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From ‘Bryan’ to ‘Brian’, from boy band to solo artist, and with a dashing new look and hit single to go, make no mistake, Brian McFadden is here to kick some serious butt. In an exclusive conversation with The Record the ex-Westlifer talks about music, family, his cool new video and his future plans.
TR: You said people would be surprised by the direction you’re headed in musically. How so?
Brian: I think it’s surprising because people were expecting that if I was going to do a solo album it would be very close to Westlife but it’s not. I’ve got an album that is more like what I love and what I’m passionate about. It is a little bit rock influenced and the lyrics are about things that have happened in my life and it’s very autobiographical. The whole album is me getting things off my chest and doing it through the song instead of just talking about it in interviews.
TR: In your first single Real To Me you talk about hating the hectic schedule, showbiz parties and non-stop travelling. How will you avoid all that this time around?
Brian: I still will do a lot of that but the problem that happened with Westlife was that my family had to come second and my job had to come first. I had to travel all over the world and if I wanted to come home to see my children I couldn’t because I had to stick to the Westlife schedule. But now my family comes first and I do the work around my family. So I only work 3-4 days a week and the rest of the time I’m at home with the kids. It works a lot better that way for me. I have complete control now. It’s so much better.
TR: Tell us about the new album. Do you have a favourite track?
Brian: I wrote the whole album with Guy Chambers (who has previously worked with Robbie Williams) and I couldn’t really pick one favourite. But there’s a song called Demons which I’m most proud of. I always have really bad nightmares and it’s pretty much explaining what my nightmares are about.
TR: What are your expectations of the album?
Brian: I hope that people connect to the things I’m singing about. It would be nice if while I’m out there performing live maybe some people relate to what I’m singing about and say ‘God I know exactly how he’s feeling!’ I hope to have a different kind of connection, because Westlife’s songs were all about love and the connection was a different one. So I’d like people to have a new connection with songs about things that are a bit more serious.
TR: What was the biggest challenge while working on this record?
Brian: I didn’t really have a challenge. I just sat down and started making the album. The album happened very very fast. I had so much on my mind that I literally had most of it just written in three weeks. It was that quick! It would have been similar to the way Alanis Morrisette made Jagged Little Pill where she just sat down and wrote it. You have to be very passionate (about the songs). And I was very passionate at the time and the songs just seemed to roll out. So I never had to sit and think about ‘Oh this is going to be challenging’. I didn’t even know I was going to release an album. I didn’t think of it. We thought if it’s good, I’ll probably release it next year. It just happened so fast and everyone seemed to love the songs so we decided to release it so soon.
TR: There are obviously going to be Westlife comparisons. How do you feel about that?
Brian: Well I was in Westlife for six years so I understand that. But when people hear the music and realize that there’s absolutely no comparison at all – they’re two completely different styles of music.
You can read the rest of our exclusive with Brian McFadden in the November 2004 issue of The Record Music Magazine available at your local newsagent.
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