GET AWAY FROM IT ALL WITH BRYAN WESTLIFE
The cheeky, fun-loving Bryan whisks us back to his bedroom (ooh!) to reminisce abut his all-singing, all-cartwheeling drama school days.
"This is my Superman duvet which I've had since I was a child. My bedroom here at home is one of my favourite places in the world but I actually spent most of my childhood at the Billie Barrie drama school, just down the road, Mikey from Boyzone went there and so did the twins from B*Witched.
I was really nervous on my first day but I soon perked up when I spotted the girls' drama class going on next door! Soon I was there every Monday after school and on Saturdays too. It was my life. I really loved the tap classes but singing was my favourite thing. I remember winning an Easter egg when I was 7 for singing the Bare Necessities. Another boy won one too and we had a big fight over who was going to get the Crunchie bar egg!
My first major show was The Wizard of Oz. I was one of the flying monkeys and I had to be suspended on wires - very uncomfortable! I also had to dress up as a Munchkin. One day there was a big carnival in town and we had to go out in our costumes to hand out flyers. All my friends were there so I spent the day trying to avoid them.
I used to love doing all the musicals and Grease was my favourite show. We performed it on the Late Late Show. There was one part of the show where I had to do a cartwheel but during rehearsals I started it off on the wrong foot and went Bam! Splat! on the floor! Boyzone were on the same show and I begged my drama teacher to get me their autographs. Ha!
Drama school gave me so much confidence and foundation for what I'm doing now. It made my life a lot easier and happier. The atmosphere was brilliant and everyone became really close cos we spent so much of our spare time together. Unfortunately the only time I ever got to kiss a girl on stage was when I was wearing a huge whale outfit in The Little Mermaid. I lunged forward for the kiss but because of the costume I was still about three feet away from her when our characters kissed! Ah well."
GET AWAY FROM IT ALL WITH KIAN WESTLIFE
The music-mad, guitar-wielding Kian opened his front door for TOTP Magazine just to allow you an exclusive peak at his favourite place in the world - his very own bed!
"When you're in a band like Westlife, touring around the world playing to millions of people, its important to get back down to reality. To come home and relax is very important for keeping your feet on the ground. I love getting back to Sligo and doing all the things I used to do before Westlife happened - being the way I always have been.
I was given my first guitar when I was 11. I used to share my bedroom with my brother Tom and I'd always be picking up his guitar and messing around on it. I guess you could say I was self-taught but, when he saw how into it I was, Tom did start to teach me properly. I really hated the classical guitar. Rock guitar was my favourite and all I wanted to do was play the electric guitar but (in a whisper) don't let mum show you the photos of me with my rocker's mullet!
My guitar amp is really powerful so my parents were always screaming at me to keep the music down. I'd play every day after school and of course there'd be my little brother in the house trying to sleep and when I was younger my niece and nephew lived here, so I was a bit naughty really. It's still an ongoing joke.
I can also play the recorder, clarinet and piano. My older brother teaches music at college and he started teaching me to play the piano when I was 8. I played for years and got up to Grade Eight. It was mostly classical stuff then but now I love playing Bryan Adams' (Everything I Do) I Do It For You. I've written a few songs with Bryan (McFadden, not Adams!) on my piano, which is in the back room just down the hall here. There's one called Fragile Heart which is probably our best song. We might use it for Westlife later on.
I've never serenaded a girl but I did write a song for my ex-girlfriend about a year ago called Crazy For You. Talking of girls, if there was one woman in the world I could do a duet with it would be Madonna. I'd just like to find out what she was really like.
Although music has always been my main love I've got quite a few trophies for poetry recitals. My mum keeps them lined up on the piano. I won my first competition at the age of four when I recited a poem called Vespers by A.A. Milne. My favourite piece though was called Tom's Bomb: 'There was a boy, his name was Tom, He made a high-explosive bomb.' Anyway, thanks for stopping by my bedroom - I hope you enjoyed your visit!"
GET AWAY FROM IT ALL WITH MARK WESTLIFE
The shy and sensitive Mark took TOTP Magazine to his favourite beauty spot in the depths of the Sligo countryside. It's the perfect place for a chill-out sesh.
"I'm not the kind of person to go mountain climbing or hiking. I prefer to relax and take things easy. That's why I love these woods, cos they're so green and peaceful. In fact this particular spot by the loch is a great place to come when I want to get away from absolutely everything, from the madness of being in a band. This is the only place where I can be totally alone.
Sligo was a great place to grow up cos there was always plenty of space to play football. Me and my mates would often go off on big adventures in the countryside - you know, see what we could find in the fields, and the woods. I suppose we used to think we were in a film! I used to come here with the Scouts. We'd cook sausages, go on treasure hunts and play footie.
I remember once when I came fishing here with my friend. There's loads of trees around so every time we tried to cast off, the fishing line got caught in the branches. In the end we had to leave the fishing rod dangling from the trees and go home minus the rod and any fish!
