Smash Hits, August 12th 1998

1. When do you plan to get married?
In my mid-30s, I think. We're having a great time at the moment and I don't want to be tied down. I'm actually scared of meeting the right person because of that. I don't want to be travelling and missing someone. I just want to be happy by myself, and that's what I am now.

2. What was the nastiest thing you did as a kid?
I used to be a BMX-er and we went round in gangs. One time, me and my friend spent a whole weekend creating this big jump out of sand, then this guy from a rival gang came and wrecked it. That night, we went and found his bike, which was brand new, and whacked a load of six-inch nails into his tyres. It's not hugely nasty, but then it's not very nice, is it?

3. What would you call your life story?
Oh God! Erm, I dunno. Life's a bit chaotic at the moment, and the pop thing is completely mad. Ultra Chaos, I suppose.

4. Does the road of excess lead to the palace of wisdom?
Yeah, it does. I think that if you do anything to excess, you're gonna learn from it. But you don't have to take the road of excess yourself, you can learn from other people instead. What have I learnt? I've learnt from Michael. He eats too many burgers and he's putting on weight.

TOUGH COOKIE
5. Do you check your reflection whenever you walk past a shop window?
The boys always say this about me. I am quite vain, but it's part of the pop business, I think. It's quite a pressure to look good and stuff, so yeah, any reflective surface and I'll be there, grinning. I'd like to say I've become more vain because of the band, but unfortunately I've always had it in me!

6. What did you want to be at school?
I was really into sport and I used to do modern pentathlon, so I wanted to be an Olympian. I got as far as the World Championships, but then I realised it wasn't actually going to earn me any money so I chose a career in music instead.

7. What was your favourite toy when you were a kid?
Probably my BMX. I used to spend my life on my BMX. I was fourth best in the country when I was under 14, but freestyle, so that's all the tricks. If you did a bunny hop or a skid at that level, you were doing quite well, so it's not that impressive.

8. What's the 11th commandment?
(Not quite getting it) A-ha, there's not one! (No, you have to make one up...) Oh, I see, I thought it was a test! I don't even know the ten, to be honest. I'm not very religious. I was christened, and all that, but I'm not a churchgoer. I've only been to my sister's wedding. The 11th commandment? Buy Ultra singles.

9. Why does the moon change shape?
'Cos it's made of putty.

10. Why do fax machines make that annoying noise?
(Seriously) It's obviously signals...I have no idea at all, do I? Hahaha! Sorry, I'm not very technical.

11. Will germs take over the planet?
(Looking confused) They could do. You never know what's going to happen, do you?

12. If you were a kangaroo, what would you keep in your pouch?
My young, I suppose. Something else? I'd carry a dictaphone around to record song ideas. I've got three or four already in different rooms of the house. One by the bed for when I wake up, one by the piano, one in the toilet... Hahaha!

JAMMY DODGER
13. What makes a person sexy?
When they don't actually know they're sexy. You get a lot of people who are quite attractive and walk about flicking their hair and fluttering their eyelashes, and although they may be pretty, it's not a turn-on. But when they're unaware of their own sexiness, that's sexy.

14. When you fart, do you admit to it?
Oh, the boys are terrible farters! I think they're more laddy then me. They talk about sex more than me and the fart more than me and they're more rowdy than me, so I can kind of get away with not admitting it. I think they must have more hormones than me, 'cos they're always talking about sex and stuff.

15. Have you thought you were going mad?
I tend to go a bit mad in the studio sometimes 'cos I get very involved in how a song should sound. When you write a song, you know how you want it to sound, but when you give it to a producer they can take it in a totally different direction and I can get really stressed. The guys called me Vod - as in Voice Of Doom - 'cos my personality changes and I get quite aggressive.

16. Finish this sentence: 'The worst thing I ever did was...'
OK, well, I wasn't the ringleader, but when I was at university some of my mates got dressed up and went into Morrison's (the supermarket) with clipboards. They went up to this poor lady and said, 'Congratulations! You are our millionth customer and you've got two minutes to whip whatever you like off the shelves! Whatever you get in your trolley, you keep!' So this poor woman went running around, throwing stuff into her trolley. We stood and watched for a couple of minutes, then we scarpered!

17. Have you lied during the course of this interview?
(Makes trumpeting noises.) No, I'm an honest person, y'know. I can't lie at all.

18. What's your favourite drink?
I'm a tea-oholic. I drink about eight cups a day.

19. Cows moo, sheep baa, pigs oink...what do goldfish do?
(Seriously) They don't make a sound, do they?

20. Should girls play with Barbie and boys play with Action Man?
Not necessarily. We were interviewed by this gay magazine and they asked the same question. I think they were trying to get hold of our sexuality. I played with Action Man, but you should play with both, really. It would be more fun, wouldn't it!

YOUR SELECTION!-
Sent in by Nicholas Noodel, Wellingborough
Can you name all five members of the Backstreet Boys?
Well, there's Nick Carter, who everyone says I look like. Erm, people say I look like him or Peter Andre. I can see the Nick Carter one, but I don't see Peter (lifts his T-shirt and slaps his turn). It's not really happening, is it? Anyway, there's him, there's Brian and there's...who's the guys with the funny hat, the funny beard and the funny glasses? He's got a funny name too, hasn't he? (That's AJ, then?) I actually don't know. I know Boyzone's names, though.