Ritchie's Interview 22 Dec 06
What have you been doing for the past five years?
The band split of course, then I left the record company and management and started on my musical journey. Exploring different styles and stuff like that. I'd have to call it almost like my own personal therapy after the madness of five years. Spent a lot of time in Ibiza in clubs dancing... just found myself on the dance floor. I had fun, a real good time, letting my hair down and reminding myself who I was... which has been a steady thing for the past five years. I was trying to feel like myself again which has been really cool. What else did I do? I fell in love. Had an on-going four year relationship, moved to the countryside, played the bumpkin for awhile and learned to cook.. in between having my rock band and doing a university tour. I went to India. Being a hippy. Loving music, loving people, meeting more people. Growing up. Well, not growing up too much. (laughs)
You began a solo career doing rock music but you suddenly stopped. Why?
I'd come to a point where I really couldn't do music anymore. It would send me into a weird place in my mind. I fell out of love with music for a little bit. And when you've loved it so much, it's a weird thing to happen. Five years in the music business kind of takes that veneer off it. What is an airy-fairy dream turns into a reality and you can get a little jaded with it. There's a lot of sharks out there. And for many reasons basically fell out of love with music. And it's only in the past six months that I've fully started back. I've always loved music, don't get me wrong. It hasn't been five years not listening to any music. I've just been out and bought myself an iPod because it's been too long and I haven't had one. And I'm just totally in love with music again. I'm looking forward to getting in the studio and letting it all come out.
Also the management I had at the time, that was the final straw, had a difference of opinion on some money, shall we say. And that was my final thing. It still gets to me. Finding people I can trust for looking after your affairs. I also needed to explore what I could do outside of the music industry. I needed to open my eyes, look around at the world and go, "OK, if I don't do music, what is it that I'm going to do?" So after doing that for awhile, I realised that music was what I did. So there's no getting away from it, no hiding from it. I've just got to stare it in the face and just do it. And do it because I love it and not focus on other things.
How do you think you've changed as a person in five years?
Massively, massively, massively. There's just so much. From who I was in the early days, all those stresses and strains that were put on top of me in the following years. I didn't even realise how much I've changed until recently, how the music industry and just being so young would effect me so massively. There were so many pictures and they didn't portray who I really was. I was always a rocker and a bit of a hippy and they didn't show me as who I was. It gets in the way of knowing yourself. It's confusing but it's nice to have come back to earth.
Has your musical taste or style changed in the past five years and how do you think it will affect Five's new music?
Fundamentally, no, it hasn't changed. I like all sorts of music from classical to house to rock/soul. At the moment I'm blown away by Ray The Mountain (Le Montaine). He's American. Kinda rocky, soulful, funky. And I really like JET. Rock I suppose is a general theme with me but there's all manner of other types of music that I listen to, that I can say "that's crap" or I think that's really good. Anything that's musically good and lyrically intelligent. I'm not really fond of modern hip-hop because I think hip-hop's lost its way. Compared to the old-school stuff, it's just watered down and cheese now.
We know what we're gonna do musically with the band and we're just gonna do it. It's gonna be a lot more from the heart and a lot more what we want to do. Lyrically a lot stronger than before.
How would you like to see Five represent themselves to the press and their fans this time around?
Honestly and truthfully, I'm not going to contrive an image on how we present ourselves. Such as in certain clothes, which becomes an image in and of itself. Just more real, more saying the things we want to say. I don't really know because it's like an evolution at the moment. We're kind of evolving something and we're really just at the start of that process. We are just going to be ourselves.
What do you see is your role in the band? What do you contribute personally and musically?
For sure I'm the rock-head. Definitely representing rock. (laughs a lot) The rock guy. I'm not gonna try to analyze myself too much because it can get a bit weird. So I just try not to think about it and just bring whatever I bring.. and whatever anyone else thinks that I bring to them. Rather than going, "I wanna bring THIS to the band". Again, its an evolution. It'll happen naturally.
Ideally, what do you hope Five can accomplish with this comeback?
Hopefully we can touch hearts and minds with our music and we can be very successful again. Sell a lot of records, do some really big gigs. Have fun and be on the road, singing again. I'm just totally up for it now. Yeah. I'm so up for being out and about all over the world.
What's it like being together with the boys again?