My nana lives just up the road from these woods. When I was younger both my parents worked so I was round at her house every day. She owned a general stores shop and I can remember sitting at the window waiting for my mum to come and pick me up. I really wanted to use the shop till and I was always asking my nana to give me a job but I was too young of course. She let me help her stack the shelves instead which I thought was just great.
My nana is a fantastic cook. I can almost smell her home cooking just thinking about it! She was also a good card player and taught me a few card games on rainy days. When my granddad was still alive they used to grow hay for the local farms and my nana kept a lot of hens and chickens out the back. I can remember feeling very frightened when my nana's hens pecked at me!
I don't have a girlfriend right now but if I did, this would be the ideal place to bring a girl on romantic walks. It's so beautiful here."
GET AWAY FROM IT ALL WITH NICKY WESTLIFE
The healthy-livin', sporty Nicky gives us a peek at the hallowed grounds of Home Farm Football Club in Dublin and the very pitch where he kicked off his famed football career.
"Back then football was my life. Nothing else mattered. School work, girls, cars. nah! I lived, breathed, drank and ate football. I was picked to play for Home Farm at the age of eight after being spotted by scouts at a local tournament. It's a good thing I loved football cos this place was like a military boot camp! Our coach was very strict. We had to have spotless boots, clean socks and if you were late for practice you didn't get to play the next day. The training was tough, especially when it was rainy and cold! As a goalkeeper I had to work extra hard cos I wasn't running around much during matches.
I've never owned a pair of lucky boots like some players but I had a lot of lucky charms which I'd keep in my goalie's glove bag at the back of the net. My granny is very holy so she'd give me miracle prayers and guardian angels. My family were really supportive but I did get really annoyed with my dad when he shouted at the referee during matches. I once showed him the red card and made him leave the football ground cos he was embarrassing me so much!
At home I've got all my trophies on display. My own personal favourite is for best goalkeeper at the European Youth Championships. It was a prestigious award to win cos it meant I was regarded as the best young keeper in the whole of Europe. After any match I'd always want a warm bath. Did we all get in the bath together? Yeah, when I played for Leeds we did! We'd all climb into the Turkish bath! They're like big swimming pools really so it's not as bad as it sounds!
When I was younger if anyone asked me what I wanted to grow up to be I'd say a footballer every time. It's funny though cos when I was at Leeds this guy heard me singing in the dressing room and he said, 'Hey, you should be in a boy band!' I'm sure I just laughed at him!"
GET AWAY FROM IT ALL WITH SHANE WESTLIFE
The horse-mad, countryside-lovin' Shane invited TOTP Magazine - and you - to his home town of Sligo for an exclusive guided tour of the family-run stables. Yee haw!
"Welcome to our stables here in Sligo. This (the horse in the pic) is Carlton Diamond, the biggest horse we have. My favourite place to go riding is in a beautiful area called Holywell, just beyond the stables, but today I'm taking Diamond up to the fields to tackle some jumps.
It's a tradition in our family that everyone sits up on a horse at least once in their life. I can vaguely remember being taken for my first ever ride on a pony. I must have been about 6 and I can recall sitting in my dad's car crying cos I was actually really scared of horses at that point. Dad lifted me up and plonked me on the pony. I could barely get my little legs around its body but Dad hung on to me to prevent me from falling off. Luckily I loved it and ever since then I've grown up with horses. They were like friends to me when I was younger. I even used to chat to them - well everyone talks to their horses when they're lonely, don't they?!
My first pony was called Jasper. Carlton Guy was his showjumping name but Jasper was his pet name. He was a small, grey pony and he had his very own party piece. When he was waiting to be fed he'd lie down and put his front hooves in the trough. My dad would say, 'Look Shane, he's saying his prayers! I was only young so I believed him! (Shane's dad butts in to tell him Jasper was born in 1971) Wow, so he's 28 now! Aw, I really miss Jasper. We sold him a few years ago and I think he's living up in Scotland now so if anyone has him, I wanna buy him back!
(Shane pats his tatty hat) I've worn this old riding hat for 6 years now - it's the only one that fits my big head! It's quite battered but it's comfy and it seems to be lucky hat cos I've won tons of rosettes and cups over the years. You only get to keep the cups if you win 2 years in a row so I'm very proud of every single one. There's 6 of us kids in the family who ride so as you can imagine there's a fair few trophies on display in the house.
Nicky's talked about buying a horse and I know he's dying to have a ride on one of our horses. He came over to the stables once before and he was great with them. He didn't ride them but he patted them and they seemed happy enough, so I think he'd make a fine horseman! Ronan was asking me some advice about horses the other day. He's built a new house and he's building some stables there too. He was asking me where he should position them and what kind of doors he should get!
I used to hate mucking the stables out but these days I think it's quite good fun cos all us brothers help out together and have a laugh. Actually Liam, the brother that I'm closest too, does most of the work cos I'm not home that often - thanks, Liam! In fact, I can honestly say the only bad thing about being in Westlife is not seeing my horses much. I love all my horses and I can't imagine living anywhere without them."