The Bad Boys Of Blue
They’ve gone from cheeky boy band to tabloid regulars with tales of debauchery, sex romps and fighting. And that’s just Lee. So we sent Sarah May to find out what Blue are really like… and who gets the bad-boy crown.
ANTONY
Hey, ant, you’ve been a man about town recently You weren’t such a party animal in the beginning were you?
I was at first, but we weren’t famous then so no one was interested. I got together with Lucy [his ex] early on in my career.
You were the settled, sensible one…
Yeah, but I’d found some one I thought I’d be with for the rest of my life – it just didn’t work out. Everyone deals with break-ups differently. I don’t like staying in on my own. I like having friends around me, having a laugh and a drink. I’m a bit of a lad, but I’m not a player.
What’s the worse thing you’ve done?
The first time I ever got papped, me and Lee pulled a moonie and the photo was in every magazine. My mum saw it!
Did you really once say, “I’m so rich I can buy this pub and sack your boss”?
That’s rubbish. I was out with friends and some girls came over, trying to chat to me about the band. I said, “Do you know what, I’m off work today.” Not rudely, but they said, “You’re so arrogant!” So the landlord threw us out, and cos my name’s Costa, I joked, “I am Costa Coffee! I could probably buy this pub!” But it went down like a lead balloon.
It’s been reported that you’re quite moody…
Why? If I walk into a bar, I don’t go round saying “Hi, I’m Antony from Blue.” If I’m having a deep conversation, people say “You’re so moody!” I say to them, ‘Would you like me to stand by the door like an air stewardess, going, “Hello, hello”?’
Your daughter Emilie is four months old now. How does it feel to be a dad?
Fantastic. She’s a beautiful little girl. I just got a text from Lucy saying she’s smiling and more aware, which is nice.
Ever snogged some one you shouldn’t?
I didn’t cheat on Lucy for two years, so that’s out of the window. But when the band first started, yeah.
And have you ever had sex in a club, like Lee did in Chinawhite?
No. I wouldn’t. Fair play to Lee, and it takes two to tango, but it’s like some random bloke having sex in your house.
Has a girl ever done anything in bed that’s blown you away?
Before I got with Lucy, I met this hip-hop dancer in a club. Everyone came back to mine and she did me a dance… in her hotpants.
Bad-boy Rating 4/10
Slightly badder than your nan. But more partial to girls in hot pants.
SIMON
So Si, do you boys party as hard as everyone thinks you do?
Some people think we just drink champagne all day, but we work hard. But I am a party animal when I’m not working. I like to see people enjoy themselves on the dance floor.
Don’t you join in?
I like to stand back and keep an eye on things. I’m the one who’ll say, “Lee, we’d better go, there’s going to be trouble.” I can sense it.
You’ve been seeing Natalie Denning, who talked about your sexual prowess in this magazine. Was that flattering or does it annoy you?
It doesn’t annoy me, but my sex life is my personal life and I want to keep it separate. But I know it’s all about gossip. Natalie’s a great girl. She’s very, very beautiful and she’s got a great personality – two of them!
What else do you like about her, apart from her, erm, assets?
I don’t normally go for blonde hair and blue eyes – I like the Spanish Latino look. But I saw her in a club and I could see the x-factor. I was like, “Damn, you’re amazing!” She told me about the Leanardo thing [Natalie had a fling with Leonardo DiCaprio] straight away and I really respected that.
So you’re honest with each other?
Yeah, we can be. The press want to make her out to be a bad girl cos she was a page 3 chick, but I used to be a model and I did a sex guide [Before he was famous, Simon starred in a sex manual called How to Behave in Bed] so I know the business she’s in.
Have you ever blagged anything special by saying you were in Blue?
Once, I was shopping in Dolce and Gabbana, where I get a discount. But I was in America, where no one knows me. I had half my hair out, half of it braided, and I was wearing a massive tracksuit, and the cashier looked at me as if to say, “Can you afford all this?”. I told her I got a discount, but she said, “I’ll have to get confirmation from New York.” I said, “How about confirmation from the designers themselves?” and got my phone out. That felt good because she’d been so rude to me!
When was the last time you had a run-in with some one?
In a club, a girl said, “Oh, you’re Simon,” - then her boyfriend came up, grabbed her and said, “that’s my girl.” I said, “Listen, your girl spoke to me!” Knocking some one out doesn’t make you the bigger man – the bigger man walks away. My pride’s been hurt a lot but I’ve had my training, which was being told I was crap at auditions. You develop a thick skin, so now when some one insults me I just shrug it off.
You must get approached by good-looking ladies all the time…
Yeah, but I don’t know what to do! I get intimidated by them. I’m afraid of kiss’n’tells. I’ve got a daughter who’s eight this year and anything that goes in the papers affects her. I’m a father and she’s my number one girl, not some girl who’s lagging and going, “You’re do fit!”
Have you ever had sex in a public place, like Lee has?
Yes – on the M62. But the car broke down. And it was dark anyway! I’ve done it in Jacuzzis a few times as well.
Bad-boy Rating 6/10
Just for the sex in Jacuzzis (for some reason we can’t get that out of our heads…)
DUNCAN
So Dunc, who’s the baddest boy in Blue?
Lee. I’m not a bad boy. I’ve got a girlfriend and it’s going really well.
