Police escorts and roadblocks were the order of the day when the Backstreet Boys arrived in Sydney, Australia at the weekend, their first visit down under in five years.

The group visited the harbour city as part of their four-day world tour to promote their latest album, Black And Blue, on sale today. Over 5,000 fans lined Pitt Street Mall to see the boys, and by the time they arrived on an open-topped bus at 5pm to perform their new single, Shape Of My Heart, the area resembled a crime zone.

Peak hour traffic passing through the area was redirected and barriers were erected to hold back fans, desperate to reach their idols. Police cars parked across nearby junctions provided a further deterrent to those desperate to invade the area and a swift entrance onto the stage for the guys.

The band performed their new single, then apologised for their long absence from Australia but promised to come back in late 2001 as part of their forthcoming world tour. 'Every time we go on tour we always end up doing Europe, America and maybe a couple of dates in Canada and South America. But we always fall short of getting over to South East Asia and Australia,' Howie Dorough admitted.

'We're fortunate enough to have a lot of success outside America, it's a world thing for us, and this is a way of giving thanks to all the different countries, by going there on the first day of the album release to celebrate the release with them,' Dorough added.

Backstreet Boys' new album, Black & Blue, is on sale now.