(Laughs) It IS very natural. It never felt weird. It IS funny. The studio can really be quite funny. You've all got a lot of different influences coming into the mix and it can get a bit overwhelming at times. You know, whoooooah, where we gonna take this? But the end product is tending to be really quite good, you know? We're happy with it. But it's really fun and it's really cool.
I feel that like before, we were put together. We were almost forced together. And we were all from very different parts of the country, very different upbringings. And none of us, we were too young, had a wider understanding or an acceptance of other things. I guess in a way, we clashed before whereas now, it just enriches everything that we are so different. We're older now and we understand each other. We give each other space to be ourselves. Before we would try to change one another a little bit because we were together all the time. And it can get weird anyway being with the same people 24 hours a day for years on end. So its cool now. We have room to breathe and acceptance of one another. It's really a nice working environment. Everyone just wants to get the job done and get it done right.
The band dynamic is different too. We used to record a lot separately. Now we're together and all involved. Something that all bands struggle with sometimes is writing splits. Whether, for arguments sake, I wrote all of a song, I'm still gonna split it four ways with the other guys. So whatever anybody earns, it's all gonna be split four ways. Because when you do it the other way, people are clamouring in, "I want my bridge in there" even though its not really the best bridge but you've got a verse in there and no one gets the royalty unless their name's in it too. None of that will come into it with us now. It's all about music. It's really really cool. Best way to do it.
Scott's Interview - 13 Nov 2006
What have you been doing since Five split in 2001?
Since the split on September 27th 5 years ago, I got married the very next day, the 28th, to Kerry. As some of you may know, I had a boy named Brennan two months before Five split. Brennan was at the wedding and all the boys came down too. We had a lovely country wedding. I done a stint on radio. I was on Essex Fm, which is a radio station where I live. I did that for about 6 months. That's where I met Chris Brooks who now works on Capital Fm in London. He's a good mate. I've been a family man with Brennan and Kerry and Kavan, my new baby son.. just being a good husband. Then I got a part in a show called "Boogie Nights 2" which I done for about a year and a half with David Essex and Sophie Lawrence. That was great. I done that for a long time and enjoyed every minute of it. I didn't know how much I'd enjoy it until I started doing it. After that, I got involved in getting singing lessons for people and doing a little bit of producing and some writing. Then 5 years were gone and Five reformed. That's 5 years in a nutshell.
How have you changed as a person in the past 5 years?
Well, basically I've turned from a boy into a man. While I was in Five I went from about 17 to 22. I didn't know much about life really and I had to grow up very quickly being in Five. After Five, I grew up even more. The split changed me. Obviously I am a much different person that if I'd stayed in the band. I don't know what the results would have been in me without it. I pride myself on not changing and not getting snobbish or, for want of a better phrase, up my own arse. I feel quite grounded but I think we all are. And I've always lived in the area I grew up in.
So yes, I'm a lot older, a lot more mature. I've got more to say for myself. I'm a little more opinionated, although I always was, but now even more so. I want to know a lot more what's going on with everything. I think having kids did that. I'm the only one in the band that's married and settled down and such. I think that changes you, makes you responsible and turns you into an adult quickly.
Has your musical style/taste changed in the past 5 years and how do you think it will affect Five's new music?
My musical tastes have maybe changed slightly. I've always liked bands like Green Day, Razorlite, Snow Patrol. But I'll never stop liking.. the boys take the piss out of me all the time... Richard Marx and the like. Singers singing beautiful songs. But my musical tastes have broadened themselves. I still don't like hard techno or drum and bass. I'm getting too old and it gives me a headache. I'd rather have a can of Stella then listen to drum and bass.
I don't know how my taste is going to change what Five does. You can't really know. What we wish to do and what we want to do this time is different. We haven't got a record company at the moment. We all want to write cool music and I wouldn't say, "I wanna be more 'Green Day' and J would say, "It's gotta be more hip-hop". We all want to influence the sound ever so slightly and make it, hopefully, into really unique sounding music which we're trying to do in the studio at the moment. Trying to bring something fresh and then go to the record companies afterwards. Then you can all go out and buy the records.
How would you like to see Five represent themselves to their fans and the press this time?
