from i7 Entertainment in Australia - 23 November 2001
INTERVIEW WITH ABS
What do you do when the band that took you to the top of the pop world with record sales in the millions and a fan base spread around the entire globe decides to call it a day?
You could close your bank account and become a tired ex-popstar who makes a living attending movie premieres, making occasional guest appearances on other people's albums and being photographed while on holiday for trashy tabloid magazines. Or, you could put the past behind you, take a good hard look at the future and plot your next step to greatness.
Richard 'Abs' Breen chose the latter.
When British boy-band Five split earlier this year after four years in the game, fans around the world were devastated and confused. The announcement came only months after the band released their third and possibly best album, Kingsize. Almost immediately afterwards, another announcement came: Abs had been signed to a solo deal.
Abs was in Australia recently to help promote Five's Greatest Hits album and to spread the word about his upcoming solo album, due sometime next year.
So what direction will the new solo material take?
'I'm just going to get into the studios and play around with sounds, keyboards, get on the guitars; it could be anything,' he told i7entertainment. 'I'm really not sure what will come out. I am working with a couple of the same producers that did the last Five record. I'm just going to go in and see what happens.'
Abs said he would not be making any conscious decision to move away from the sound that Five created or any effort to sound like any particular artist. The project, he said, could really go any way.
Abs is the only member of the band who has made his post-Five intentions clear and, while other members are expected to launch solo careers, Abs was the first to be signed to a deal. That, he said, was an absolute honour.
'It is an honour, man, it's a privilege, it really is. It's nice to know that people want me to carry on and do something … It's a little bit scary in a funny sort of way but at the same time it's all about just getting in there - music talks, man!' he said.
In fact, Abs' intentions couldn't possibly be any clearer. He wants to be the king of pop and will do whatever it takes to get there. He wants to scale heights far beyond what he achieved during his time in the band. He wants to do it for the fans Five left behind; he wants to do it out of hunger for entertaining; and he wants to do it to satisfy a lifetime ambition.
'My dream was always to be an entertainer or just to entertain. I got into Five so that was that dream achieved. Now my ambition is just to be as big as, or bigger on a solo level, and just to do the best that I can,' he said with focus.
Abs is the first to admit that his work with Five will be a huge help for his solo outing. There are a lot of solo artists out there trying to make it from scratch, without the launching pad that being in a huge band provides, he said. One thing that Abs can be thankful for is the fact that he is now fully equipped for any pressures that fame can bring.
'Stardom, or fame, or whatever you want to call it, is everything you imagine it to be, plus a lot more. It's very business-headed …' he said. 'There was no pressure, though, no stress associated with fame. I mean it gets a bit heavy at times but that's just all part of the game. I'm not going to complain about it.'
Abs was in Australia for two weeks and was then due to return to England to begin work on the album. Outside his own work, he suggested some other projects that may generate his interest.
'Writing and producing are definitely interests I have and so are collaborations. I may have some collaborations in the pipeline but they aren't finalised. If they come off, they will be hot. I love writing, too. Whenever I've got the time, I get into the little studio at home in my basement and throw some beats down,' he said.
Five fans can now hold their breath for a bit longer to see what Abs comes up with.
