TV HITS ARTICLE (JULY 1996 EDITION)
TJ Being the baby of the group at 17, TJ could've had a pretty easy ride into fame. However, as he explains, it can be annoying having your big brothers with you all the time!
ARE YOU GUYS REALLY AS CLOSE AS YOU MAKE OUT? Sure! Y'know, it's weird but we never have to say a word to know what the other thinks or feels. We really do do everything together, not because we have to, but because we love it. When we're on tour, we always share one hotel room and we just have the best time.
OK, YOU KNOW THEM INSIDE OUT - WHAT'S THE DIRT ON YOUR BROTHERS? They take too much care of me. Of course, at sweet seventeen I'm the youngest, so I guess it's natural for them to look out for me. But it's starting to really bother me a bit, because Taj and Taryll are always keeping an eye on me!
YOUR DAD, TITO, WAS A VERY FAMOUS MEMBER OF THE JACKSON FIVE - WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIM? I'm very proud of him. I mean he was a part of The Jackson Five, which is great. Maybe 3T will be as famous as that one day, but that seems a long way off at the moment.
SADLY YOUR MUM DIED IN 1994, WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT HER? She was so sweet and beautiful. We were always eating ice-cream or playing in the garden. My parents got divorced when I was really little, but my mother always took care of us. Naturally, we'd go to her if we had any problem, so it was the worst day of my life when she drowned. I miss her very much - she'll always be a part of my life.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS PART OF SUCH A HUGELY FAMOUS FAMILY? Being famous can be really hard. You're always in the public eye and you don't get more privacy. But it's great growing up in a big family, because there's always someone you can talk to if it's getting you down.
HOW DO YOU GET ON WITH UNCLE MICHAEL? He's just great. He's always supported us and I think it was great he did one song for us on the album. He's a great musician and he's taught us a lot, you know - like finding the right melody and putting it to the lyrics we've written. Without Michael we would never be this famous.
HAVE YOU USED YOUR FAMILY BACKGROUND TO IMPRESS BABES? If we meet girls and they ask us what we do, we always say we're musicians. We don't say we're in 3T and we've never said we're Michael Jackson's nephews or anything like that to a girl, because that would just be horrible!
TAJ Travelling as a threesome doesn't bother Taj - he's happy looking after his brothers - even if it is a pain sometimes!
HOW WELL DO YOU GET ON WITH YOUR BROTHERS? We live in each others' pockets so it's lucky that we get along so well. We really belong together, you know. I mean, take last night - Taryll and I couldn't sleep, so we spent the night learning our songs and playing the guitar. We're best friends, we really are.
C'MON - YOU CAN'T BE THAT NICE - SOMETHING MUST ANNOY YOU ABOUT THEM! Well, I suppose if I have to say something, it's be that everything gets left up to me. If there's a problem, I have to solve it, but I guess that's the price you pay for being the eldest!
HOW DO YOU GET ALONG WITH YOUR FAMOUS DAD NOW THAT YOU'VE FOUND FAME TOO? He's been absolutely great about everything. He's always wanted us to strike out on our own and I guess we've done that now. He's proud of us - and he's always there whenever we need advice about the business, or just personal stuff.
WHAT WAS YOUR MOTHER LIKE? She was an amazingly strong person, and she was always fighting our corner for us, whether it was at school or in the music business, you know? If we ever did anything wrong we'd always tell her first so she could tell Dad! That way he wouldn't be too angry because she'd soften the blow a bit! I still miss her an awful lot.
WAS IT TOUGH GROWING UP IN A FAMOUS FAMILY? Sure, because we could never do what we wanted to do, like normal kids could. In normal families you can slope off and do your own thing, but everyone was always watching us. I mean, if we broke a window it would be in the papers the next day! You have to have a good grip on yourself to cope with that sort of attention.
WHAT'S IT LIKE HAVING MICHAEL JACKSON FOR AN UNCLE? You know, I really feel as if Michael is a part of me. When we were younger we spent a lot of time with him, so I guess he's more like a bother to us than an uncle. He likes to fool around, but he can be pretty shy and he has a serious side to him too. He's a really lovely person - if he sees someone in need, he'll go straight to them.
DO YOU EVER TALK ABOUT GIRLFRIENDS WITH YOUR BROTHERS? We'd normally be too shy to talk to each other about what we'd get up to with girls. That's private, man! These two found out about one of my girlfriends three weeks after I started going out with her and that was only because someone at my school told them what was going on!
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE? Yeah. I was 17, a bit of a late starter compared with the other two - Taryll and TJ were about 13 when they were hit by it! I've only had two girlfriends, so the others have had much more experience than me! Both of my relationships were long ones - I just couldn't go for a one night stand.
TARYLL The price of fame can be high when you can't get a date or find new mates - but it's one Taryll's prepared to pay!
YOU SPEND ALL YOUR TIME WITH YOUR BROTHERS - DO YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS WITH THEM? Yeah - we have the same problems, finding friends or a date, so of course we talk about it. We talk a lot actually, late at night playing the guitar - that kind of thing. This business can get pretty frustrating, so it helps that we're all in it together. We can relate to each other. The guys know everything there is to know about me, which is why I'm happiest when I'm practising or working with my brothers. It's never boring, believe me!
DO YOU TALK ABOUT DATES WITH THEM? Not unless we're in trouble - then we might say something to each other. We might occasionally ask, "What should I do?" We're well brought up boys - we don't talk dirty with each other!
DO THE OTHERS EVER GET ON YOUR NERVES? Of course - we're only human! We are all individuals at the end of the day, so we niggle each other sometimes. it's never personal - except with Taj! he may be the oldest, but he's also the slowest. When we're getting ready to go out, we tell him to meet us in ten - but he always takes half an hour! He always gets ready at the last minute - and he usually showers and changes in that last minute!
WHAT'S IT LIKE HAVING A FAMOUS DAD? He's so proud of us, and although The Jackson Five were so successful he wants us to create our own sound - one that we can be proud of. Of course he had a hand in it - that's what family's all about - but I think we've found our own style.
HOW DID YOUR MOTHER'S SUDDEN DEATH AFFECT YOU? I get sad talking about her and, of course, I still think about her. I loved her very much and whenever I think of her I get pretty tearful. I only know she died in a drowning accident and that's all I want to know - I couldn't handle knowing any more.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN SUCH A HUGE FAMILY AS THE JACKSONS? It's great to grow up with so many people around and I wouldn't swap it for the world! There's always someone your age to kick around with. We have these big family days when everybody gets together and plays five-a-side basketball. You could never do that in any other family because there just wouldn't be enough people, would there?!
WHAT'S UNCLE MICHAEL REALLY LIKE? Michael's really special. He really wants to heal the world, and try to make it a better place. He really does think the future lies with the children. He's also taught us some very important lessons for our lives - to say what we think and to enjoy every moment while it lasts.