Then there is the fact that most boy bands are manufactured. How seriously can you take a bunch of good-looking guys brought together and told to sing and dance on command? Not that the singing ability is as a big must as a sense of rhythm and poster-boy looks. For instance, name a New Kid On The Block who managed to sustain a solo career- duets with Japanese pop stars notwithstanding.

Whatever happened to NKOTB anyway? One of the most successful pop phenomenons of the Eighties, they were also a group who learned the hard way that they could not be kids forever. So much for "Hangin' Tough".

But while they lasted, they raked in big bucks. Which explains the population explosion of boy bands. It will probably be a long time before the music world sees the likes of Duran Duran and the Beatles again - lads who grew up playing their own instruments and writing their own songs. Boys who grew to men in the public eye without having to prance around on stage doing choreographed dance moves.

But when you think all is lost, along come a band like Ultra. Walk into a music store and you'll see their album in the company of Five, Boyzone and Code Red in the pop rack. But ask anyone who has seen James, Michael, Jon and Nick perform, and they'll tell you Ultra are not a boy band. There's nothing manufactured about them at all.

They don't dance. They write their own music, and best of all, they all play their own musical instruments. The youngest is the singer and keyboardist James Hearne, at 21. Then comes 22 year-old Michael Harwood, who plays the guitar. Bassist Nick Keynes is 23 and the drummer Jon O'Mahoney is the oldest at 24.

The boys were in town recently and managed to convince us they were more than just a pop act. It was ironic though that when they got to the interview, an N'Sync video was playing on TV.

Michael greets us with a cheery hello. He wears platform sneakers which add to his already imposing stature. James joins him. I'd been told that Ultra's lead singer was the quiet type, but I do not see any hesitation on his part. As Jon and Nick complete the foursome, I notice once these boys start talking, they don't stop. In no time at all, the Ultra story is revealed.

The band's name was inspired by another Bristish Band. When Depeche Mode released thier album 'Ultra', billboards for the album featured the tile in towering letters with the band's name in miniature at the bottom.

The Ultra boys spotted the billboard and decided it sounded cool enough for them. "There are contradicting stories though," Nick says, recalling an interview they did in Thailand, their pre-Kuala Lumpur stop. "Someone asked where the name came from and Jon jokingly said that we had seen it on a box of tissues in a supermarket - and they printed that!" They assure us, however, that their name 'did' originate from the Depeche Mode billboard - no joke.

Still, Michael confides how difficult it was to come out with a name for a band. Ultra when through a few name changes before coming up with their present moniker. "Most bands spend about six months coming up with a name and about tow weeks writing their songs," he says with a laugh. Did Ultra take tow weeks to write their songs? "No! I think we took about six months to do that too."

The band started out when James, Michael, Jon and another guy started playing at school functions and parties. While performing, they also went to school - or at least they tried to, as they kept playing hooky to practise as well as work.

James crewed at McDonald's, and apparently did a very bad job of it. Michael remembers, "He was terrible! He used to laugh at all the customers. He just couldn't keep a staright face." Because of that, Jame's probation period of three weeks became three months. He was labeled "incompetent".

While James was a glorified fry guy, Jon organised parties. He also got his band to perform at the parties. Nick, who went to a different school, played in another band. Now he thanks his lucky stars he became part of this band - but he remembers trying to sabotage one of Ultra's gigs before he joined them!

As Nick lived only about 5 miles away from the other guys, he'd heard of J Four - one of the names Ultra used to go by, which came about because the members back then all had names starting with 'J' ( Michael agreed to be called Junior). When J Four was scheduled to play at someone's 18th birthday party, Nick and his friends put a water hose underneath the marquee and turned on the taps. Unfortunately, their trick didn't work, as the marquee only flooded the next morning. "I'm not like that anymore," Nick assures us. "I've grown up a little now. But I do play practical jokes on everyone."

Soon after, the bassist left the band, as pop was not his cup of tea. The rest of the boys were in real need of a new bassist, as the EastWest label under Warner Music had already heard their demo tape and signed Ultra. Ads had already been put out when a mutual friend introduced Nick.

Michael remember, "We wanted someone who was talented and who also had a sense of humour. There were some we'd get along famously, but they just couldn't play the bass." James adds, " Nick came in and we suddenly realised that 'we' were trying 'him'." A day later, they phoned Nick and asked him to join them.

Unlike manufactured bands who simply do what is expected of them, the boys of Ultra do have creative differences. "The only time we argue is when we are in the studio We all have different ideas as to how a song we are recording has to sound, but that's a bout it," says Jon.

The one thing that all the boys agree on is performing live. Playbacks have been quite disastrous for them. While doing one in Thailand, one of the legs of Jon's drum stool came off and he tumbled backwards in the middle of a song - but since the band was performing to a tape, the audience looked in awe as the drumbeats went on!

They performed acoustically in KL, and very well too. They impressed the media with their rendition of 'Say you do', 'Say it Once' and 'Rescue Me'.

With their talent and good looks - believe it or not, these boys actually think that they aren't good looking! - these boys say they have enough songs for at least two more albums, if the want to still hear from them.