Nicky Westlife's year
from NME.com, December 2000
Is there ever a point where you feel Westlife is moving too fast?
Nicky: I think there is some days. Y'know with the kind of success we've had over the past year it's been phenomenal. I don't think anyone ever expected it in any way to be that fast. We don't want to stop it. We don't want to stop the success. There's was question of us not releasing for Christmas because we were thinking, 'Have people had to much of us at the moment'. But I think once the ball's rolling you've got to keep it rolling. And the Westlife train's still going. We're just having fun.
Do you ever worry that things could fizzle out as fast as they came?
Nicky: Definitely. Especially in the pop business there's now doubt about that it can. We've seen it with so many bands in the past. Who would have thought that nobody would be thinking about Take That today. They were so big, such a huge phenomena and when they broke up it was a disaster. Then everybody forgot and moved on with life. It can just end tomorrow if people don't want you any more. They won't buy your records and that's the end of you.
How do you think pop is doing in general at the moment?
Nicky: I think it's flying. I think people are loving it. With the likes of Britney Spears and I suppose ourselves. There's plenty of young up and coming acts that are on the show tonight. There's plenty of pop around and there will always be pop around.
Can you summarise how the past year has made you feel?
Nicky: Absolutely knackered tired. But the best days of my life so far and hopefully I'll always kinda remember. When I'm 60 years of age if I have grandchildren I can always say, 'Watch the videos, look at the pictures or it's in the Guinness Book of Records and we're proud of that. We're just loving it so much at the moment.
After your 'Coast To Coast' tour, do you think you could ever do anything like the Backstreet Boys did and do four continents in short space of time?
Nicky: I think we could do. The Backstreet Boys probably took a leaf a little bit out of our book and they went one better. It's not copying us but having their own little idea. It was great and it worked for them as well. I like the Backstreet Boys. They're great lads and very talented singers. I'm sure we could do it but it takes an awful lot of planning. 'Coast To Coast' Day almost killed us! We were knackered after it. I went to sleep for two days but we enjoyed it.
What surprised you most about 2000?
Nicky: I think that we've continued the success, the number ones. We thought after last year, getting Christmas number one, getting Record Of The Year, we thought it'll kinda slow down a little bit for us. But it didn't! One thing that surprised me is how difficult the US market is to break. We went there in the summer for three months and it's such a huge market. We were getting on planes four times a day, we traveled to different towns and cities trying to make an impact. We did. We had a number two single with 'Swear it Again'. We haven't released the second single yet because we haven't had the time to go back to promote it but hopefully in the summer next year we will.
America's the next step then?
Nicky: Next summer. We've got this album, we've got Christmas and the tour starting in February. We go straight into rehearsals in January. It'll be April before we go to the States.
Will you be hooking up with Mariah when you go over?
Nicky: I dunno to be honest with you. We haven't spoken to her since we recorded the song. Well we spoke to her after we got to number one to congratulate each other and stuff. I don't think so, unless both of us are in town. We won't be going out of our way. I don't mean that in a bad way. She was lovely and it was a great experience but it wasn't like we're best friends or anything. She's a lot older than us. I don't think we'll be socialising with her. But if she invites us round to her house for dinner I'm not going to say no.
What do you like about America?
Nicky: I liked LA, I liked New York. I love the hustle and bustle of New York city. Los Angles, the shopping there. America really killed us. LA and Boston are fine but you go down to places like Omaha and Nebraska and it's literally just like country town. You're spending two or three days there doing radio promotions and it gets to you after a while especially with us being kinda successful back home and in Europe and stuff. Nobody knew us in America. At the start it was great then after a while it was like, nobody's still not looking at us! You don't think it would affect you but it does. You kinda think, 'We want a little bit more respect here'. It's not that we were kinda getting stroppy about it but it is a hard market. *N Sync are so big there everybody compares you to *N Sync. When *N Sync come over here they say, 'Are you gonna be the next Westlife'. It's just different. It's difficult to break the whole world at once.
Are you worried about people beating you to Christmas No 1?
Nicky: Not at all. Christmas No 1 is always a dodgy number one. It's always gonna be something that'll appeal to people at the time. If we don't get number one, yeah I'll be disappointed but it's at Christmas time which is where there's the most competition. Blobby was number one at Christmas time a couple of years ago. It's always kinda a song like that that will pip you at the post but we're gonna do our best. If we don't get it as I said it's not the end of the world. It's a good laugh. I think is brilliant 'cos we've got a little kinda sixties routine to it round the mic stands. We really enjoy performing it.
Everyone's putting bets on you guys being Christmas No 1. Ever been tempted to have a flutter on yourselves?
Nicky: I have actually! Not on Christmas number one. There was a bet, 100/1 for us to get 10 number ones in a row. This was after we had the sixth. I didn't actually put money on it but I know people who did. At 100/1 I think they put about 10 or 20 quid on it so fair play to them. If we do it, we do it but I dunno. We've got this single then we've got the Comic Relief single in the middle of March then we've got another single hopefully in the summer.
Tell us about your favourite Christmas childhood memory?
Nicky: I love Christmas. I think for me, growing up, my mam's got five sisters who're all married and have kids who are obviously my cousins. We always go to meet at my nana's house on Christmas day. Everybody always buys for everybody and gives out presents. You've got 30 or 40 people in the house and it's not even a big house - it's just like a normal one. It's a great day. Everyone's eating and drinking, giving out presents. It's very homely with everyone together and I love that. I love just Christmas in general being able to go home and spend it with your friends. Everywhere has a good atmosphere, pubs. Everyone's open and it's great.
What are your plans for New Year?
Nicky: I dunno yet. I was gonna head off to New York but I haven't decided yet. if it's not New York it'll probably just be Dublin.
What are your main aspirations for 2001?
Nicky: Just to keep going with the way Westlife is. I think it will slow down. This year has to slow down! We can't keep repeating it. I just hope that it won't slow and then die away. I hope we can sustain the pace. Slow down for a while then have a lot more success again. We've got the world tour which starts in February in Newcastle. We're doing five Newcastles, six Glasgows, three or four Sheffields, 10 Wembleys, Manchester. It's going to an amazing year for us. We're just so looking forward to our tour. It's something that we've always looked forward to.
Interview: Kim Dawson
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