SMASH HITS Magazine - April 2001
"WE'RE COMPLETELY FED UP WITH GIRLS!"
Ritchie, Sean and Abs come out of hiding to tell us about woman trouble, puppies and why you might see them popping up at a karaoke night near you...
Is there any sign of your new album yet?
SEAN: It's going pretty slowly at the moment 'cos we don't know which single to pick.
RITCHIE: We've got a few ideas, but we can't let the cat out of the bag.
SEAN: All the songs are fantastic, we just can't judge which one's going to be right. At the end of the day, it's a cut-throat industry and you've got to take a few chances.
ABS: We want a mixed sounding album with lots of different styles. It's as good as the last, if not better.
RITCHIE: Variety is the spice of life and we're strong believers in that.
How many songs have you recorded so far?
RITCHIE: I'd say somewhere in the region of nine.
ABS: Nah, it's more like 15.
SEAN: Let's just say more than ten. But we know we can get better, you see. The problem is the songs keep getting better and you've got to keep on movin'. (laughs)
What kind of music have you been listening to lately?
ABS: I've been listening to a lot of Turkish radio. It's quite funny actually.
RITCHIE: I've been listening to Dido, she's really good.
SEAN: You need to listen to lots of different stuff, because if you listen to too much pop, it can really influence what you're doing.
Talking of pop, how did you feel about A1 winning the Best Newcomer at the Brits?
SEAN: There's no point in knocking them, is there?
RITCHIE: Noel Gallagher did, but he's just a rock 'n roll star. He's expected to have an attitude.
SEAN: Yeah, but to be honest, I don't even like A1. I think that they're complete poo.
RITCHIE: Complete dog.
ABS: Don't worry about what we think about A1, it's not important!
All right, is there anything new happening in your personal lives?
RITCHIE: I moved into a new place earlier this year and it's really cool. And Abs got a dog.
ABS: She's a boxer and she's white.
RITCHIE: (laughing) Is she your new woman then?
ABS: (Grinning) She's called Alabama and she's just over 3 months old.
And girls...?
ALL: Nah!
ABS: Women are hard work, man.
RITCHIE: Yeah, too hard.
ABS: Do you know what? I'm completely fed up with girls. There needs to be more fresh girls on the scene. Everyone's getting boring. You walk around and there are certain girls from different girl groups and they're all talking about the same old stuff.
RITCHIE: That's not true! You do see some people that you know and like.
SEAN: Yeah and we do go traveling abroad so we don't see the same people all the time.
ABS: (Frustrated) You play the same flirty games with the same girls and it's getting boring, man. Do you know what? I don't need a girl, I feel like I've got a kid with my new puppy.
Speaking of kids, how is daddy-to-be Scott?
RITCHIE: (laughs) He's really good. It's exciting. A new little spud on the way. Heheheh!
ABS: I can't wait to be an uncle. I ain't buying him nothing though.
Him?
ABS: Yeah, I've got a feeling it's going to be a boy. (laughing) And I ain't buying him a thing! Scott's never bought me anything so I'm going to take it out on his kid. (more laughing) I'm just kidding!
RITCHIE: I think Scott is a bit of a DIY [do-it-yourself] freak. Every time I speak to him he's doing something new to his house - having an en suite bathroom put in or having problems with his workman.
Did it come as a shock when he broke the news?
RITCHIE: It didn't come as any big surprise, to be honest, we were half expecting it.
SEAN: We discussed all this sort of thing at the beginning of the band so everybody is cool with it.
ABS: (laughing) We're just waiting for him to open up a burger store now...
Have you been anywhere exciting recently?
RITCHIE: I had a sledging accident about 3 or 4 days ago in Norway. We went to this ski slope and all the signs were in Norwegian. I got loads of air and I came off the sledge. I was going about 40 miles an hour and I landed right on my tailbone. I haven't been able to walk properly since. Then I was hanging off this cliff for about 10 minutes before the helicopters came... (laughing). No, I'm just joking! Helicopters didn't really get involved.
ABS: I haven't been anywhere but I did have a fight with one of my cousins. He had a little girlie fit and I threw him out of my house. We haven't spoken since.
RITCHIE: Actually, Sean and I went to this club a couple of weeks ago that had a live band now on Mondays and Sean got up and sang. He grabbed the mic and did a little number. It was 'Ain't No Sunshine', wasn't it?
SEAN: That's right. It was just a quick two minutes.
So what's in store for Five later this year?
RITCHIE: Basically we'll be releasing the single and the album, traveling, promoting, doing radio tours and going to different countries.
SEAN: But we have got a few surprises up our sleeves for this year. Oh, yes!
