...A lot of funny things happen every day to fight the daily rigors of touring and by the last show of the tour everyone is ready for a break. As a result, the last show is sometimes filled with pranks.

One of the best was the Christmas when, near the end of show, the Boys dressed in red and white Santa robes and began a song in a cappella. At this time, a large 12 foot, fully-decorated Christmas tree would usually be lowered out of the lighting rig behind them. However, on the last tour night, the crew decided on using a one and a half foot tree with about three lights on it. As it came out of the rig and began to hang right over the Boys--sometimes hitting them on the head!--the look on their faces was great. Through it all, they just kept singing!

Nicole Peltz
(BsB Office Manager)

What can I say about the Backstreet Boys? To me they are Kev, Howie, Bri, AJ and Nicky. My "most favorite," as I often refer to them. I have known them for five years and have worked for them for the past four. I have watched them grow as performers and as people. THey have learned how to hold their own on both the stage and in the business world. Nothing truly makes my heart happier than when I get to see them achieve something for which they have strived.

The Boys are often seen as an entity, sometimes people forget they are five indivuas - five individuals who have had a HUGE impact on my life. To my they are: Kev - my age and a dear friend; Howie - my kiddo with a heart of gold; Bri - my sweet younger brother who can always make me laugh when he's Donald Duck; AJ - my forever lunch buddy and all-around silly boy; Nicky - my little one, who no matter how much taller than me he gets, will always be my little one. I coudl go on for pages, but in an effort to break it down most simply, that is how I see them.

To the world they are megastars, to me they are five Boys who can frustrate me, exasperate me and tickle me pink all within the space of five minutes. People often ask me who is my favorite. I don't have one. I love each of them dearly. Individually, each one has a very special and precious place in my heart.

Angela Lehman
(BsB Personal Stylist/Make-Up Artist)

Brian and Nick are nuts before a show. they're always boucing off the walls with energy. Sitting them down before a show, trying to get them away from the basketball hoop to get dressed and have their make-up and hair done is always the same - five more minutes, five more minutes! We usually wind up having to get our security to get them back to the dressing rooms - they are too much!

AJ. Well, how many pairs of glasses can a guy wear? He has different pair for every change of clothes, so I have sunglasses hanging off me everywhere. He can never keep his hair the same for more than a couple of days, if that. One day it's straight, then it's twisted. The next day he picks it out and wears an Afro. Then he wants it colored red. Then he wants it red with blond streaks running through it. Boy, this one keeps me busy!

Every tour of the last show is always a time for the crew, band and Boys to pull pranks on one another. Since Howie loves to show off his chest during the show, my assistant and I decided to safety pin all the buttons on his shirt so he couldn't pull it open. When he came backstage to change into his shirt and found out that he had to slip the shirt over his head, he was [frantic]. He wouldn't go onstage until we took out all of the pins... Needless to say, he was late on his entrance!

Well, that brings us to Kevin... who pretty much has it together.

Denise McLean
(AJ's Mom & BsB Publicist)

Our last tour was quite a special one for Backstreet Boys because it was the first time audiences in many cities got to see them. It was also the first time the band and Boys got to perform in bullrings in Spain and Portugal. That was pretty exciting considering the dressing rooms were locate right out the pens where the bulls were kept! We even got to see a few running around.

The tour began in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day... Howie and a few of us snuck out of the hotel by way of a small van [in order] to enjoy a bit of the day's festivities. We managed to get to where the parade was starting and saw most of the floats before fans zeroed in on Howie and security said he had to leave. We had a bit of fun anyway and a few fans were pleasantly surprised to get a quick picture and autograph of their idol Howie D.

The tour moved on to the UK and we had four great, sold out shows there... While in London, of course AJ wanted to go shopping. Since we were in the same hotel for three nights and actually had a day off, this sounded like a good idea. So AJ, security and I set out on our little money-spending spree.

AJ wanted to hit SoHo first, so we hoped into a cab and off we went We walked the streets pretty much unnoticed for a while until the mother of a fan spooted AJ in a store. She actually ran after him and asked him to wait so she could take a picture of him with her daughter. He did, and while he was waiting about six other fans recognized him--and the numbers began to grow... They were kind enough to leave after a few photos and autographs, so we continued on our way.

What we did not realize at the time is that we were getting closer and closer to Piccadilly and the fans were out in force to welcome stars in the premiere of The Man In The Iron Mask... We quickly left the area and moved on to some really small streets for shopping.

... This was exactlyt what AJ had been looking for. We found some really cool shops with second-hand clothing and army surplus stuff which he loves. We walked into one small shop that actually had two stores next to each other: one with more dressy styles and one really weird. Of course, our AJ rushed past the classy into the weird, and all of a sudden I heard, "Mom, You have to see these!!!" With apprehensivr curiosity, I ran into the shop and there he was, in all his glory, standing in the middle of the store holding the strangest pair of pants I had ever seen! They were the color of regular army fatigues - the strange part was THEY WERE COVERED IN GREEN FUR!

Now AJ is known for his unique style in eyewear and clothing, but this had to be the max, even for him. And of course, since spring was approaching, these lovely pants were on sale! Oh, joy! Fortunatey, I brought my camera with me as shopping with AJ is usually such a picture perfect opportunity. I broke out the camera as the clerk was writing up the sale and AJ posed with his new pants. I think they are pretty cool. The only drawback, he says, is that they can be very hot to wear - but they are machine washable!

If you ever see him in them, I hope you like them as much as he does!

- Tiger Beat

October 1998