Westlife exclusive interview

 while they were in  Dubai for thier concert recently

taken from Young Times

There is a certain electricity in the air as they walk into the interview room. All around the venue , a sea of girls, holding on to their autographs books, scream for a glimpse of their fave pop stars. They had been preparing for this tour in advance. Tough looking bodyguards brush aside all their hopes of getting close. Forget about touching them.

For members of westlife, scenes such as these are now passe'. Where ever they have gone, these angelic looking boys with their powerhouse vocals have been mobbed by people as young as the teen next door to grandmas in their 80s! But there in lies their power- their music appeals to people of all ages.

Westlife is deffo a band that has made a difference to the otherwise staid pop scene that has been dominated by boy and girl bands. And with a reason, too. Five singles from their self titled album have zoomed to the number 1 position, something the boys werent prepared for.

The famous five find it difficult to describe their  excitement and surprise over being propelled to such instant stardom. On an assignment for young times, i (EdwaRD D'mello) catch up with them  while they are chilling out after a much desired brake at the beach, away from the milling crowd. A day earlier, they had performed to a sold out concert at the DUBAI COUNTRY CLUB on 7th May 2000. They have a flight to catch in less than an hour, and Kian the most serious looking of the five, pleads with his tour manager with a

Just-this-interview-okay? look. As the manager reluctantly obliges, Kian and Mark break into a wide grin that has now become their signature.

YOUNG TIMES: it has been a year since swear it again went straight to the charts. What do u think of the year in retrospective?

KIAN : It has been a spectacular year. i fail to find words to mention how surprising it has been. We knew we were making good songs but when they took the number one position, we were really excited. Earlier we thought that no one would take us seriously becoz we were just new comers. But all our hard work has been well respected by the music industry.

MARK : when its something that instantly  makes you super celebs from nobodies, you can not describe the feeling. Ever since swear it again became the number one, the mail box has been flooded. we get mail from all over the world from people who are old enough to be our grandmas. This has certainly excited us becoz we earlier thought that we would do just well in uk.

YT:  what do u think of the UAE's music lovers during your concert yesterday?

KIAN: Contrary to our expectations, we found Dubai's music loving community quite vibrant. The awareness about WL and our songs was quite high, and we wrere pleased to be playing to such an appreciative audience. Most of the time we found them chanting along with us. Its this kind of appreciation that makes me want to come back for more.,

MArk : Yeah we will definitely be back! Dubai provides the right environment for acts such as ours. I believe that was the reason for our album doing exceptionally well here.

YT:  Your debut album has done quite well world wide. How does it feel to be sitting on top of five number one singles?

Kian : Its been amazing. Like i said earlier, we werent prepared for such a scenario. WE thought that one or two would make it to the top 50 or 20 . But when they were chosen number 1 we couldnt take it. It was an exhilarating feeling. And i would like to take the opportunity to thank our listeners, especially in Dubai, for making our album such a success.

YT: How did it feel when u became opening act for BZ and BSB? Any memorable experience?

KIAN: We were glad to be noticed by Ronan and their manager Louis Walsh. In fact Ronan has played a big role in our success. BZ have been quite supportive of us all throughout the tour and have always given us useful tips on our careers. BZ made sure that we all got equal importance during all their shows. And this was before any of our singles made it to the no 1 slot.

MArk,: They have encouraged us all along . infact, now that we are tourin on our own, we are extending the same support  to all the opening acts who join us.Music is such a wonderful thing- we have got the best from the best, and we would give it up to upcomming artists  and help them in their careers.

Kian: BSB And BZ have worked hard to achieve their success and they will always continue to inspire young acts such as ours.

YT: BoYzone influence on your music is quite apparent. Your comments.

MArk: there are a lot of comparisons b/w BZ and us. But that is unavoidable coz Ronan and WAlsh are our managers. They have guided us and helped us along. however we have evolved our own brand of music, and the success speaks for itself.

Yt: Now that u can tour on your own , who would u like your support act to be?

MArk: (laughs) Backstreet boys or perhaps Spice Girls. HAAhaa

Kian: Seriously, we dont have regular support acts. We have different acts in different venus we have performed. But we have worked with some of the brilliant talent and i know for sure that many of them would strike big when the time comes.

YT: What about the controversy with Mel c? did it create problems between u?

KIAn: Actually the newspaper report attributed me to calling Mel c MAtcho. But thats all false. Mel's a sweetheart. She's fun. I dont know how that story originated in the first place. I met Mel backstage later and told her " listen Mel, that story  is not true. i did not say anything about u" We did not need to clarify our position bcoz she is quite broadminded and understood our point. we are the best of friends and i personally think that spice girls have inspired an entire generation.

YT: According to an article, ur manager Louis walsh once scolded u for smoking. How far is that story true?

Kian: Again that is not true. We have always maintained a clean image. All of us are non smokers and teetotallers, but thats all of our own choice. We know westlife are idiolised by a lot of young people and we would not like ourselves setting a bad example to them.

YT: what about reports that u have a contract that prevents the band members from getting married or having children?

Kian: Thats all over exaggerated. WE dont know where that report originated from.We have all the freedom though none of us ,with the exception of nicky have a Gf. I would be devastated if such restrictions were imposed on my personal life.

MArk: we had gfs on and off. but now we are just concentrating on our careers and we do not know when we would settle down for a family. But basically we come from good families and we really CHERISH family values. But otherwise we havent had time to think about having girlfriends or getting married.

Yt: Do u plan to make a christmas album?

Kian: Yeah, the album is due release later this year. we have already lined up so many good tracks- some traditional and some of our own. i am sure our fans world wide are going to enjoy listening to it.

Who is your faveartist?

Kian: We all have diff tastes but we all like Micheal Jackson. Thats one thing in common. He's outstanding. Someof us like BSB, Bryan Adams, Boyzone and Take that.

This article and the Interview has  been taken from "Young Times" of Khaleej times dated may 16 2000.

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