Only two guests were invited to join Westlife at the opening of the Harrods
sale and of course worldpop was one of them. We took the chance to quiz the
guys about their recent shenanigans and, in return for a birthday cake in
honour of Shane's birthday, the guys told all about shopping madness,
American success and the charms of Mariah Carey
Worldpop: You opened the Harrods summer sale recently. Who's the most
extravagant shopper?
Bryan: Me definitely.
Mark: You just buy stupid things.
Nicky: I think we all have our days.
Shane: Sometimes people go mad but Bryan buys anything.
Nicky: There's a place in Los Angeles where you can buy great watches and
rings.
Mark: Maybe some people can understand this garment (points to Bryan's
'interesting' tasselled denim jacket) but I can't. People buy denim, and
look what they do to it!
Worldpop: Do you buy your own clothes or are you given outfits for free?
Kian: We buy our own. When we're in LA, we go to the Beverley Centre in
Beverly Hills and spend a fortune. The clothes and the jewellery there are
amazing. We spent an absolute fortune between this band.
Worldpop: When did you have both your ears pierced, Bryan?
Bryan: I got one done when I was 15 and my mother was furious so when I went
to the States I got the other done because my mum was too far away to do
anything.
Worldpop: What are your favourite memories from your time spent in the US?
Nicky: Disney World in Orlando. The tour guide let us skip all the queues
for the rides so it was brilliant. And I met Mickey Mouse. We actually have
a rumour to tell you about Mickey Mouse.
Bryan: I dunno if we should tell them ...
Kian: Go on ...
Bryan: OK, don't quote us on this but there's a rumour going around that
Goofy and Minnie have been having an affair and Mickey's found out! There's
a lot of trouble going on at Disney World.
Nicky: We used to go for drinks with Mickey.
Worldpop: Hmm. How did you cope with the tough drinking laws in America? You
have to be 21 to buy alcohol.
Mark: We're all over 18 so in Ireland we're allowed to go out to pubs but in
America we're not.
Nicky: I am! I was on me own every night ... hammered!
Mark: I used to steal Nicky's passport and sneak off.
Nicky: That's true actually, he used to borrow me passport!
Bryan: I just made me own drink in the hotel room with potato skins!
Nicky: I used to sneak cans back to the room.
Worldpop: How did you guys feel when you met up to record with Mariah?
Kian: When we first met Mariah at the American Music Awards we were all
stunned. Then we met up again to do the recording. She came down the stairs
and suddenly the whole place went totally silent. We didn't know what to
say!
Worldpop: What was she wearing?
Shane: Exactly what I said she'd wear ... hot pants, high heels and a belly
top.
Kian: And she had her hair tied back and a pair of sunglasses on. She's a
beautiful person.
Bryan: Quality bird (claps his hands in appreciation!).
Kian: She's so professional, very funny and brilliant to work with. We were
just very, happy to be given the opportunity.
Nicky: And you can't help but look straight in Mariah's eyes when you're
talking to her!
Worldpop: How did you feel about your time in the States?
Bryan: We were up every day at six, flying to a venue, doing a gig, then
doing a radio interview, doing a signing, then going to the next place. It
was constantly like that - going from different time zones - and it was
quite hard but we got to see places you see on the films and stuff ...
Memphis, LA, New York, Canada.
Worldpop: There were rumours that you guys were worked too hard and sent
home to recuperate - what's the real story?
Bryan: I got nervous exhaustion so the lads told me to go home for a few
days to revamp.
Shane: We were afraid for our lives!
Bryan: When I got back Mark went home cos his grandfather passed away and
then Shane popped home for his sister's wedding.
Kian: Me and Nicky didn't go anywhere. We know the papers were saying we
couldn't hack the hard work, but that's not the case at all. Bryan was an
exception, but the band did very, very well in America.