60 Second Interview With Mark Feehily (December 2005)

 

Mark Feehily

 

by Andrew Williams, December 12th, 2005

Singer Mark Feehily is one-quarter of Irish crooners Westlife whose sappy ballads and wholesome image have shifted more than 34million albums worldwide. Mark came out as gay this year and is dating Kevin McDaid from defunct boyband V. Westlife release their new single, When You Tell Me That You Love Me, which features Diana Ross, today.


60 SECONDS EXTRA!: What do you listen to?
In my car, I listen to my CDs or chart music. When we're in clubs, people usually play hip hop or R&B. At home, I listen to lots of stuff. I like Stevie Wonder and Prince. I listen to old stuff on my iPod. I really like the soundtrack to Boy George's musical, Taboo. I've been listening to a band called The Used. I've got the new Luther Vandross tribute album and Mary J Blige does a really good version of Never Too Much.

60 SECONDS EXTRA!: Is the stuff you do in your studio in preparation for a solo career?
Not really. I've done stuff even before I was in the band. It's totally random. Westlife is quite set in its sound so I like doing stuff outside it. I'm not a musician so it's more based around vocal arrangements and beats with a very basic backing track. Eventually, I'd love to get proper musicians to play the music and turn them into songs. I'd love one day to have people record songs I've written. My favourite place is the studio. It's the only thing I could stay up all night doing. I'm not preparing for a solo career at the moment. I'm focusing completely on Westlife.

This single's another ballad then?
Yes. The major difference is it's got Diana Ross on it but it's another Westlife-style ballad.

Does sitting on a stool singing ballads get a bit samey?
Of course it does but we don't do that all the time. I do plenty in my own studio at home to make up for it. People only ever see us sitting on stools doing ballads but that's not the only thing we're interested in. It's just what we, Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh end up picking for the singles. There are mid-tempo and a couple of uptempo songs on the album.

Brian McFadden's solo career has gone off the boil. Does that put you off going solo?
We're all very different. Just because Brian was in the band doesn't mean we're the same person. I don't think people have seen the last of him. He was attacked by the press for whatever reasons [for dumping wife Kerry Katona for singer Delta Goodrem]. He just needs to get away from the situation and come back when people won't have such an opinion of him. People are quick to say that's the last of him but he's got a lot more to offer.

The big news is that you're gay. Were you happy with the reception when you came out?
I was delighted. I'd made the decision that I didn't care what the reaction was - and it was 100 per cent positive. But even if it was 100 per cent negative, I wouldn't have changed or made a different decision. I'm perfectly happy with who I am. If they like it, they like it. If they don't, they can lump it. It's no one's choice. It's just the way it is.

60 SECONDS EXTRA!: Didn't Louis Walsh say he wouldn't have put you in Westlife if he'd known you were gay?
I'm not sure about that. I think he said that about Stephen Gately and Boyzone. Louis didn't put the band together. He just saw us and took us on. We all went to school together and put it together ourselves.

Aren't the fans heartbroken?
With some bands, the fans don't even listen to the music. They just stare at them and want to marry them, jump on them and tear their clothes off. We've never been about that. Obviously, the record company marketed us as young boys who people would fancy but we've never been the sort of band with our shirts off because I certainly don't have a six-pack. When I came out, fans' hopes of marrying me one day weren't ruined because that's not what they were interested in in the first place. Everyone's been really positive.

What's the craziest thing a fan has done to meet you?
Crazy is probably the wrong word but the most disturbing thing is when they break into the grounds of my parents' house. They come into the garden and take pictures of my dogs and try to look in the windows. We've had to heighten security. That makes it sound like the house is under siege. It isn't that bad but when they do come to the house, it really pisses me off. As far as I'm concerned, my house, my parents' house and my friends' and family's houses are no-go areas for the fans. They can come to the arenas and hotels but not our private houses. I've had fans come up to me with a picture of my parents' house or of them sitting on my front doorstep and they ask: 'Can you sign this, please?'

How do you react?
It makes my blood boil. I very rarely lose my temper - I'm too patient for my own good - but in those situations, I lose it. I say: 'Don't you dare ever go near my house again. It's totally disrespectful.' I'm sure half of them don't even realise how intrusive it is. They just see watching our houses as the same as watching telly. When it happens, though, it really gets to me.

How many times have you sung Flying Without Wings?
Honestly? About 500. That one and World Of Our Own are the only two songs we don't get sick of singing. All of the others we're sick of by the end of a tour because we do 50 or 60 date tours. I don't know why we don't get fed up of those two but it's nice to have a couple of songs like that.

Your music is among the most requested contemporary songs at funerals. Is that creepy?
No, I think it's beautiful. I've been to quite a few funerals and the songs played are important. Music brings out emotion and if a song gets someone's tears rolling, then it's helped start the grieving process. I think that's great.

 

Credit/Source: Metro Newspaper