Pretty much like we did before. We were very honest last time and we'll be very honest again. Maybe we were slightly TOO honest last time and that set off a few too many people. So maybe we'll tone it down ever so slightly. We want our fans to know where they stand and I think they always did. They knew When to approach us and when not to, when we were in a bad mood and when we were in a great mood. I think that's the downfall of some other bands. The fans never know what's up. Other bands can always be hiding what's happening. The fans are thinking, "These boys are always happy, always full of smiles." But we're just blokes, we're people. And the fans have always known that about us. And that's how we want to be seen, certainly from the press point of view.
And we want people to judge us on our music this time around instead of keeping on calling us a 'boyband', so we must be crap. And saying we're just coming back because we wanna do the same thing again and that's not what we're gonna be doing. We want to make good music. We've all been in and around music since Five split. I mean, I've certainly been in the studio recording my own stuff and I've been recording other people. I just wanna show everyone what I can do. I'm sure it's the same for the other boys. We're gonna write good music and let the press judge us from that. If they think we wrote a good song, why not say it instead of slagging us off for being in a 'boyband'?
What is your role in the band now? What do you add both personally and musically?
Since the band reformed.. well, I've always been opinionated and I suppose I'm the most organized in the sense that I've got a family, a wife, "2.4 kids and a dog". So I've had to be organized since the band split and the other boys really haven't. You know, they can get up when they want to, do what they want to. So I kind of organize things for the band a little bit more. The management call me first, go over the schedule with me and I'll phone all the boys and speak to them. You know, "Whatcha think of this, whatcha think of that?" So I'm doing that and the boys are happy with it.
Vocally and band-wise, I'll do what I've always done. Some writing, some singing. I've always wanted to chip in more with the songs. And that's one thing I love about Five. There isn't a lead singer in this band. One song, I'll be the lead and the next, I'll only sing the chorus and harmony. Other bands got lead singers. I've never wanted to be in a band where there's just one lead singer and I'm a guy who stands in the back and just does harmonies. I have more to offer than that which is why I love being in Five. Because everyone at some point in this will have more than one chance to prove they have the ability to nail a song. Whether it be rapping with J and Abz, singing heavy or soft. Something I would like to say is that I know Abz sung a lot on our last album and people think that J can't sing, but he can. So watch out for that.
What do you hope Five can accomplish with this comeback?
I hope that people can see us as more than just with the stygma of being a boyband. See us as songwriters with good voices and a lot to add to the music world. I wouldn't be coming back just to be wasting my time.We want to be a success. And I think given the time and the right vibe in the studio, we can achieve a great album and go on wherever we want to go. We're not just doing this for a little while. We want to actually come back and be a proper band, hopefully for a long time. As long as the public want us. Do an album, do a second album or whatever it takes. We want to do it and make sure that we're up there writing really good songs, which we always really knew we could do.
The only real reason we quit was because we were so incredibly tired and over-worked. Everyone said it was arguments, and yeah there was a few - I won't lie about it, but it was only because we were so over-worked and we would just be pressured every day. But we prove it wrong by still being good friends now. So we refuse to work as hard as we were worked before. Slow and steady.. we're getting old now. (laughs) We'll get things done. We want to do everything we possibly can. Europe, America, Australia, obviously everywhere. Try and make people see the real us. We had a massive amount of success and we want to do even more than that. Sell even more albums. It will be a hard task, I mean, we sold a lot of albums. We are going to be slated this time. We don't know if our old audience will be back. It could be difficult for old fans to realize that we have grown-up and therefore our music has grown-up. We're not going to be singing your 'Got The Feeling's and 'Slam Dunk Da Funk's and stuff like that because that's when we were 17, 18, 19 years old. Now we're like 27, 28, 29 and.. (laughs) You grow up but the fans have grown up as well. Hopefully they will have gone on to listen to more mature music and we will have caught up with them. We'll be making the kind of music they listen to now.
You're a very intense family man. Will this affect the group and decisions you make?
I've always said very publicly, and the boys all know, that I am a big family man and I don't want to be away from my family all the time. And that's something me and the boys have spoken about already. I wouldn't be in this band if I could never get to see my kids. As long as the schedule is settled so I can be with my wife and my two boys and my family. It's not gonna work if I'm not happy. Because before, I was always the one who wanted to take Kerry with me or stay home with Brennan and the boys didn't have any girlfriends or any commitments really. But now, they all do what they want to do, whether it's socially or with a girlfriend. So everyone wants to have a life outside Five this time. Not just me. So we all sat down with management and said, listen.. we can't be worked like dogs. I mean, we really want to work hard but we want to have that time to chill out. If Kerry comes out with me on tour or if I'm going to be gone longer than I like, she can bring the boys out too. If David Beckham can do it, why can't I? The boys and managers are happy with that cause they know it's bollocks to me without them. I need to be happy with both sides: my life with my family and my job.
