They might be the cheesiest boys in pop, but here Blue tell all about drink, drugs, bisexual affairs and secret children.
Antony on drugs, singledom and suffering three-day hangovers..
Six years ago, four loud-mouthed lads went their separate ways after spending four years in the platinum-selling boy band Blue.
Now, Lee Ryan, 28, Duncan James, 33, Simon Webbe, 32, and Antony Costa, 29, have reformed to represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision in Dusseldorf on May 14.
They’ve grown up, they’ve all had children and they’re adamant they’ve kissed goodbye to the wild-boy images they embraced at the height of their fame.
“The whole clubbing thing isn’t me anymore,” says Antony. “If I go to a club on a Friday night, I don’t recover until Monday morning.”
“The novelty of partying has worn off,” agrees Simon. “We were a bit wild.”
“I was in the top 10 rock ’n’ roll artists – up there with Sid Vicious,” says Lee, proudly. “I always had that edge. But I was really young. I’m 28 now, and I’ve got kids.
“I’m not falling out of clubs and getting up to mischief anymore, but mud sticks.
“And I hate drugs. I’ve always hated drugs. I don’t like what they do to people.”
Lee has spoken in the past about his own cocaine use, but says now he prefers a drink.
“Have you ever sat next to someone on the old devil’s dandruff where they’re jabbering?” he says. “It’s really unattractive. I would pledge to any woman that likes a bit of the other just to leave that stuff alone.”
So what do the guys, who are all unattached, find attractive? “I want someone who makes me laugh,” says Antony. “Someone who has a bit of banter. I just want a bit of company. Someone to cuddle up and watch a DVD.”
Simon on one liners, spicing things up and being a borderline genius..
Lee’s comments about his daughter won’t be the first he’s made that spark a bit of controversy. By his own admission, some of the stranger things he’s come out with have attracted a bit of unwanted attention.
“Some of the things I’ve said, I don’t even agree with,” he admits. “If you go on the internet and type in ‘Lee Ryan one liners’, I think I’m on par with Gandhi.”
One of the most controversial was when, shortly after 9/11, he asked: ‘Who gives a f*** about New York when elephants are being killed?’ And he annoyed his management when he claimed he had high-fived Duncan while indulging in threesomes.
“That whole threesome thing, I was told to say that when I was doing my solo stuff,” he explains. “I started to do really simple interviews, and I wouldn’t say anything stupid. The record company told me I was coming across as boring. They told me to spice it up.
“That was the first interview we did. They were on the phone going: ‘What the f*** did you just say?’ I got in trouble!”
But Lee has his own explanation for why the oddities occur.
“I always look at everyone when we’re on the street and think: ‘We’re like sheep, or ants’,” he says.
“I’ve got a funny way of looking at things. It’s because I’m dyslexic and I was diagnosed with ADD when I was younger. And I’m left handed as well.
“They say if you’re left handed and dyslexic you only use the creative side of your brain. It’s very rare to be left handed and dyslexic, so I’m a bordering genius.”
Duncan is quick to correct him: “A borderline genius,” he says.
Duncan on Bluerovision, bromance and modern pop stars..
The guys might be taking part in the cheesiest music event of the year, but Blue are taking their UK Eurovision bid very seriously. And they’re not going to whip out (or off) any on-stage gimmicks.
“We’re not a gimmicky band,” says Ant. “It’s not Blue. Our gimmick is our voices.” Gimmicks aside, it’s fair to say that entering Eurovision might not be the most credible way to revive a pop career. But the boys are adamant it’s the best way for them.
“When you tell people the statistics, 125million are going to be watching us that night,” enthuses Antony.
But their ex-manager, Daniel Glatman, described their Eurovision bid as ‘reckless insanity’, and compared it to ‘Lewis Hamilton entering a
go-kart race’.
“People are saying it’s career suicide,” says Duncan. “You want support – especially from your old manager. You were with us for six years, you made an awful lot of money off us. We bought your house, we bought your car. We expect some loyalty.”
The band is currently without a record label. “We’re Blue World – that’s our label,” says Simon.
“We’ve got a whole album written, with a second single,” adds Duncan. “I think people will be surprised. We’ll come back with a big club banger.”
As much as they’re thinking ahead, there’s still a lot of nostalgia for the old days. “It’s like being at school,” says Duncan. “We have group hugs. It’s very bromance. For a semi-straight band we’re very gay.”
But the boys note that the industry has changed while they’ve been away.
“It seems like everyone’s well media trained,” laments Lee. “I miss the outspoken pop stars like Lily Allen.”
Lee on fatherhood, paternity tests and bonding with babies..
All four of the boys are now dads, but Lee’s paternal skills have been called into question recently after the grandmother of his three-year-old daughter, Bluebelle, with ex Jessica Keevil, accused him of not paying child support.
“I don’t see her as much because I’ve got my own son,” he says. Lee is a father to two-year-old boy Rayn with his on-off girlfriend Samantha Miller.
“People can say what they want about me and I don’t give a s***. They can go swing. But when it comes to my children and I’m being called a bad father... really, it wasn’t my choice to have the girl, not that I’m shunting any responsibility.
“She came forward after a year and a half and went, ‘Alright, there’s your child, now you do this’. I’ve got my own family. And the work schedule at
the moment is absolutely massive. If I have a day off, out of everything, I’ll probably see my son, if the truth be honest.
“I haven’t quite had the chance to bond with Belle yet, and I’m not gonna take responsibility for that yet. I’ve paid for her, and I have seen her.”
Lee met Jessica in a club in 2007. After a paternity test in 2009, he accepted Bluebelle as his daughter and agreed to arrange access rights and child support.
“For her to expect me to suddenly kick into being a dad, suddenly pick her up and say: ‘oh alright,’ and have some bond with her from 18 months old to two years – it’s quite difficult,”he admits.
“I haven’t done anything wrong and I’m not a bad bloke. I’ll do what I’ve got to do in my own career and my own life. For my own happiness. I’m not gonna be bent over a barrel and told what to do.”
Blue’s single, I Can, is out now. The Eurovision Song Contest final is on May 14, on BBC1.
Pics: Adrian Green