These are some of the things I've learned about Shane Filan. He hates coffee. His favourite Boyzone song is 'you needed me'. He loves his ma. He uses the word 'totally' a lot. He's sick of fake girls who have seen him on the telly, but don't know his name. He and Nicky (his bestmate in Westlife) go on the 'beer rampage' together and call in Shnicky. He's never finished a book. And just recently he's started crying at films...
Shane: I cried at Notting Hill, when he was racing in the car to stop her leaving. I cried at Armageddon and Titanic. I don't know what it is, I never cried at films when I was younger.
SH: Are you getting more sensitive?
Shane: I dunno. I looked at Notting Hill and I thought, "that's what I want". She was in the movies, I'm in pop, but she still met Hugh Grant and he was just a normal guy.
SH: So what you really want is a female version of Hugh Grant?
Shane: Exactly.
Mummy's Boy
When he was younger, before he became pop's version of Julia Roberts, Shane Filan just wanted to sing. His mother, Mae, remembers him ages two singing a 'few lines' of a traditional song to help an election campaign in Sligo, the town on Ireland's west coast where Shane was born. "He was always entertaining, always singing," Mae says. "sometimes you'd have to stop him singing to do his homework." But Mae didn't stop him singing for very long. "My dad has a great voice and he helped me with my technique," explains Shane, "but my mother was the one who was always pushing me. The rest of the family are like, doctors, teachers, engineers, and they've all done really well, but when it comes to me, she knew all I loves was singing." In fact, Mae did more than just support Shane. When things looked grim for his band IOU, she made the phone call that changed her son's life. That one phone call to Boyzone's manager Louis Walsh ("I still don't know how she did it," grins Shane) would eventually lead to Westlife. But, hang on a minute, we're getting ahead of ourselves. We haven't discussed Shane's six elder brothers and sisters, or his love of Michael Jackson, or his showjumping skills. And poor Shane hasn't even ordered his food yet...
Just another wet Sunday Afternoon
We're sitting in the Saint M restaurant in the so-trendy-it-hurts St Martin's Lane Hotel in London (where Britney stayed on her recent visit to London) and it's a wet sunday afternoon in December. Last night, Westlife won the record of the year competition for Flying Without Wings, and Shane partied hard. Very hard. But he was still up at 9am for a photoshoot. It's not 3pm, Shane is about to eat his first meal of the day ("sirloin steak, very well done") and I'm ruining it by asking questions. Luckily, Shane doesn't seem to mind...
SH: When was your last day off?
Shane: We had a day of in September, We haven't had a day off in something like 100 days now. There was a time when sundays were free; now it is just like a monday, or a tuesday. It could be any day.
SH: so is working 100 days non-stop worth it?
Shane: It's already paying off, look at what's happened in those 100 days. We've had 2 more number ones, we've won Record Of The Year and our album's nearly double platinum!
SH: Yeah, but if you can't enjoy life, what's it all for?
Shane: Sure, but the first couple of years, the five of us agreed that we're going to have to work every day to make Westlife a success everywhere. This is what we signed up for.
The professional
"I like chats, rather than being asked the same question over and over." Interviews it seems, are a part of the job Shane takes in his stride. And it's the same for photoshoots. Despite the fact that Shane figures he must have done "two....no, 300 this year," he was completely happy before the camera. In fact, everyone who meets Shane comments on his 'professionalism,' but this time it was something a little bit extra- his first solo cover. "It's one thing I always dreamed of 'cos I always used to but Smash Hits, you won't believe how big a pop fan I was! I'm proud to be on the cover and all the lads are happy for me." Strangely though, Westlife's co-manager was less enthusiastic. "It's not fair to pick one lad over the others," commented Ronan when we told him Shane was on the cover. Ro's point was that "Lifers" are equal, all leaders," but Shane's still surprised. "Ronan said that? I don't know why." Perhaps 'cos he is protecting you from the spotlight he receives in Boyzone? "I don't think I'm like Ronan though. In Boyzone, Ronan was always out there, he sings nearly every track, but we're more of a team, like Backstreet Boys." The BSB comparison was suggested by Shane's bandmate Bryan. "Everyone thinks that Shane's like Ronan, but he's very different. He shares the stage charisma, but he's more like Brian Backstreet- he does a lot of lead vocals, but he's not that upfront." Not that Bryan begrudges Shane a solo cover: "He deserves it, I think he is the most popular person in the band. But if you told him thatm he's deny it. He's very cool, very modest." As for Shane, he feels no conflict at all: "I'm here as Shane Filan because my face is on the cover, but I'm promoting Westlife totally. "So close are Shane and his fellow band members that sometimes they could be the same person. Example.....