Is there anything you'd like to say about yourself to help people understand you better?
Just that I'm a normal lad from a normal background with the same friends that I've always had. I've been with Kerry for nearly 9 years, married more than 5. I like football. Arsenal are my everlove. I like puppies. I play football every Sunday now, five-a-side, and I love that. I'm getting better and better every week and I've scored a few goals. I play poker. Texas Hold'em. Some of the others didn't know I was playing poker a lot of the time I was off. TV tournaments and other tournaments in casinos and stuff. It was all getting to the stage where I was thinking of playing professionally. Love the game. I'm very good at it, I have to say. Blowing my own trumpet as always. I'll continue to play. When I'm with the band, I'll probably be able to play a little bit more and in different tournaments. Um.. I'm like a Southern Northerner.. I say what I like and I like what I bloody well say. Did I say I love Arsenal? I think I may of. I Love Kerry. I LOVE my kids. And I love music which is why I'm doing it.
What's it like being back with the boys again?
It is fun. It's something that I never in my wildest dreams thought would happen. I was the one who made the contact with the boys and said, why don't we give it a go? Next thing, I was being offered these different TV things that I could of done.. I'm not gonna talk about them... I had a few different offers on the table that I could of gone forward and done. They would have got me out there on the telly and doing bits and bobs. I thought, "Before I sign this contract, I wanna speak to the boys about getting together because thats what I truly love to do." I didn't think there was a chance in hell of it. But they come round my house one day to play pool, chill out and have a few Stellas with me. I mean me, J and Rich had a few Stellas. Sean drunk a few Coca Colas because he doesn't drink anymore. And Abz drunk wine. We had a good drink, we had a good chat. We spoke to Sean and he wasn't interested in doing it. Now the fans know that Five are going on without Sean. Sean is very happy doing his solo career and we wish him all the best. I speak to Sean all the time. I'm probably the closest to him, which will surprise people I think. I'm very very close to Sean. We see each other all the time. No hard feelings there.
I know we've got negative press, that we'll not be a success. We feel we'll be a success if we're given a fresh slate and a fair chance at it. The only way we feel we won't be successful is if people keep putting obstacles in our way just because we're a boyband that's come back. These people are saying that we're just jumping on the bandwagon of all the bands that are reforming. We don't care about that. All we care about is making a really really strong album and an amazing single.. which we could have already made last week, I have to say.. just really go for it, watch this space and see what happens. And thank you very much.
Interview with Abz Breen, 25 October 2006
What have you been doing with yourself the past five years?
Where do I start? A lot of partying and late nights. Relationship issues. Women. Partying and craziness and general madness. It's kinda hard to explain it. Basically it's been a bit of a mad one since I've been out of the band. I don't know. It's still quite a roller coaster.
I went to the Maldives. I went to quite a few places actually. I can't remember them all just now. I did L.A. (Los Angeles) and quite a few Sunday markets.
How did Five's split effect you personally?
I didn't want to split. From day one, I was always like, "What's wrong with you guys? Stop crying and let's just stay together." But I tried to get on and do my own thing. So you just carry on. Life goes on and that's it. It's all part of the mad experience.
How have you changed as a person since Five split?
I think a lot of people are saying I've changed a lot physically. My dad didn't recognize me. That was a bit of a shock. I was like, hey...ok. But mentally, more of "I don't give a damn". You know what I'm saying? With just that kind of attitude, man. I'm getting too old for this shit, you know. Playtime's over. Let's just do what we have to do. It's about being who you have to be and doing what you have to do to get the job done properly. It's more of a 'screw you' kinda attitude. I've had that five year period where I could kinda chill out and have my own time and do what I had to do. So coming back into it now makes you appreciate it. You know what I'm saying? Bracing yourself for it. The fans make you feel like you can do anything. They love you up and everything you do is perfect. They make you feel like you can say anything and do whatever you want and all of a sudden that's gone. And it's kind of a shock. You get used to it. Now we're back in the limelight again and trying to work it hard. It's the next chapter now. I'm 27. I've got Lamborghinis to buy and yachts to sail and women to meet.
