Take From: IN! magazine
Showbiz reporter Paul Martin goes AAA at the Odyssey Arena with Westlife
In fairness to the security guard who was keeping me standing in the pouring rain, I'm sure he's heard the claim a million times before. Although I doubt he's heard it from too many 32-year-old men.
I'm standing at the Odyssey Arena VIP entrance trying to convince a burly bodyguard that I'm not in fact a crazed-boy-band stalker and that Louis Walsh and Westlife hunk Shane Filan really do want me to join them in their ultra-exclusive backstage hideaway.
He's not buying it: 'If you just go in and find either of them I'm sure they will explain everything,' I urge him, brushing the beads of rain from my foarhead and breaking into a shiver. This wasn't what I had in mind when was promised I'd be living the showbiz highlife with the biggest pop band on the planet.
But there's no budging him as he fixes his ice stare and announces: 'That's between you and them. I can't move from this spot and neither you can.'
It doesn't help that I'm surrounded by around a hundred screaming teenagers who, at every opportunity, are grabbing at my arms and begging me to get them autographs, should I finally break through the wall of security and make it to the other side.
Suddenly my phone rings: 'Hey Paul, it's Shane,' announces the soft voice in that familiar Sligo twang. 'I'm coming out to get you now.'
A few seconds later the door edges slowly open, no more than an inch, and from behind the devide Shane shouts out towards the moody big man who is now the only obstacle between me and Westlife world. 'It's OK - that's Paul Martin, he's friend of ours. Let him in.'
Open sesame! I suddenly have a beautiful shiny Westlife AAA laminate thrown around my neck as I break free from the masses of girls who are now convulsing at the prospect of me joining the lads in person on their comeback tour. 'Oh my Gooooooood,' screeches one poor girl, bursting into tears as she grabs my arm, 'Tell Shane I love him. Tell him, tell him!'
Suddenly, in contrast to the chaos outside, there is nothing but silence. Shane emerges from the wings, shakes my hand and leads me into a sort of Westlife wonderland.
He walks me past their dressing rooms, which are meticulously decked out in soft scented candles, towels and energy drinks. In another room the stars' wives (and boyfriend) chat about all the mindane happenings of the day as their children whizz around the room playing around on micro scooters.
'Wait till you see this,' Shane announces, opening another door to a huge Westlife canteen, where a team of top chiefs are busily preparing their favourite foods to order.
Then the unmistakable voice of Louis Walsh comes bellowing down the corridor: 'Oh look, it's Paul,' he announces to the rest of the Westlife boys who are gathered around him hanging on the pop guru's every word.
He dashes over and proudly shows me his phone, where he has my number saved under the heading: 'Paul Martin - sort of journalist.' The cheeky beggar.
After my grand tour of Westlife's hideaway, it's time to get down to business. The lads congregate in Shane's dressing room and give me an hour to discover all for IN! magazine.
Well, lads, you have been away for a year. Are you thrilled to be back or missing the easy life already?
Mark: Well we are actually all quite tired - but only because we've been working so hard in rehearsals to get this show right.
Kian: We are totally pumped up to be back on stage and we had more time than ever to rehearse and get this thing right. I think after a few months of being off on our break we all started missing the music business and we were twitching to get back.
Since we last saw you, Kian, you tied the knot in Barbados with Jodi Albert. No babies on the horizon yet?
Kian: Definitely not yet. Jodi is busy with Wonderland - our new girl band that Louis and I are co-managing, so there will be no children just yet. We've been working on the band for nearly two years and we're officially launching them on this tour, so it's a massive thing for us. I think these girls could go a long way. But Jodi and I still make plenty of time for each other outside the music business. We have to remember we have a marriage to think of as well as two bands!
You are back in Belfast kicking off your comeback after 18 months away. Was the big break all you expected it to be?
Nicky: When I was in Westlife, time had become my biggest luxury and suddenly I had loads of it. There are things that you give up when you are in a band but suddenly I could do them all. We did all that in our year off. And then, by the end of that year, we were desperate to start again. So being back here in Belfast is just incredible and it's something we have all been yearning for for a while.
Eleven years on from your first single, do you not finding that you are always falling out when you are on the road together?
Shane: To be honest we are getting on better than ever. I think we've all grown up a lot since the early days of the band. We all have families now and our own lives outside the band, so that means when we get back together it's like being back with your mates and we enjoy every second of it. If we disagree on something we are very democratice - we put it to a vote. Whoever has the majority gets their way.
