I just spoke with the lovely Ant from my fave boy band back in the day BLUE, who are coming out next month to Sundance Live’s MixTape ReWind at Emirates Golf Club.
Me: You’re back with a new album, ‘Colours’, touring the world and heading out to Dubai to do a bit of a throwback to the fans who grew up with the ‘All Rise’ generation, do you still enjoy playing those old songs?
Ant: Those are the songs that made us, we love performing those songs because it’s what we grew up with and what the fans grew up with!
Have you got a favourite song that you don’t mind reliving?
I like the old favourites, “All Rise” and “Too Close” purely because our music is such that whatever mood you’re in, there’s always a song for you.
Have you been out here before?
We were here 12 years ago and have popped out on various holidays in the mean time, I don’t have a favourite hotspot in Dubai because it’s all great!
What did you get up to in your hiatus?
We’ve had a good time, we had a whole host of awards ceremonies that we were able to attend, as well as shooting a few TV shows [‘The Big Reunion’, 2011] and [‘Blue Go Mad in Ibiza’, 2014]. This time around though, we can see that the music and industry has changed and you have to go with the times.
What do you miss most about your ‘All Rise’ days?
I miss the whole unknown, the variety of gigs, shows, not being sure what was next… where are we going to succeed or flop. It was a smaller world back then, the industry was a much happier place, not that it’s unhappy now – but before us, there was no Youtube, MySpace, iTunes etc… You put out a record on a Monday and people went out to buy it if they liked it. We then waited for a call from our producer telling us where we charted. 
I was in the Blue fan club back in the day and I used to get signed cards monthly (not ashamed to admit it) 😉 but who’s fan club were you in?
I didn’t fancy pop stars like Kylie, I was more drawn to the American actresses like Eva Mendes… but I’ve got no chance of ever meeting her. Ok I guess Britney was pretty cute back then too… I think that was mine and Dec’s mum that ran our fan club!
Are the rest of the Blue boys over their wilder days now, or are a few of you still bachelors?
Im all settled down, the rest of the boys are still single and flying their flag of bachelordom.
How was Thailand, we love that place and I can imagine the fans there are pretty fun?
Asia is amazing, we’ve had some awesome, loyal fans there over the years. I still get quite shy when fans scream at you, I get all reserved and don’t know how to respond. It’s not something you’ll ever get used too. If it becomes a habit that you are used to it, then there’s a problem… we just appreciate and love everyone who comes to a Blue show!
Where’s your favourite city to visit?
I love all of them in Australia, Singapore, Dubai… amazing places to visit, but too far for me to move too permanently I think.
Last question, what was the last view that took your breath away?
The sight of my baby being born… 16 months ago. It was just WOW – hat’s off to you women. It was amazing and ridiculous all at the same time. Absolutely magical.
…Nice to hear you guys have gone a little bit soft in your old age :*