Has your musical style/taste changed in the past five years and how will it affect Five's new music?
I personally really haven't been different. The other boys basically do what they have to do. We all voice our opinions when it comes to musical preferences.. what we're into, what we're not into. I'm quite eclectic when it comes to music. I listen to everything. All types of music from Motown to classical to chill to drum and bass to funky house. I'm bringing that kind of edge whereas I know Rich is quite into his rock. So I kind of compromise and hear what he has to say while he hears what I have to say. And hopefully that brings something to the style of our music now.
I've changed in that I've heard five more years of songs. So I've had time to explore and discover new tracks and new music. And that's all gonna be incorporated into the style now. I don't know how to give you a definition of what the style is or how I've changed in that sense. Until we get into the studio and write it and hear how it sounds. Get inspired by the music and see what we can come up with.
How do you want to see Five represent themselves to the press and their fans this time around?
We've never had anything to hide. What you see is what you get. Personally, I can't speak for the rest of the boys, I'm all about living for the moment. Enjoying my time while I've got it and while we're in the spotlight. It's kinda rare for someone to have two shots, to be able to come back and be successful. So I'm just hoping that people see what we're trying to do and feel it.
How do you see your role in the band now?
I'm not too sure to be honest with you. I'm trying to figure out what my role is in the band at the moment. I'm having, like, chats with a psychiatrist every other week. I don't know what my purpose is in the band. They're trying to help me with that and trying to discover who I am.
Ideally, what do you hope Five can accomplish with this comeback?
Um, sell a few records would be nice. I think we jumped off kinda early and we had a lot of juice left in us. Before we get too old and too unflexible. This time around, just try and achieve and hit that hot spot. Try and set the tone again. Because loads of people come up to me and say how "You guys set the benchmark for all the new bands". And some members of some new bands have come up and said "Hey man, you guys have to come back". So whatever we do, we've gotta redefine the scene. Like when we first came out. No one was doing our style of music. This time around, coming back again, we'll have to bring something fresh or new to the mix again. Set a benchmark. And it's gotta be good, whatever it is. And we definitely wanna be universal. We want them to be bumping and shit on Saturn. In the far outer reaches of space. Aliens will be buying us at their alien HMV stores.
What can you say about your solo career?
It was rubbish, basically. I didn't have creative or artistic freedom. The wrong A & R people, politics, falling out with management & the record company. I was kinda stuck in the middle, making music I didn't wanna make. I thought, "Why I am bothering?"
Is there anything you'd like to say about yourself to make people understand you better?
Not really. Hopefully I'll just come across as... to be honest with you, I like that "bit of mystery". You know, even girlfriends don't get past that gate. That deepest darkest part of me. I'll always be a kind of a mystery. So I don't know. I don't try to be anything but what it is.
What's it like being together with the guys again?
It's wicked, man. I miss these idiots. I forgot what it was like. Just being back. Everyone's like, "We know what we have to do. We know each other." It's just nice being together, catching up and looking forward to the future and what that holds for us. I'm sure it'll be a nice experience again, another chapter.
Interview with J Brown - 12 Oct 2006
1. What have you been doing with yourself the past 5 years?
For the past 5 years I've been reading a lot of what I suppose people would call philosophies, mostly Eastern philosophies. That literally, even though it sounds like quite a mental thing, has taken up most of my time since I came out of Five. And then I've done a little bit of traveling. I went to India for a couple of months by myself and then met up with some friends there. I've been touring around Europe a little bit. We went back to Sweden to see some friends there a few times, that I met when we were in the band. Um.. the south of France, then in the Alps. I've been around quite a bit of France actually, snowboarding with Rich. And over to southern Spain because some of my family live over there so I've spent quite a bit of time. It's always like a haven in the wintertime when it's freezing cold in England. You go over and it's kind of like a spring day. And that's what most of the five years have been really. Quiet.
I've done a bit of writing for a few people. I went down to a studio with Biff Stannard, who we did some of the stuff with Five, and we did some writing and producing there. But that was literally only a little bit. Basically my time has been taken up reading these philosophies that I've been into. A little bit of Yoga, a little bit of meditation. Just balancing my life up after the absolute madness that was being in Five.
