It was a dream debut for the Westlife lads. Can they repeat the massive
success of Swear it Again with their follow-up single, If I Let You Go?
NICKY
ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOUR FOLLOW-UP SINGLE BEING A FLOP? BRITNEY
SPEARS' SECOND SINGLE WAS NOWHERE NEAR AS SUCCESSFUL AS HER FIRST.
We're anxious about it, but then again we weren't expecting No.1 the
first time round. And Britney's single got to No.3 which is still a hit.
If someone had told me our first record would get to No.3 I'd have been
overjoyed. It wouldn't be a disaster if this single got to No.3, it's
just that we've started very high.
WOULD YOU EVER CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOKED?
I'd like to look like Brad Pitt, but I'd never have anything like
plastic surgery. I hated my spiky haircut, it's much better the way it
is now.
DO YOU SNOG YOUR FANS?
I don't snog them, no. I kiss them on the cheek. If we're signing
autographs outside CD:TV or something then that's how it'd be. You get a
lot of girls coming on to you at a concert though, so you might get a
snog then. Girls go mad at concerts.
WHAT MAKES YOU FRIGHTENED?
Loads of things. I'm a worrier like my mam. When I'm on the phone to her
I'm always asking how everyone is. I pray every night that my little
brother will get to school safely, things like that. I was worrying
about this 'end of the world' thing too.
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
The five of us lads together in a band. Bryan makes me laugh. And I love
Friends too, the episode where Phoebe's having a baby is so funny.
WHAT MAKES YOU EMOTIONAL?
Songs can make me emotional. We've got a track called Flying Without
Wings which might be our 3rd single. That's very emotional.
DO YOU FIND GIRLS A MYSTERY?
I can never understand why they need so much time to get ready. They
take hours. And it doesn't stop when they grow up either. My mam has to
make sure everything's closed and switched off before she leaves the
house. And she'll go back to close the gate. But it's thanks to her I
grew up the way I did. She kept me on the straight and narrow. I used to
be a messer in school, but I never played truant and I never got on the
bad side of the teachers thanks to her.
WHO'S THE BIGGEST FASHION VICTIM IN THE BAND?
Me. When I was playing for Leeds I used to have money in my pocket and
I'd go to Harvey Nicholls in Leeds and spend it on clothes. I was a real
label head. When we formed the band they thought I was stupid spending
all that money on clothes. I just said, "Give yourselves six months!"
SHANE
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D CHANGE ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK?
I'd love to grow my hair some time - in a couple of years maybe. But it
suits me short. There's no restrictions that I have to keep it short.
WHO SPENDS THE MOST TIME ON THEIR APPEARANCE?
I don't think there's anyone in the band who kills the mirror. We all
have to take our appearance seriously because it's part of the job. It
might be Kian or Bryan because they've got longer hair.
HOW DO YOU LET A GIRL KNOW YOU FANCY HER?
If I'm in a club I've got this awful habit of staring at girls. It's
just the way I am, it's not premeditated. I don't do it to try and get
off with a girl, I just can't stop myself looking. You look at her, then
she catches you looking and then you look away, and then you look back
again and see if she's still looking. But I don't do it with all girls.
I wouldn't do it if she was totally gorgeous. Some girls you look at and
think, 'No, she is totally out of my league!'
WOULD YOU MAKE THE FIRST MOVE WITH A GIRL?
If I was getting something back I might. I'm not afraid of speaking to a
girl. I'll wait and suss out if she likes me. If I get some looks back
maybe I would go up to her.
DO YOU GET STRESSED OUT DOING THE JOB YOU DO?
Not really. I miss home and I get tired, but it's got a lot of perks.
Everything I'm doing I love doing. I've been to a lot of exotic places
that before I joined the band I could only have dreamt about.
WHAT MAKES YOU EMOTIONAL?
Seeing my mum get emotional. If she's upset I'm upset. If she cries I
cry. It's harder when she goes to the airport to see us off. I suppose
it's cos I'm the baby of seven brothers. Films can make me emotional
too. There's a bit in Armageddon that's very sad. And in Titanic when
all the boats are gone. You wonder what you'd be like in a situation
like that - having to watch your family sail away from you.
WHAT'S BEEN THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF FAME?
I don't see us as famous. You can still go down the street and not get
recognised - maybe not in Ireland, but in London we're hardly spotted.
The Spice Girls are what you'd call famous.
WHO'VE YOU MET WHO'S REALLY IMPRESSED YOU?
The Backstreet Boys. We met them in Dublin and they were really nice.
They take this portable basketball court with them and they were playing
with it. But you don't get close to them, you can't sit down and have a
conversation, they have all these people around them all the time.
KIAN
WHO SPENDS THE MOST MONEY IN THE BAND?
I think we all do, but on different things. Shane spent his on a BMW M3.
My vice is clothes, full stop. I'll pay £4-500 for something I like. I
was thinking about buying a Gucci jacket the other day for £1500, but I
drew the line at that. I'll spend it on stuff from D&G or All Saints.
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Funny people. Shane and Bryan, the two of them together. I love that
film Nutty Professor, that was good, and Friends. I haven't seen it in
ages. My mam's recording all the episodes, so when I get home I'll have
a box of VHS's to go through. We get a week off in September so I'll sit
down and watch them then.
WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK?
I think I'd have less pointy ears. The lads call me Alf after that alien
TV programme on telly. Thanks lads.
DO YOU SUCK YOUR CHEEKS IN WHEN YOU'RE POSING FOR PHOTOS?
We try and look as natural as possible. It's best to try and give a nice
smile and let the photographer catch us. The cover you did of us on the
MG Holiday Special, that's just us being ourselves, smiling naturally.
ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS?
No, but I wouldn't walk under a ladder. And I believe in the religious
side of the Shamrock, that St. Patrick used the three leaves of the
shamrock as a way of explaining the father, the son and the holy ghost.
HOW DO YOU LET A GIRL KNOW YOU FANCY HER?
It's difficult. I kind of go quiet. I get shy around them, I'm not the
kind to get loud and show off. And I wouldn't use chat up lines. I think
I'd just be myself and hope she liked me.
IS IT COOL TO BE IRISH NOW?
I love being Irish. I wouldn't be anything else. I think it's hip to be
the person you are. But with the success of the likes of The Corrs, The
Cranberries, Boyzone, B*Witched and hopefully us then yes, Ireland is
standing out now.