As a band you've always had a soft spot for Belfast, so where do you hang out when you are here.
Mark: It's kind of weird because this time we all are in different hotels. I'm in Malmaison, while Shane is in the Hilton because he likes the gym in there and Kian and Nicky are in the Radisson. But we are all planning to go for dinner in the Malmaison while we are here. We don't really go out clubbing, but I was in Victoria Square earlier and I also met up with Kian's wife Jodi and we went into House Of Fraser. I got Jodi a birthday present there.
It must be a challenge to keep things fresh after eleven years together. Did you look at Take That and learn from how they re-invented themselves?
Shane: Definitely. They really took it to a new level and it made us realise you can in a boy band beyond the age of 30 and still be reveland. You can't take it away from Gary Barlow, he is an amazing songwriter. With songs that strong you will always stand the test of time.
You are all looking rather buff. Are you all fitness freaks?
Kian: I don't really hit the gym, but Shane is into it in a massive way. He works out four or five times a week. We all try and eat pretty well when we are on tour and Shane organises a personal trainer if we ever want a good blow out in the gym. Nobody wants to see four big fat pop stars up there plodding around the stage.
What's it like having Simon Cowell as a boss. I would imagine he's quite demanding?
Nicky: That's something we never shy away from. He's the most powerful man in the music, and that opens a lot of doors. He's always been great with us. When you are in a room with Simon Cowell you can have a debate about what songs you should and shouldn't do, but at the end of it all he usually wins - he is Simon Cowell after all. He knows the music business inside out and he has helped us reach the top. Having Simon Cowell in your camp is a massive advantage and we owe so much to him.
You've all made your millions and live incredible lifestyles. Can you still enjoy the normal things in life or does it all have to be bling bling now?
Nicky: I was out with my mates during the year off. We'd been out, had a proper and mad night, and we were walking back from a pub we had been in, when a lad came up to me. He said, 'I know you, you shouldn't be round here, you should be in the bling bling bars'. It made me laugh. I'm not really one of that whole celeb lifestyle. I'd rather be in an ordinary pub or a bar than somewhere bling bling.
Shane: My biggest passions, beside my family, are golf and snooker. So you don't need millions to be able to play those sports! It's the simple things in life that are the best.
In fairness to the security guard who was keeping me standing in the pouring rain, I'm sure he's heard the claim a million times before. Although I doubt he's heard it from too many 32-year-old men.
I'm standing at the Odyssey Arena VIP entrance trying to convince a burly bodyguard that I'm not in fact a crazed-boy-band stalker and that Louis Walsh and Westlife hunk Shane Filan really do want me to join them in their ultra-exclusive backstage hideaway.
He's not buying it: 'If you just go in and find either of them I'm sure they will explain everything,' I urge him, brushing the beads of rain from my foarhead and breaking into a shiver. This wasn't what I had in mind when was promised I'd be living the showbiz highlife with the biggest pop band on the planet.
But there's no budging him as he fixes his ice stare and announces: 'That's between you and them. I can't move from this spot and neither you can.'
It doesn't help that I'm surrounded by around a hundred screaming teenagers who, at every opportunity, are grabbing at my arms and begging me to get them autographs, should I finally break through the wall of security and make it to the other side.
Suddenly my phone rings: 'Hey Paul, it's Shane,' announces the soft voice in that familiar Sligo twang. 'I'm coming out to get you now.'
A few seconds later the door edges slowly open, no more than an inch, and from behind the devide Shane shouts out towards the moody big man who is now the only obstacle between me and Westlife world. 'It's OK - that's Paul Martin, he's friend of ours. Let him in.'
Open sesame! I suddenly have a beautiful shiny Westlife AAA laminate thrown around my neck as I break free from the masses of girls who are now convulsing at the prospect of me joining the lads in person on their comeback tour. 'Oh my Gooooooood,' screeches one poor girl, bursting into tears as she grabs my arm, 'Tell Shane I love him. Tell him, tell him!'
Suddenly, in contrast to the chaos outside, there is nothing but silence. Shane emerges from the wings, shakes my hand and leads me into a sort of Westlife wonderland.
He walks me past their dressing rooms, which are meticulously decked out in soft scented candles, towels and energy drinks. In another room the stars' wives (and boyfriend) chat about all the mindane happenings of the day as their children whizz around the room playing around on micro scooters.
