MADE FOR TELEVISION

WHILE many people predicted that the Hear'Say express would hit the buffers in 2002, few could have predicted that the brakes would start to grind as early as the second week of the new year, a month short of the anniversary of their launch. Before Hear'Say were a glint in "Nasty Nigel" Lythgoe's eye, however, our American cousins were already enjoying the fruits of their reality-TV creation: O- Town, five young bucks thrown together in an Orlando house by pop svengali Lou Pearlman, the mastermind behind the hugely successful Backstreet Boys and 'NSync. And within weeks of manufactured formation, O-Town proved the unchallengeable selling power of TV shows such as Popstars or Pop Idol releasing Liquid Dreams, the fastest-selling debut single in America ever.

On these shores they've built a fan base on the back of the imported TV show, Making the Band - like our Popstars programme - a second series of which was screened on T4 in the run-up to Christmas. They're also midway through a sell-out UK tour. Having watched them grind away on the relentless pop treadmill, you'd expect an industry- weary bunch to be lounging backstage at the Dominion Theatre, but these guys are as enthusiastic as the day they emerged victorious from the 1,800 also-rans who auditioned.

All-American, blond Ashley is happily rounding up the troops for the interview; spiky-haired Trevor juggles fruit to the amazement of the other four; dreadlocked grunger Jacob channel hops; Hispanic New Yorker Erik flits through the room and chisel-chinned Dan, the last to join the band after a late dropout, climbs over the sofa.

The five have undergone a drastic life change in the past two years. Given three days to tie up their preband existence, move to their Florida HQ, rehearse and get signed (to Clive Davis's J Records), they then had to record an album and try to make a mark on the gigantic US music market.

During this baptism of fire they are adamant that the enormity of the experience didn't prompt second thoughts, even after their ill- judged appearance at the Miss America Pageant, when the band weren't ready to perform. "Everybody realised that we'd been together two weeks and put on a TV show in front of 20 million people, but we didn't even know each other," recalls Jacob.

Their early embarrassments have not only taught them the importance of hard work and careful decision-making, but have brought them closer together.

They rubbish any suggestions of a split or a Kym Marsh-style walkout. "If it finished tomorrow, I would never be happy again. We've worked to make this dream a reality," gushes Dan. "All five of us share that drive," Ashley chips in. "It wouldn't work otherwise."

"It's tiring," continues Erik. "We have three jobs. We are not only TV personalities, but a recording group and a touring band." The blink-of-an-eye transformation from music fans to idols has given the boys a unique perspective on the industry. "I used to think stars were untouchable and so talented but they're just regular people," says Trevor. Ashley agrees: "In America, we were the first band to come together in that weird, awkward way (on TV). But everyone has to start somewhere."

Asked what keeps them in touch with reality when almost every waking hour is organised for them (last year, they spent 320 days on tour and worked 14-hour days), Ashley inadvertently offers a warning to the eventual winner of Pop Idol. "If I didn't have these four guys to relate to then I would have gone crazy. I couldn't cope if this was a solo project." Even the girl groupies hanging around the bins by the stage door don't seem to offer any comfort to gently spoken Erik. "Yeah, there's a lot of women around but it's not healthy to take advantage. You see why they like you, but it's kind of disturbing because they don't really care about you."

To raise flat Erik's spirits I play my trump card and point out an as yet undiscovered fact that his father, Erik Estrada senior, better known as Poncherello in the hit Eighties TV cop show Chips, was a star here two decades before his son. It's news to Erik that Chips was a hit over here, and even bigger news that they are father and son.

"He's not my dad!" squeals Erik as the band break into a round of spontaneous applause amid shrieks of laughter. "We have the same name and he is also from the Bronx, but I've never even met the guy." "I've always wondered why they go so crazy when you do Purple Rain," shouts Trevor. "It's because you wear your dad's cop sunglasses."

_ O-Town's new single, Love Should Be A Crime, is released on J- Records on 11 February.

Copyright 2002
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