Duncan James [Metro.co.uk]

Duncan James was one-quarter of teen favourite boy band Blue, alongside Simon Webbe, Lee Ryan and Antony Costa, and notched up massive hits with All Rise and One Love among others. James releases his debut solo album, Future Past, next week. His first solo single, Sooner Or Later, is out today.

Did you really say Lee Ryan’s album flopped because it was a rush job?
No. I was asked why Simon’s album did better in Britain than Lee’s and I just said I thought they maybe tried to get the album released quickly after Blue split up, so maybe it was a bit rushed and that’s why Simon’s did better. I think it was a great album, though, and I love Lee’s voice. He’s a mate and people just want to stir up trouble. There’s no feud.

What were the highlights of being in Blue?
Just having the level of success we did. You don’t really think of any one highlight - the whole five years was great. Don’t forget, we were young guys when we first got into Blue and to have that kind of overnight success, the money and fame was very overwhelming. The whole journey of Blue was a great experience.

How is fatherhood suiting you?
It’s great, it’s really nice. I don’t want to talk too much about my daughter as I want to keep my family life private.

You were renowned for your womanising antics - do you still tart your way around town?
I was 22 when we became successful so I’m going to do what any other 22-year-old lad does. If I spoke to a woman in a bar, though, everyone thought I was going out with her because that’s what the media likes to make out. Of course, some of those stories were true but not all of them. I’m 28 and a father, so it’s not all about womanising now. You want different things when you get older.

What’s the craziest thing a fan has done to meet you?
Blue went from London to Australia for a gig and a fan got herself a ticket on the flight and went the whole way to Australia so she could be with us on this plane for 24 hours. That was pretty crazy.

Have you ever had a proper job?
Yeah, I worked as a porter in a hotel, then in a cinema selling ice cream from a tray. I was a waiter, barman, worked in Woolworths, in Somerfield...

What was the worst?
Checkout operator in Somerfield. That was brain-numbing. I’d hate it when I saw a big trolley-load of shopping coming my way. I did that after school for two years but, when your family doesn’t have a lot of money, you’ve got to go off to work.

What do you spend too much cash on?
Food. I’ll treat myself by going to Harrods food section. Sometimes I go a bit over the top. This is going to sound really bad but I had a craving for caviar the other day and I spent £80 on a little pot of it. I just thought Ôf**k it, I want it.’ I bought some sour cream and toasted things to go with it and scoffed the lot then felt guilty afterwards for spending the money on it.

Who was your last text message from?
Keedie, whom I did the single I Believe My Heart with. I haven’t seen her for ages and she said she likes my new video, which was nice of her.

Does your mum still sell your signed Blue merchandise on eBay?
Ha ha. No, she doesn’t do that any more but she is writing a book which you’ll be able to get on eBay.

Do you enjoy being famous?
If you want to be a singer or actor, fame goes with it - it’s part and parcel of the job. I don’t know how much I enjoy being famous, though. It’s got its ups and downs, you can blag free things and you get paid good money - and, hey, that’s great - but the downside is you don’t have any privacy, which can be harsh. You can get bugged and hassled when you’re just trying to have a day out with the family and that’s not cool. But everything has a plus and a minus - there’s a yin and a yang and, if you don’t like it, get out of the fire.

You did that Andrew Lloyd Webber single, I Believe My Heart from The Woman In White - were you considering going into musicals?
I’d spent my childhood acting in musical theatre - I was part of loads of different amateur dramatic societies and did A-level theatre studies, became a red coat and ended up singing different songs from West End shows every night. To get a phone call from Andrew Lloyd Webber was a dream come true but I’m concentrating on my own stuff right now.

What kind of stuff did you do in the amateur dramatic societies?
I played Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the International Folk Festival - it was an outdoor theatre event in these beautiful gardens. The set was just magical. Puck’s such a great character and everything about the production was fantastic - the costumes, lighting, actors, everything. I was 16 and it was a great opportunity.

Source : http://lee-ryan.forumactif.com/