Interview:
Mark – Westlife
–
February 2006
Large
oaks grow from small acorns and who’d of thought seven years ago that Westlife would still be dominating the charts today. In the
fickle world of pop bands come and go as often as Jennifer Lopez gets married
but Westlife have managed to stand the test of time.
They have had their highs and their lows that has seen
marriages, births and the loss of a band member.
It really seems as
though this is going to be Westlife’s year. After
their four-month absence they were back with a vengeance and a new album,
Face To Face, which scored them another number one on the album chart.
The heartfelt ballad You Raise Me Up and the Christmas duet with Diana
Ross When You Tell Me That You Love Me reached the dizzy heights of the
charts, February single release Amazing peaked at #4, and they are about to
embark on a nationwide tour.
I
caught up with the lovely Mark from Westlife to get
him to spill the beans of their chances of scooping a Brit, dance routines and
working with the Kaiser Chiefs.
Congratulations on your all the success that
you have encountered since coming back with your new album. Have you been
surprised at any point by it all?
“Yes we were
surprised I suppose as we weren’t expecting it to do as well as it has done. We
are up on the success of the second album which is normally the best album of a
band and its biggest album; especially with pop
acts.”
“Obviously
if we realised an album and it did absolutely crap then we would have to start
thinking about calling it a day but this album has certainly proved to us, and
our label, that the fans still obviously want us. It has proved to us that it is
not over unless we want it to be and we don’t want it to be
over.”
Tell
us more about recent single Amazing?
“It
is slightly different to the first two singles that we have released off the
album; I suppose it is a little bit more fresh sounding
and more mainstream pop. It is a mid-tempo song and a bit more springy and
summery than the last two.”
As
it is a bit more up-tempo will there be any dance routines to accompany the
single?!
“(Laughs)
Absolutely not! I think we have learnt over the years
that we should leave the dancing to other people. I’m not saying that we won’t
be doing a few moves on tour but we don’t really look at ourselves as a ‘dancing
group’ so we are not going to be morphing into some wannabe
N-Sync!”
You
have had thirteen number ones now. Do you kind of expect your singles to go to
number one now or is their still excitement to find your place in the mid-week
charts?
“We
get texts off of our record company day by day telling us how it is going ! This year more than ever we have been so interested
in the midweek sales and it is very exciting for us. No matter what we have done
in the past we are here now and on our current album, which we never expected to
go to number one. It’s just not like that, no matter what we have done in the
past we still have to treat it as here and now and we never get presumptuous
about things. ”
Would
you ever consider getting a hand in the producing or maybe some Westlife penned tracks?
“Personally
I have a big interest in that anyway. I have a little set up at home and I have
just bought a new house and I am going to be putting a studio in there as well.
Some of the lads play golf and this is my hobby. It is not necessarily that I am
trying to write songs for Westlife or get songs on any
albums I do it because I really enjoy it. I daren’t necessarily be on a Westlife album anyway if you know what I mean; it’s just
something that I enjoy to do.”
How
many more numbers ones can you see Westlife
having?
“I
have no idea! Hopefully w e will have a few more but it is very hard to tell.
Take this album so far we have had a number one and number two from it and
hopefully the third single will do well. We will obviously do another album
after this because it has done so well and after if that if that does well we
will keep on going you know.”
You
could be the next Rolling Stones and carry on into your
sixties!
“Well…maybe!”
“That
would be a dream come true to do something like that. When I write stuff it is
not like a Westlife song and that
kinda balances out a bit; they are more
up-tempo. I would love someone to record them
actually.”
Who
would be your ultimate?
“It’s
hard to tell. I would like to do a track with the type of singers that might be
on a Basement Jaxx track; they are just really good
singers and its not all about a pop star singing, just a really good vocalist. I
like the idea of hearing a song that I have done in a club. ”
Acts
like the Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand dominate the charts at the minute and
it can seem as though pop is slowly dying out. What do you think?
“I
particularly love Franz Ferdinand, I think they are great. I do love this whole
new kinda wave of rock band a lot but on the other
hand I think there will always be a place for pop but its always going to change.”
You
have obviously worked with high profile figures could you ever see yourself
taking a totally unexpected route and hook up with a group like The Kaiser
Chiefs to work with?
“I
don’t think they would have it! I love the idea of collaborating with anybody.
It is good to be in a band with four people but bringing in an extra voice or
musician is always fun.”
You
have your tour coming up shortly. What can your fans expect from the
show?
“For
the last three or four years we have had the same structure to the show and this
year we are going to totally change it because it was getting to the point where
the fans almost knew what to expect and where the slow bits were and where we
broke it down. This year we don’t want them to know what to expect and we are
going to totally change it up. The goal is still the same which is to entertain
them and give them value for money with a great night
hopefully.”
Do
you have any surprises in store?
“We
always try and surprise them in some way because you have the gift of having a
massive stage where you can pop out of no-where from and there are bangs and
pyrotechnics and things like that. We will always try and shock them a bit or
pop out of somewhere unexpected like last year where we came onto the stage by
entering through the crowd at the back and this year it will be something
totally different again!”
What
do you miss most when you are on the tour?
“I
suppose simple things like home cooking, my house, driving aro und in my car. I do
enjoy being on tour as I have got used to it and after this long it is kinda like being at home too. We have everything we need on
tour. I do miss not seeing my friends and going to the
pub.”
Do
you have any pre-show rituals?
“Not
really I just like to get away from all the meetings and crazy things! I like
having candles on and music on and the room in darkness but none of the rest of
the lads like it so it is always quite mad in our dressing room before we go on
stage! I should just try and get my own one and then I could man my own dressing
room!”
What
is your favourite song to perform?
“Probably
World of Our Own.
We have performed it millions of times but I never get sick of it and I enjoy
singing it every time.”
Do
you have any funny tour stories?
“We
were performing in the realm once – the stage in the middle – and the musicians
were inside of that in a circle in the middle. We started legging it round the
stage really fast and Shane wasn’t looking where he was going and ended falling
all over the drum machines and basically it was very funny! It was the best
summersault I have ever seen him do in his life!”
When
Ronan Keating was well established he decided to manage yourselves. Now you are well established is this something
that you can see yourselves doing?
“I
don’t think I would be cut out for management to be honest. It is a bit of a
risk-game and it is much more business oriented. Although I was saying I really
enjoyed writing earlier, I like hearing really good singers and putting together
a fantasy band. I used to think I would like to do management but no I think it
is a bit too rootless and it is too business orientated so it is not really my
cup of tea to be honest.”
Credit/Source:
www.myvillage.com