911 Arena Special

911 things about LeeBy Beverley Hon

Pictures by K.K. Sham

HE LIED! That cutie from 911, Lee Brennan, lied to me about his age during my first interview with the group three years ago.

"I wasn't lying. It was just for a laugh," insists Lee. "It was good fun."

According to the charming lad, it all started with the first press releases that went out. Those pieces of paper had different dates on them and of course, that adorable babyface added to the deception. For the record, Lee is actually 26-years-old, and he'll be turning 27 this year. But people still tell Lee that he looks 21. Who can blame them?

Anyway, having a babyface is a bit of a problem when it comes to clubs. When he was 18, Lee "looked about 14" and his height didn't help either. So he had to go around with his passport because "no one could really accept I was 18."

`I can't say we're going yo be together for ages and ages. We've been on the road a few times and we've tried just about everything.'- Lee Brennan, 911.

"Even when I was 21, people still said I looked 16. Hopefully, when I'm 40 I'll still look about 35," laughs Lee. "I'm sure it'll catch up on me one day but hopefully not too soon."

Okay, now that we've cleared the age issue up, let's do some catching up. The three-piece outfit 911, an instant hit over here in 1997, was one of the first groups of the new boy band generation to make it big. So, could they believe all that success and hype?

Lee quickly answers no. He says "that's where a lot of people can go wrong." Adding that he reads a lot of magazines and newspapers, and of course, having been in the business long enough to know how it works, Lee says he knows "what a lot of people are thinking when they're actually writing a piece."

"We didn't just go straight up to the top like a lot of new bands maybe do, if they're put together with record labels. But because we didn't have a record deal with our first two singles, we slowly climbed that ladder and so we appreciate it a lot more," he says.

"I can understand why some people get caught up in all that (hype) and they believe in this big thing. That's probably a bit of a downfall. It's hard when you've got all these people praising you all the time and sometimes, you can get carried away. So long as you don't get too carried away.

"You've got to enjoy it but not get big-headed about it," Lee reasons. "When you do (get big-headed), whatever you say to certain people, whether you mean to be big-headed or not, they're going to make you out to be big-headed anyway. That's one of the things we've learnt over the last few years--how to deal with situations," explains Lee.

On the subject of magazines and newspapers, I ask Lee which country's media has given 911 the hardest time? I know it's not us Malaysians so which country is it?

If you said Britain, you guessed right! Lee reckons that the press around the world are the ones who build groups and stars up but apparently in Britain, "they build stars up and then knock them down" as soon as they're famous. He says that "one minute, you can be the best thing on earth" but next week, "you can be the devil."

Okay, now let's talk about the fans. I've seen soft toys, portraits and all sorts being given to the lads so the question now is what do they do with the stuff? Well, Lee says that they give the soft toys to the hospitals "because they always need stuff like that." He keeps the little stuff, pictures and portraits which he gets.

"When we first came here, we always got little bits of paper stars in bottles, which we never had anywhere in the world. The first time we got all these bottles, we wondered what they were for. I thought they were bottles of sweets when I first saw them," recalls Lee. "I remember getting a jar of stars where there were 911 stars. The girl who made them for us obviously sat down and counted them, making sure every one was there."

"Somehow, I managed to get it all (the presents and stuff) into the two suitcases I brought. The flowers would go--I couldn't get them into the bag, but all the actual bottles and little presents though, I managed to cram them into my suitcases and a lot of the stuff I've brought home is at my mom's house, in the attic," he adds.

"I keep the pictures because it's a personal thing when you get pictures. I like portraits where someone's drawn their image of me. That's cool. I've got loads of these portraits and my mom's got one up in her bedroom. I don't know where it's from but it's one of those pencil(-drawn) portraits in a little brown frame."

"I'm sure I haven't got everything I've ever been given because that would be impossible. I'd have a full house, filled up to the roof. But I've got so much stuff," says Lee.

Now, rumours are nasty things but we've heard one we can't resist asking about. Is this the last we'll be seeing of 911? Lee feels rumours like this tend to go around once a greatest hits compilation pops up. He can't be sure whether or not they'll be back again to Malaysia. Lee, for one, intends to come back "for a holiday or whatever."

"But to be honest," Lee says, "I can't say we're going to be together for ages and ages. We've been on the road a few times and we've tried just about everything. We've all got ambitions and it's just when we all decide when we want to go on to that next stage, do something different and start a new challenge. I don't know. That could happen anytime. It could happen in a week, it could happen in a year so who knows. (We'll) keep you guessing."

Ugh, nasty business this disbanding stuff but what happens if a couple of heartbroken girls decide to do something silly, like when Take That disbanded? Well, Lee's got something to say about that and it's "whatever happens to 911, don't ever try to hurt yourself or anything like that" because "it's not worth it."

"Just put the CD on and remember the good times. That's what I'll be doing. It'll be sad for us three as well, if it happens one day," he adds.

"Take That were a phenomenon and they were massive around Britain. When you're such a big star, you've got more people after you and you've got more fans so you've got more chances of that happening. But I don't think we're as big as Take That were so hopefully, I pray, nothing like that will happen to any of our fans. Stick the CD on, you'll love it."

And what about fans who think they stand a chance of marrying one of the 911 blokes? Well, Lee believes that "anyone has a chance of marrying anyone" because to him, everyone is the same, regardless of their different lives. According to Lee, they "still have feelings and emotions and they still sleep, eat and everything like that." He believes "anything's a possibility" as it doesn't mean that he's not going to meet the girl of his dreams "just because she's not in a pop band."

As devoted 911 fans would know, Lee had Hodgekin's Disease, a type of cancer. Well, Lee first got it when he was nine-years-old and it went away when he was 10. But after six years of check-ups, blood tests and X-rays, Lee had a recurrence of the disease at the age of 15. Ever since then, he's been going back to the hospital for regular check-ups.

Well, Lee's brush with cancer has definitely made him see life differently and "even more so" when he looks back at it.

"In anything that you do, I think after you've done it for a while, when you step back and have a look at everything, you realise how lucky you are," says Lee. "So that sort of makes me appreciate it and it's sort of made me the person I am today. Sometimes it worries me (the check-ups). It depends how the few months leading up to when I go to the hospital have been. If in the past few months, I've been feeling tired and stuff, I'll be a bit nervous. So I don't try to worry too much anyway."

Lee went to the hospital he goes to in Britain a few months ago to launch an appeal for the kids with cancer.

According to him, "it was good" for him to go back and see young children who are at the age he was when he first had Hodgekin's Disease. Lee met all of them and could relate to them since he had been through the same thing. He feels that it gives them hope.

"It just shows you it doesn't matter if you've been ill. You can still do whatever you want with your life. It was strange going back and just seeing all these kids with no hair and that was me, that's what I went through (many years ago)," says Lee.

Has getting through the cancer and achieving so much with 911 been Lee's greatest achievement?

"Someone's always watching over everybody out there. I've survived cancer twice and I've been given this chance to be in a pop group which was sort of a million to one (chance) but I got into it, which was really lucky.," Lee says.

"I'm so lucky I got into 911 and we had success. Now, I've got lots of ambitions that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't been in 911. It's just mad. It's amazing how life can just suddenly change. You go on one way and wonder what you're going to do for the next couple of years and suddenly (whistles), you're on television and in a pop group."

So that means "yes"?

"It's definitely the biggest achievement now," Lee asserts. "I can't imagine anything topping the last five years."

The Star

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