Top of the Pops - February 2001

"A1n’t life sweet?"

The last six months have seen a1 soar from premier division to celeb superleague! But how are the lads coping? Planet pop’s A-list stars let TOTP tag along for a three-day promo marathon – Singapore style!

A trip to the far side of the globe complete with endless interviews for press, TV and radio plus a three-day video shoot for their new single, No more, to contend with. A typical few day in the life of a1? You got it!

Given this punishing schedule it’s not really surprising, then, that on TOTP’s arrival in Singapore, tragedy strikes: Christian has contracted a nasty bug and is confined to bed for two days. We find the rest of the guys in fine form, however, and a good job, too. The lads now face a day crammed full of promo work and with just hours to recover from their jet lag. Of course they still manage a quick natter with their favorite mag!

We see you’re a member down, boys. Is poor health par for the course with your hectic celebrity lifestyle?
Ben: I caught the flu about five days into our UK tour, but the show must go on – despite the fact that I sounded like Rod Stewart when I sang.
Mark: But on the whole we don’t get that ill.
Paul: We tend to find it’s when we have a break we get ill. It’s psychological: Your body starts relaxing and you feel a bit rough. Whenever we have a holiday, at least one, if not two, of us will fall ill.

Is performing as a threesome quite weird?
Paul: I was ill last year with the measles and so the guys had to do quite a few TV appearances without me, but we’ve never actually performed with a member short and I don’t think we would. Sometimes it’s necessary when you’re doing promo and stuff, but performing is different altogether.

Do you have any routines or remedies to keep you in tiptop condition?
Ben: Oh, I just drink a lot and eat absolute rubbish, heh-heh.
Paul: Yeah, I’ve lived off curries and lager for seven years – That’s my secret for healthy living.
Mark: Seriously though, I think it’s really just the love of what we do that keeps us going. It’s such a pleasure to be able to sing and perform every day and see the effect it has on other people.
Ben: We’re naturally motivated and we just want to keep doing as much as we can for as long as possible.
Mark: Also, the fun and the laughs we have as a band are just brilliant. There really aren’t many downsides to this job.

Well, yes, here we are in Singapore. It’s not exactly a bad life, is it?
Paul: It’s fantastic. This is the best job in the world. I love traveling. I actually don’t like to stay in the UK for too long. I love seeing other cultures and meeting people from all over the world.
Ben: At first traveling was fantastic and we used to get so excited. But these days we spend so much time abroad I’m just like, “Let’s go home please.”

Well not just yet, young Benjamin! You see, a1 are big fish in Singapore at the best of times but with Same old brand new you rocketing to the No 1 spot on the eve of their arrival, to say they were a little in demand would be something of an understatement!

Showing all the panache of true professionals, the boys proceed from Thai-mag photo call and MTV interview to full-on press conference then they knock that back with a mini radio-tour chaser – all without so much as a moan or gripe. This manic pace is only aggravated by the ever present army of fans scrambling for a snatched signature or some snippet of tittle-tattle.

Now the video shoot is looming closer by the hour and it’s a case of “early to bed, early to rise”. We promptly tale ourselves off to our bunks without even the energy for a “Good night, John Boy!”

Early next morning (We’re assured it is morning, although the fact that it’s still pitch black is some cause for suspicion!) the posse heads to the harbor for an action-packed sequence of speed-boat and helicopter shenanigans.

Nevertheless with it being Singapore’s stormy season the erratic weather conditions provide ample chance for chatter and, now that Christian’s fighting fit again, it’s with the whole band.

It’s good to see you up and about, young man.
Christian: It’s good to be back. I just had a really bad fever, headaches and backache. But the doctor came along and gave me some medicine and now I’m all good again.

So, guys. Money, fame, exotic locations – how glam is celeb life really?
Ben: From what most people see I’m sure it seems very glamorous, but behind the scenes it isn’t really. When I wake up in the morning after a couple of hours’ sleep and I put my glasses on and my hair’s all over the place and my eyes are all bloodshot – believe me, it’s not that glamorous!
Paul: I’ve been to two film premiers and they’ve both been really bad. I’m good at my job and I enjoy working but that’s it. I don’t want to be around celebs in my spare time cos I don’t really get on with them that well.