'Wait till you see this,' Shane announces, opening another door to a huge Westlife canteen, where a team of top chiefs are busily preparing their favourite foods to order.
Then the unmistakable voice of Louis Walsh comes bellowing down the corridor: 'Oh look, it's Paul,' he announces to the rest of the Westlife boys who are gathered around him hanging on the pop guru's every word.
He dashes over and proudly shows me his phone, where he has my number saved under the heading: 'Paul Martin - sort of journalist.' The cheeky beggar.
After my grand tour of Westlife's hideaway, it's time to get down to business. The lads congregate in Shane's dressing room and give me an hour to discover all for IN! magazine.
Well, lads, you have been away for a year. Are you thrilled to be back or missing the easy life already?
Mark: Well we are actually all quite tired - but only because we've been working so hard in rehearsals to get this show right.
Kian: We are totally pumped up to be back on stage and we had more time than ever to rehearse and get this thing right. I think after a few months of being off on our break we all started missing the music business and we were twitching to get back.
Since we last saw you, Kian, you tied the knot in Barbados with Jodi Albert. No babies on the horizon yet?
Kian: Definitely not yet. Jodi is busy with Wonderland - our new girl band that Louis and I are co-managing, so there will be no children just yet. We've been working on the band for nearly two years and we're officially launching them on this tour, so it's a massive thing for us. I think these girls could go a long way. But Jodi and I still make plenty of time for each other outside the music business. We have to remember we have a marriage to think of as well as two bands!
You are back in Belfast kicking off your comeback after 18 months away. Was the big break all you expected it to be?
Nicky: When I was in Westlife, time had become my biggest luxury and suddenly I had loads of it. There are things that you give up when you are in a band but suddenly I could do them all. We did all that in our year off. And then, by the end of that year, we were desperate to start again. So being back here in Belfast is just incredible and it's something we have all been yearning for for a while.
Eleven years on from your first single, do you not finding that you are always falling out when you are on the road together?
Shane: To be honest we are getting on better than ever. I think we've all grown up a lot since the early days of the band. We all have families now and our own lives outside the band, so that means when we get back together it's like being back with your mates and we enjoy every second of it. If we disagree on something we are very democratice - we put it to a vote. Whoever has the majority gets their way.
As a band you've always had a soft spot for Belfast, so where do you hang out when you are here.
Mark: It's kind of weird because this time we all are in different hotels. I'm in Malmaison, while Shane is in the Hilton because he likes the gym in there and Kian and Nicky are in the Radisson. But we are all planning to go for dinner in the Malmaison while we are here. We don't really go out clubbing, but I was in Victoria Square earlier and I also met up with Kian's wife Jodi and we went into House Of Fraser. I got Jodi a birthday present there.
It must be a challenge to keep things fresh after eleven years together. Did you look at Take That and learn from how they re-invented themselves?
Shane: Definitely. They really took it to a new level and it made us realise you can in a boy band beyond the age of 30 and still be reveland. You can't take it away from Gary Barlow, he is an amazing songwriter. With songs that strong you will always stand the test of time.
You are all looking rather buff. Are you all fitness freaks?
Kian: I don't really hit the gym, but Shane is into it in a massive way. He works out four or five times a week. We all try and eat pretty well when we are on tour and Shane organises a personal trainer if we ever want a good blow out in the gym. Nobody wants to see four big fat pop stars up there plodding around the stage.
What's it like having Simon Cowell as a boss. I would imagine he's quite demanding?
Nicky: That's something we never shy away from. He's the most powerful man in the music, and that opens a lot of doors. He's always been great with us. When you are in a room with Simon Cowell you can have a debate about what songs you should and shouldn't do, but at the end of it all he usually wins - he is Simon Cowell after all. He knows the music business inside out and he has helped us reach the top. Having Simon Cowell in your camp is a massive advantage and we owe so much to him.
You've all made your millions and live incredible lifestyles. Can you still enjoy the normal things in life or does it all have to be bling bling now?
Nicky: I was out with my mates during the year off. We'd been out, had a proper and mad night, and we were walking back from a pub we had been in, when a lad came up to me. He said, 'I know you, you shouldn't be round here, you should be in the bling bling bars'. It made me laugh. I'm not really one of that whole celeb lifestyle. I'd rather be in an ordinary pub or a bar than somewhere bling bling.
Shane: My biggest passions, beside my family, are golf and snooker. So you don't need millions to be able to play those sports! It's the simple things in life that are the best.