2. How have you changed as a person since Five split?
Oh gosh. I guess everybody changes over a period of five years. The biggest change that's happened within myself is that I calmed down a lot, as in not being stupid, but I can still regress to being about 16 when I'm back around the guys. But I've chilled out a lot within myself. It was obvious to other people that I had a few anger issues deep down somewhere. And I really didn't see it that much myself. But I'm a lot more of a mellow person, not saying that I'm never gonna freak out and scream at someone or grab somebody if somebody does something to me. But I'm definitely not walking around kind of screaming with anger anymore.. and I used to be very over-opinionated as well. And I'm kind of glad that side disappeared to quite a large degree.
So I'm just overall a more mellow person, I suppose. And I take life a lot easier as well. I don't take it all as serious as I used to, which is very good for the head. I'm a lot more easy-going. And I don't see it all as seriously as I saw it before. I used to think that I had to succeed and if I didn't succeed, that I wouldn't get to where I wanted to be. But now I just kinda float through it and sort of.. well, I obviously want an outcome of some kind but I'm not totally attached to the outcome nowadays. It isn't the be-all and end-all. If something succeeds or not, like with the relaunch of the band. This time I'm quite certain it is going to work and I want it to work, but if it doesn't, it won't devastate my world like it would have before.
3. Has your musical taste/style altered in the past 5 years and how will it affect Five's new music?
Yeah, I would say my musical taste has changed a lot. I was always into loads of different kinds of music, but my core stuff obviously was hip-hop and 80's soul, and that influenced a lot of what I used to try and put into the band. Because I was just solely rapping and that was the biggest thing that I was into. I was always into other things like some heavy metal, pop music but it was mainly hip-hop. And then literally for this past 5 years, I haven't listened to, it might have been 3 times, any rap or hip-hop. I just don't find it entertaining anymore. To be very blunt, they're all just talking absolute bullshit and I just can't be bothered listening to it. People chatting on about buying big cars and how many diamonds they're wearing and drinking champagne and Hennesey. I just find it really really boring and played out. I'm just not fully into that scene anymore, but every now and again I do hear some hip-hop that I think is really brilliant but it's very few and far between nowadays. I'm a massive fan of good rap but there isn't much of it around at the minute. It all sounds the same.
So I suppose I got more into really good dance music, intelligent dance music. And chill-out stuff. That's the type I'm into now. Buddha beats. Some compilations where it's sort of eastern-y. Really nice mellow beats. But I also like good guitar music as well. So, my tastes have changed a lot since Five so that's gonna bring something different to the band. I'm gonna have to be careful since I'm into a more mellow sound these days. The music that I was writing on my own little studio was more mellow type stuff and not really suited to what Five are doing. So I can't really bring that side to it.
But I do love doing rap and putting rhymes together, but I'm just not impressed by the other music I hear. I'm not by any means saying that I think I'm as good as other people. I won't rate myself in that sense. I don't think that I'm brilliant. I just think I can put some good rhymes together sometimes. So I'll be doing it. I just can't be arsed to listen to some of the crap that's out there that's called rap and hip-hop nowadays. You have to be into the scene deeply and dig away to find the good stuff.
4. How do you want to see Five represent themselves to the press and their fans this time around?
Well the way we are doing it is that we're just being completely natural. It's really weird with the media. It's like the media have a go at people for putting on a bit of a front and putting on the whole celebrity/famous thing. Then if people act the opposite, act themselves, then the press will have a go at them for certain remarks they might make. You actually can't win. That's one thing we've all learned from the Five years before. You can't win with the press so you might as well be natural and act yourself. And if you do say some slightly controversial things, if the press jump them, well, that's what they do anyways. So we're all going to be completely natural with it and if it doesn't work, then since we'll all be that way, it doesn't work. It's not a case of "we're gonna fabricate things and be false" just to make it work.
Although we were very honest last time, we still had to be guarded on a lot of stuff we said. Myself and Rich spoke out about the fact that every now and again we smoked a joint, because someone asked us the honest question. And it was actually for a magazine that was doing something on the cannabis debate, so we were on it. The next thing, it's blasted all over the tabloids saying, "Should you be letting your kids buy records from these two men who are drug addicts" and all this crap. You can drag yourself down with constantly trying to filter what you say. It ends up being too stressful. This time around, we'll be ourselves and hopefully people will accept that. It just becomes too much of a head-fuck when you try to monitor every single thing you're saying to people. Trying to see it through the filter of a parent or something. Because we're not gearing our music strictly towards kids this time, we can just be natural with what we're saying.