Is that what keeps you grounded?
Christian: I think it’s really important to stay close to your family and your real friends. I talk to my mum at least once a week. But our success didn’t come overnight either. We worked really hard and we’re not about to forget that.
Ben: My mum’s pretty good at keeping me sane, but I’m quite a well-grounded person anyway.
Paul: It’s easy to keep yourself grounded. We’re in a group and we’re doing well and we’ve had two no 1’s and we fly all over the world, but a year before the group I was working in a pub ten hours a day. I’m a bit behind the others cos they’re so talented and I feel as if I have to try a little harder than the rest to keep the standard up, so that’s what keeps me grounded.
Mark: There are lots of highs and lows to this job. Like when you have a No 1 you feel fantastic, but then when you’re knocked off you could feel a little low and a bit down. But we just keep going and stay motivated and as a result I think we stay really level-headed.

So you’ve never behaved badly or thrown a pop-star tantrum?
Paul: I’ve been surrounded by people who have acted like that and it makes me all the more determined not to behave like that. If I ever turned out like some people I know, I would probably hate myself. I’m a decent bloke and I’m determined not to change.
Ben: The only time I would ever get stroppy was if there was someone around me not doing their job properly, which has a direct effect on the band.
Mark: We are pretty easy going but there’s one piece of advice that Robbie Williams gave me… That was a bit of a name-drop, wasn’t it. He told us never be afraid to say no, and I can’t think of a truer word. So posing naked with a water pistol is a no-go! But that doesn’t make us stroppy or ungrateful. At the end of the day we’re the ones who have to live with the decisions we make.

You’ve had No 1s at home, in Singapore now, and goodness knows where else! Does this level of success scare you?
Ben: Once you get your first taste of success you either love it or you hate it and I love it. I’d rather have that level of success than none at all.
Christian: Over the last few months we’ve really taken off in Norway, which I’m really proud of, but now when I go home I can’t go anywhere without being recognized. But it’s good for my family and friends to finally see what all the fuss is about.
Paul: I just don’t like the fame thing. I went to the Ricky Martin show and I walked in and people were taking photos and I couldn’t stand it. I’m a pop star and I should love that kind of thing. Isn’t that sad? I’m just gutless. A complete wimp.

Do you ever wake up and think I can’t do this today?
Christian: Sometimes I wake up and I feel as if there’s no way I can physically get up and go to work. But it’s mind over matter. If you’ve got the will and the drive, you can overcome anything.
Mark: There’s always something to lift your spirits, too. Whether it’s hearing you’re No 1 in Norway or that you album has gone platinum in Singapore.

At what do you think you have come close to cracking?
Mark: When we toured round Japan and visited 50 Cities in the space of a month. It was just interview after interview. We lost a lot of weight despite living off McDonald’s. We came back looking the worst we’ve ever looked. I know being a pop star isn’t exactly digging the road, but it’s still a lot of hard work.

Does it help in being a pop star if you’re a bit mad?
Mark: (Laughs.) You all go a little bit mad at some point in this business. I think a sense of humor is essential. If people say funny things about you in Magazines, have a laugh at yourself. You need a sensible business head but you can’t take yourself too seriously either. That’s why we’re only too happy to do silly pranks down the TOTP corridor.

When the Singapore skies finally start clearing there’s just enough light to wrap up the day’s shoot before heading back to our Tracey Island-style abode on Glamorous Sentosa Island.

As everyone is clearly pooped and tomorrow holds another early start (cue a chorus of forlorn groaning) it’s off for a good night’s rest.

Despite the painfully early hour, there’s still a hoard of eager fans hovering when we leave Sentosa the following morning.

So, don’t you guys ever get sick of people pestering you?
Christian: We love our fans very much, but it is really difficult cos they will approach us whether it’s appropriate or not. The difficulty is how we tell them it’s not – without looking like total (Bleeps)!
Paul: It’s not always nice attention though. I nearly got beaten up walking through Leicester Square a few weeks ago. This bloke goes, “He’s that bloke from a1. A1 are (bleeps)! (And other ruderies!) And he came after me. So I turned and faced him and he was huge. In the end he backed down, bit it still wasn’t very nice, though.

