Last year American rock band We Are Scientists closed their Brixton Academy gig with a rendition of Boyz II Men's End of the Road.

It's been the better part of two decades since the R'n'B group released this record, but the crowd still knew the words.

Naturally these accolades are met with a modest nonchalance.

"Yeah man, it's pretty cool," is his summary of two decades of hard work and success.

Perhaps it's because I called him while he's loading his groceries into his trolley, but I think I'd have got the same response had he been sat at home.

He has to be cool - it's in the R&B manual.

But "cool" is something that's not exactly synonymous with Boyz II Men.

Their manufactured sound became popular with adolescent girls, middle-aged women and the occasional grandmother.

Covers like Silent Night and Let it Snow, from their second album Christmas Interpretations, only reinforced this.

"When you're on a major label they have their hands around your neck.

"We were writing a lot of songs that we liked that weren't going on the albums," explained Wanya.

"But we were still doing what we wanted to, not writing what the industry wanted, that would have felt fake."

If that sentiment is true, then whether you think they're cool or not, hats off to them for making a profitable living out of doing something they enjoy and something which has taken them around the world.

"We performed at an event at the Great Wall of China.

"It was a great experience and a lot of fun.

"What other R'n'B group do you know who can say they performed at the Great Wall?" asked Wanya as he paid for his groceries at the checkout.

"And to go there and for them to sing your songs; it's amazing to know they still remember us."

That it is.

However, while Boyz II Men have generally enjoyed this kind of onstage success, the group suffered a devastating blow behind the scenes.

In 1992, when they were supporting MC Hammer in Chicago, their tour manager Khalil Roundtree was shot dead by armed robbers.

"When Khalil was killed it was very hard and we really missed him," said Wanya.

"We could trust him, he did a great job and when he was gone we really had to step up as individuals and take the reins.

"We became a lot closer after that and it made us realise that life was not promised."

A tragic incident, but one that helped a bunch of late teenagers to mature and live up to their name by bridging the gap from boys to men.

Today, however, with an average age of 34, these guys are anything but boys.

So have they not outgrown their name somewhat?

"Who is to tell a man when he's a man?" Wanya asserted.

"Manhood comes from gaining wisdom and I'm still gaining it.

"By me continuing to learn and grow, I maintain a boyish quality."

A clever, almost rehearsed answer, but on that theory Victor Meldrew could argue that he was a boy.

And he just isn't.

The reality is that when Boyz II Men ditched the baseball caps and baggy "pants" over a decade ago - they knew they were a good 20 years clear of being boys.

Their name would suggest that they weren't expected to hang around long enough for it to be called into question, but they have.

And in a modern world obsessed with here one minute, gone the next, disposable tunes, churned out by the likes of Pop Idol, fair play to them.