We're hoping the fans, the public and media like that and accept it. If not, we'll just have to bow out graceful and disappear. I'm like a 30 year old man now. I really can't be bothered if somebody asks me a question, coming out with all these childish answers, thinking, "Oh I can't say that 'cause the newspapers might latch onto it." The press constantly monitor for anything they can blow out of proportion. I'm just gonna be myself and see what everyone makes of it. I'm not a nasty person. I'm not gonna have anything to "say". Even my political views, I'm not right out there with anything so I don't feel anything I could say would be majorly out of order. Unless somebody wants to try and twist it. That's up to them.
Everytime we went to a different country, whether it was South America or in Europe, the press would be like 200% better than the English press. They would always say to us that our press was world renowned for being really nasty bastards. I think it's a really strange phenomenon with the British press. They just want to bring people down when all those people are doing is trying to make something of their lives. It's very strange.
5. What do you see your role in the band now? What do you contribute to the mix that is Five?
It's gonna be different than before because I'm 100% more passive than I used to be. When the band started up, I was like 20 something years old and some of the guys were 15, 17 years old. It was natural for me to take a slightly more dominant role within the band. And that was actually brought on by the fact that they chose someone my age. They wanted someone to be a little older. Not that that was always a good thing. I don't want anything like that now. I won't have that role anyway because everyone is in their mid 20's, some have kids now. It's not for me to be.. it's overpowering anyway. I'm just sort of going to float around within the band. I don't see as I've got a certain role to play. I think other people might want to take a lead in organizing, in how things go. And I'm just gonna sit in there and give my opinion and do my little thing. It will be a little bit different than last time for me.
6. Ideally, what do you hope Five can accomplish with this comeback?
I would really really love for us to achieve the thing we always felt we could achieve with Five in the first place. We sold millions of records but everybody, ourselves included, knew that it should've been a bigger thing than it was. I suppose that's quite important this time. But overall, I'd prefer if everyone would be able to have more of a creative outlet this time. The ultimate thing I'd like us to achieve is happiness for everybody. Obviously this would include a bit of success, a bit of money and just peace of mind. People doing something that they want to be doing and just enjoying it.
7. Five years is a long time out of the spotlight, are you ready for all this again?
I'm absolutely ready for this. I've personally had 5 years of being in a really quiet place and a quiet state. I'm actually one of the people who wanted to get it all going again. Experience a bit of madness again, a bit of excitement. It's all in how you handle it obviously. Like anything in life. I'm personally in a much better place this time, to be able to accept the madness and not take it so seriously. And not take people's comments so seriously. Five years is a massive time away and up until less than a year ago, I didn't want to do this again. And then I just thought, fuck it, why not? I wanna have a go at something absolutely mad again before I'm too old to do it. So yes, I'm fully fully fully ready to roar and go. I can't wait for it.
The first time around, we were portrayed as these sort of heart-throbs for 12-13 year old girls. I know there's gonna be younger people into it still but if you're going into the slightly older audience, the 20-something year olds, it's not the same as being in a pub and having 3 20 year olds ask you for an autograph as having a group of 13 year old girls spot you in public and start screaming. It's a different sort of thing to deal with. No offense to young fans or anything because they are what put us in the position we're in. But it is a different thing to deal with. I'm ready for and it and I think it will be absolutely fine. I've had 5 years of the complete opposite so with everything in life, you do things with a bit of balance. 5 years of quiet, a few years of madness.
8. Is there anything that you'd like to say about yourself or your beliefs to make people understand you better?
I suppose people will see that I'm still as mad as before as when we all get together and seem to regress into a state of being about 14 years old. I think people will see that I'm a lot more passive now, which comes from my belief that I see life in a different way now. I just see everything is happening how its happening. Literally, what will be, will be. I'm not as volitional as I was in a sense that I was trying to steer my life, drive my life. People will see that. My beliefs in that you don't have to struggle to make things happen. If they're gonna go that way, they will go that way. That's what's gonna come across to fans. I'll still be a bit of a nutcase, just more placid, I suppose. Because I'm not trying to fight and struggle anymore.