Do you ever feel lonely?
Christian: I certainly don’t think I could have hacked it as a solo artist. It’s great to have the other guys to talk to share stuff with. But sometimes I miss not having a girlfriend and not having someone to come home to at the end of the day.
Mark: There’s no stability in what we do. There are always doubts, there’s always competition, there’s always pressure. And sometimes it gets to you and you feel so down you could call someone up and just burst out crying.
Ben: I live on my own and sometimes that gets lonely so I end up just going out and staying out till all hours – just cos I can’t bear to be at home. It’s worse during the day when you just sit watching terrible TV like Melrose place and Days of our lives.

We arrive at the location for the day’s shoot: a rather spooky and, apparently, haunted burial ground, where the lads will film an abseiling sequence.
Over spring rolls, black coffee and apple juice – perhaps an unwise choice of breakfast considering the state of the chemical khazi – we discuss the trappings of fame.

How has pop stardom affected your attitude towards the laydees?
Christian: I’m a little paranoid cos I’ve realized the media completely make things up – like the whole Jordan thing. I’ve never met her on a one-to-one basis so I barely know her. But it made all the newspapers and it was front-page news in Norway.
Paul: With girls I’m not really paranoid at all cos I know that most girls talk to me cos I’m mates with Ben, Christian or Mark.

What’s the one thing you have said you wish you could take back?
Mark: I was on Live & kicking and I said that Boyzone could get to No 1 even if they were singing She’ll be coming round the mountain. I didn’t mean it horribly, but later Stephen Gately came up to me and said, “I heard what you said about us on L&K.” He was so serious and seemed really offended.

So what is a1’s next goal?
Christian: Success in the states would be really exciting and I’d love it if a song I’d written for another artist were a big hit.
Paul: Pop stardom is something that just happened to me. When the opportunity came along I thought, “Flippin’ heck, I’m gonna try a piece of that!” I never grew up thinking that I wanted to be a pop star. But here I am and it’s great. But I think it’s probably something I could leave easily. I want to be a great husband and dad. I don’t want to be a great legend of the pop world.

Abseiling naturals that they are, the afternoon goes without a hitch – apart from Paul’s rather nasty blister courtesy of those chaffing wires. Ouch! After a short break it’s time for the evening shoot against the breathtaking backdrop of Singapore city’s skyscrapers. The shoot continues until the early hours of the morning, so we just sit back and admire the view.

There’s another early start the next morning as a1 take on the might of some nasty ninjas using some slick Matrix-style moves. Before we leave, and in between the odd high kick and karate chop, there’s just time for a final, fleeting chinwag.

Apart from the odd ninja ambush, what’s the worst thing about your job?
Paul: Sometimes all of it’s rubbish and you just want to stay in bed and think, I hate my job. Sometimes we’ll see a photographer or interviewer we hate, like Dr Fox. When you see him you just think, ‘(Bleep) off! I don’t like you.’ Please put that in cos I hate him. He’s like Keith Chegwin.
Mark: I hate to say I don’t love doing photo shoots. We understand that it has to be done but I’m looking forward to being like the backstreet boys – when we do a photo shoot once in a blue moon.

Now, you say you’re all about the music but admit it, you love the fame aspect, too?
Ben: I enjoy it far more when I’m with the rest of the band, cos if I’m on my own, I get a little bit nervous and start hiding behind shelves and darting in and out of shops.
Mark: Even though there are a few lows to the business, the good stuff by far outweighs them.
Christian: Being recognized is flattering, especially when older people recognize you. That’s a good sign cos it shows you have quite a broad profile.
Paul: I get recognized the least out of everyone in the group and I think that’s fabulous. It’s great. I think if I was in Robbie or Britney’s position, I’d be very scared. I just feel so luck. I’m one of the luckiest people in the world.

Thanks to Crimson who took the time to type this interview and forward the scans.

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