What about the rumours that you had a fling with Geri Halliwell?
I always had a thing about Geri. Then, when I met her, she was going through her whole yoga-slimming-health-freak stage and was a bit standoffish and cold. Then I met her again and she was lovely. We were asked to present Party in the Park together, and now we’re “having an affair”! She’s wicked, I love her to bits, but that’s absolute crap, I’m not sleeping with her.
And have you ever slept in the same bed as your friend Tara P-T?
I have done, yes.
Surely no bloke can sleep in the same bed as an attractive woman without getting a little bit excited…
She’s not my cup of tea. I like feminine, pretty girls. I’d find Geri attractive because she’s petite. Tara is tall, muscly and in-your-face crazy! She’s beautiful, with a great figure, but our relationship is platonic. We got all that out of our systems ages ago.
So you slept with her, then?
No, I’ve never had sex with her. We had a silly, drunken, it-could-have-gone-there-but-didn’t snog. Then we decided we’re business partners. She’s the big sister I never had – she rings me up and bollocks me about stuff.
Have you ever used the fact that you’re in Blue to blag anything?
Yeah. My mum wanted to go to The Ivy once and it was full, so I called them and all of a sudden they weren’t so full.
When was the last time you did something you regretted?
I fell out with a mate over a girl he thought I was hitting on… even though I wasn’t, but he was like, “Oh, you think because you’re famous you can have everybody. Well, she likes me, not you.” Too much testosterone, too much alcohol. I wish it had never happened.
And what’s been you’re worst ever morning after moment?
I always do stuff that I’m embarrassed about on nights out, like getting my willy out or letting my mouth run away with me. I wake up and think, “Oh God,” so I phone people up and ask, “What happened last night? I was off my nut.” My trick is, I know exactly what happened – I just make out I don’t!
When did you last piss some one off?
I pissed my girlfriend Anya off the other night. I got tickets to Britney’s concert and she had to go to her mate’s birthday, so I said I’d see Britney and pick her up after. She wasn’t happy. She said, “FINE! You go and shag Britney.” I was like, “What? I’m not going to shag Britney. I’m nit going to get anywhere near her!” I wouldn’t go with anyone behind Anya’s back.
Bless! It sounds like you’re really loved up…
Love is a word that’s too frequently used. I’ve seen too many friends turn around to people and say “I love you” within the first couple of weeks, and then it doesn’t really mean anything, does it? I’m scared of the whole love thing. I grew up in a single-parent family without a dad, and without any brothers or sisters, just my friends. So to have someone else tell me that they really love me is frightening, because I don’t get that said to me a lot.
So will there be wedding bells?
It’s difficult to say I want to be with someone for the rest of my life. With Blue it’s hard to be a normal guy and have a normal relationship, cos I’m not a normal guy in a normal job and a normal relationship. I’m off three times a week travelling the world – so how can I give her the love and attention she needs? But we have an understanding, a trust and a respect.
What one thing has a girl ever done in bed that’s made you go “wow!”?
[Long pause and sigh] That is so difficult, because I know Anya’s gonna read this, and she’s not the type of girl who likes reading about my past. She’s a good girl and that’s what I like about her. I love making love when you’re really into that person – that’s ‘wow’. The sex is so much better than having a one-night stand. One-night stands are great, but you walk away feeling heartless and soulless. When you’re really into someone and you’re making love, that’s when you go “wow”.
Bad-boy Rating 2/10
The sort of bloke you could take home to your mum. Except she’d probably pinch his arse.
LEE
Hey Lee, we saw you at a party last week and you danced on the bar!
That was really funny. I was proper lagging [laughs].
And then you offered someone out…
No, I didn’t – he offered me out cos I bumped into him when I jumped off the bar. So I said, “I don’t wanna fight you, mate,” and he was like, “F**k you, you ****!” and I was like, “I ain’t scared of you, I just don’t wanna fight you.” I can handle myself, but I don’t like fighting, it’s not my thing.
So you’re the baddest boy in Blue?
No. I’m the most hyperactive one.
Is it true you’ve got a tape of you, erm, doing it on a pool table?
Yeah! I worked there, so they were like, “You can have the CCTV tape.”
Do you really watch it every night?
No, it’s in a safe somewhere. I’ve been offered £50,000 for it, but I’ll wait until I need the money – or til it gets up to £100,000. It’s graphic.
What’s the worst thing you’ve done?
Cheated on someone I was in love with. I don’t know why… I was stupid.
How can a girl wow you in bed?
My thing is making sure the girl gets off. My favourite thing is going down. I could spend all day there!
What’s been your worst ever morning-after moment?
I woke up in Japan on the last tour after drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel’s by myself, thinking “F**k!” I walked around the hotel in my boxers, still pissed, going to everyone’s doors, and no one was in. I was like, “They’ve left me! They’ve taken my bags and my passport and left me.” And they’d gone home to England.
They left you in Japan on your own?
Yeah, but the tour manager was there.
When was the last time you really pissed someone off?
Today. A reporter from another mag was really moody. I said, “You got this thing going on,” and she went, “Can you put that into words?” I said “Well, I dunno” Basically I was saying that she was a bitch.
Bad-boy Rating 10/10
Lee: officially the baddest boy in Blue. But we still would. In fact, that’s why we would.