” is at the top of the charts and they draw huge audiences, such as the crowd of 50,000 Tuesday night at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

The group hustled here after that show to headline “Star Night” at this year’s Explorer conference at the University of Colorado.

“It was such a big show for us at the time,” Wahlberg said, referring to the 1988 concert. “We just wanted to return the favor.”

New Kids performed free at Wednesday’s conference, which brings together young people who plan careers in law enforcement.