What's your opinion of pop stars who lie about their age?
Erm, I know a lot of people do it, but I don't think it's right and
no one in our band lies about their ages! I think it's a bit disresp-
ctful to the fans. It'll always be found out anyway. Someone you
went to school with eill spot that you're actually older than you're
saying.
Where do you like to be kissed?
Well, obviously I like to be kissed on the lips but apart from that,
I have to say that my neck is very sensitive and I love being kissed
anywhere there!
Do you know how to bake a cake?
Haven't a clue. I did home economics at school for about 3 weeks!
What did I cook? I think I cooked a burger! I'd love to be able to
cook a romantic meal but I think I'd have to resort to heating up
some ready meals and pretending I cooked them! I mean I'm not
a bad cook, I can cook a fry-up but I'll leave the more complicat-
ed stuff to someone who knows what they're doing!
What do you sleep in?
Either boxer shorts or nothing but a smile!
If you met yourself as an eight-year-old, what would you think of
yourself?
I'd think I was cheeky little football freak. I'd probably tell my-
self to get a haircut because in all the photos from when I was
aroung eight it looks like someone's put a bowl around my head
and then snipped away!
How did you learn to kiss?
On the back of my hand! (Laughing.) I used to watch films and get
tips from what they were doing . I'd watch what was going on and
think, 'Oh, you must have to do it this way!'
Your success has happened really quickly, do you ever worry that
it might slip away as fast?
It's something we've discussed but I wouldn't say it's something
we worry about. At the moment it's atill an unbelievable feeling
for us, we're just five normal lads from Ireland and we've been
thrown into this great opportunity. I don't think any other band
in the world can say they've got such a great team behind them,
it's like a dream come true. We worked hard for the first single
and we're working hard in Europe to create the same success
there. We can't predict what's going to happen and it it slips
away, it does. We'll be here as long as people want us here.
What's the most unusual food you've eaten?
In Norway I had snails and frogs' legs were lovely but snails
weren't my kettle of fish at all. I have heard that some people
eat sheep's brains but I definitely wouldn't eat any type of bra-
ins. There are a couple of other bits of anatomy I wouldn't eat
either!
Are you a lot rubbish dancers?
(Laughs.) No, we're good dancers! The next song's midtempo so
you'll get see us dancing. We don't want to copy anyone else so
we're not going to dance as fast as Five but we'll do more danc-
ing than Boyzone. Shane's the best dancer out of five of us. He
was a big Michale Jackson fan so any time he gets stuck for a
dance step he throws in a Jacko move! The worst dancers are me
or Mark. I played football all my life and although I'd danced in
clubs I'd never danced in a band formation before - I am getting
better though!
Has being with the other guys 24 hours a day affected your rela-
tionship with them?
It's brought us closer together. When the band started we'd
have arguments over things like whose turn it was to do an inter-
view. We're looking at this as a marathon, bot a sprint. We don't
want to be in the business for a year or two and then disappear.
With that you need to be able to get on really well. We are human
though so we have little arguments but they're soon forgotten.
Did you eat your greens?
When I was very young I hated them but now I love a roast dinn-
er with cabbage, mushy peas, carrots and roast potatoes. When I
was younger my mum used to shove veggies down my mouth-she'd
hold my nose, wait 'til I went to breathe and stuff them in!
What's your biggest turn-off?
Well, somking really puts me off. I think I could go out with
someone who smoked but I'd be forever trying to get them to
stop. I like really elegant, quiet, shy girls but when you get to
know them, they're not that shy, so really loud girls put me off.
What's your bedroom like?
I share with my brother Adam and it's the biggest bedroom in
our house. I've got a picture of the band on the well and the first
posters that were in the magazines. Adam has lots of cars, his
school books and everything. We get on great even though I mov-
ed to Leeds when he was very young. Our room must be the tidi-
est in the world because even if I got up in the morning and made
my bed my mun would come in and make it again. She cleans the
house twice a day but if someone's coming she'll clean it again!
Why do you lot wear smart clothes in neutral colours on stage
whaen it's not what you wear in your spare time?
You have to look really smart for television and photoshoots, it's
important to give out the right vibe. When we're travelling we still
have to look 100 percent respectable but we don't need to be as
smart. We wore all white on TOTP and that was our manager's
idea, but we won't be constantly wearing all black or all white,
our second video's nothing like that. Basically it's down to our
stylist but of course we get a say in what we wear. You couldn't
perform if you were really uncomfortable in what you were wear-
ing.
Do you give off 'out of bounds' vibes because you've got a girl-
friend?
I don't think I do, and if I do I don't mean to, but I don't flirt
intentionally either. When I'm out with the lads they're always
looking round and checking out the talent and I just stand back
and have a laugh. If someone comes over to me I'm not going to
blank them, I'll have a chat but it won't go any further.
Mark Westlife's Top 5 Things That Scare Me
01 Being Rejected
02 People with guns
03 Being alone in the city at night
04 Getting Mugged
05 Hens and big birds