On tour with… Nick!

TV HITS Spring 1998

He gets up to all sorts of mischief on the road—but always seems to get away with it!

If Nick's parents aren't on tour with the band, he and Brian always share a room 'cos they're such good mates. Frick and Frack—as the dynamic duo call each other—hang out all the time. “We really are so close,” says Nick. “Our personalities just seem to have clicked.”

Nick can be a bit grumpy in the mornings, especially when the band is touring and not getting a lot of sleep. When he's in a really bad mood, he's been known to slap the Boys around the head! Steady on, Nick!

According to AJ, Nick's hotel room gets pretty messy when the boys are on the road. “On the last tour, his room looked like it'd been hit by a tornado!” says AJ. “Clothes everywhere, video games, his console, food, candy bars… everything. It would be called the ‘comfortable, lived-in look’—but only if you could actually find his bed!”

Nick gets upset sometimes if the other guys tell him what to do in rehearsals. “Sometimes I find it hard to take criticism,” he admits. Apparently, the young gifted one is also a prize klutz! Kevin reckons it's because he's grown so much in the last year and can't control his extra long limbs!

One of Nick's most embarrassing moments on stage was when he tried to do a ‘kip up’—when the Boys lie on their back and flip up onto their legs. He didn't make it and fell flat on his back! Oops.

If Nick's mum isn't on tour with him, he'll call home twice a day to let her know what he's been up to and to check on his pet dogs, Samson, Pepper, and Simba, his cats, Bandit, Sugar, and Rocky, and his tank of goldfish.

When Nick wants some time to himself, he'll put on his headphones and drift off into his own little world. He likes a real mix of music—from Nirvana to Prince, Jodeci and AC/DC! Sometimes he'll just sit on his bunk in the tour bus and draw. He does ace cartoons of the Boys in superhero costumes, and has even written a script for a sci-fi movie featuring the cartoon characters he draws.

Nick's very friendly and if there's time on tour, he'll always stop and chat to fans. “I meet a lot of girls when we're travelling and I try and make friends with some,” he says. “Then when we go back to that country, I can call them up for a chat!”

Nick hates the dark, so it's a good thing Brian shares with him when the Boys are touring. His vivid imagination conjures up all sorts of beasties late at night… “I'll never hang my feet off the end of the bed,” says Nick. “I'm afraid little gremlins will bite my toes!” Hey, Nick—maybe it's Brian!

Nick's video game crazy and would go mad on tour without his Nintendo and Playstation. “We always play Mario Karts or Tennis. Brian always beats me at Tennis, but I hold the title in Mario Karts. Yessss!! Brian's a bad loser!”

Is there a special person Nick would like to take on tour with the Boys? Say, for example, his fave actress Christina Ricci? “No—just someone my age who likes to play Nintendo and do all the things I like to do!” He's easily pleased!

Despite his attempts to stay healthy, Nick's sweet tooth can get the better of him. “I do eat too many sweets,” he admits. “On the road, I just get carried away and eat and eat!”

Nick misses his rollerblades while the band are away, 'coz he's gone skate crazy! “I've really got into it,” he says. And apparently he's pretty good, too. AJ often tries to repeat his funky moves on wheels, but doesn't quite pull them off!

Nick says he's the happiest when he's on stage performing, so he should be a really happy bunny this year!

Nick loves performing the Boys' new stuff on stage, but still likes doing their early hit, Get Down. “It's one of my favourites to do live because the choreography is great!”

When he's on the road, Nick really misses his mum's cooking—especially her home-made soup!

Nick perfers travelling from venue to venue by bus rather than plane. The poor thing still hates flying, despite having flown all round the world with the band. “I just try to sleep through the whole flight.”

After a show, instead of partying hard, Nick likes to go back to the hotel, have a nice long shower and go to bed. “It doesn't take me long to wind down after doing a show,” he says. “I get so tired out I could fall asleep right away!” Hey, rock 'n' roll!

Nick get's pretty homesick when he's on tour. “We're up at the crack of dawn some days, travel all day and then perform at night. That's the schedule day after day,” he sighs. “But the bad parts even out because we get such a buzz from performing and we meet some great people.” Three cheers for Nick!