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Interview: Mark: Westlife
Interview: Mark - Westlife
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Mark from Westlife
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.???
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