My wild life as a Backstreet Boy

THEY were the One Direction of their day, at the centre of a world of screaming fans, massive sales, booze and drugs. Then it all fell apart. A former boyband member tells all.

‘I dodged a bullet many times’

AJ McLean was the bad Backstreet Boy, but he’s now a proud rehabbed dad and man band member. He looks back on life in the world’s biggest boy band.

Backstreet Boys have been going for 22 years, you’re the world’s best-selling boy band with 130 million album sales, nine US top 10 albums and five members again, but zero Grammy Awards. Where’s the love?

McLean: I consider Backstreet Boys to be the Leonardo DiCaprio or Martin Scorsese of the music world. We’ve been nominated for Grammy Awards nine times in total and never actually won. I feel like after this many years hopefully it’s our time soon. The Grammy is the most prestigious award in my line of work, as an Oscar is in the film world. Who knows? Leo’s in his 40s, Johnny Depp’s in his 50s, they still have not won. But they keep doing what they’re doing, they keep moving forward. It will definitely happen.

Happy days ... AJ McLean suffered from substance abuse issues but is now clean and sober.

This tour sees you guys do an acoustic set where you all play instruments. Are you surprised some people are surprised you can play instruments?

It’s something we’ve all strived for. Kevin (Richardson) has been playing piano since he was a kid, Nick’s (Carter) been playing guitar and drums since he was little. Some of the other guys picked up instruments casually and got real good at it. It’s a cool element we wanted to add into the show. We’re all getting older, we still dance about 85 per cent of the show and that will keep on going as long as our limbs will let it. But we wanted to have something special and intimate for the fans. This acoustic set shows we are a true band, not just a boy band per se. We are the full package.

All in one ... the Backstreet Boys looking in one direction. At One Direction?

Most athletes get to retire when they hit 30 but you guys are pushing on. How is the body holding up?

I still have pain in my knees even though I’ve had surgery on both of them, and I’ll probably have to have more surgery. You can compare it to an athlete the way we put our bodies through gruelling dance rehearsals and then tours of two hour shows four or five nights a week. It is a lot. Kevin’s 43, I’m 37, we’re not old but we’re not young bucks any more. But we’re still out there shaking our things and having fun doing it. You feel it a little more after the shows now, but it’s still worth the pain.

You toured with New Kids on the Block and there’s also Take That showing boy bands can outlive being seen as a novelty teens grow out of.

We are so fortunate to have fans all over the world and to have been doing this coming up to 22 years. We never knew it would go this far, nobody had any expectations, we went into it balls out and gave it our all. Lo and behold here we are on a two-year-long, 20th-anniversary tour with 130 million albums sold and we’re still having fun.

All white ... their stylist’s easiest day ever: your standard boy band in white pose.

When you see One Direction in the throes of intense fame do you get flashbacks?

Absolutely. The only thing different (to us) is they don’t dance. They’re very similar, they’ve used a lot of our writers and producers. Some of their song titles are even similar to ours. But they’re super-talented, I think they’ll be around for a while as long as they stay humble. They’ll probably be around as long as us. They definitely have the `it’ Factor.

They’ve just lost one member, Zayn Malik. Kevin left Backstreet a few years ago, how easy was it for him to rejoin the band for this tour?

He’d tell you it was bumpy at first, dusting off the cobwebs, getting his dancing feet back on. But before long it was effortless. We had to re-bond, reconnect and get that whole Backstreet vibe back. There was definitely a big gap on the few tours with did without Kevin, the fans felt it, we felt it, and it’s fantastic to have him back.

That reunion is captured on your documentary Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of.

The film really is a pretty emotional roller-coaster, I think people are surprised at how raw and how real it is. A lot of these documentaries are in 3D or it’s about the live performance. This is limited live performance and more about what we’ve been through. I’m really proud of it.

Rip-off merchant ... Lou Pearlman was living extra large off Backstreet Boys cash. He’s now in jail.

Your original manager Lou Pearlman is in jail after being busted in a Ponzi scheme that ripped off people to the tune of $300 million, including yourselves. Before he went bankrupt he was making millions while you guys only got $300,000 at the height of your success. Yet you have managed to find the positive in losing millions you worked hard for.

I could have resentment for the rest of my life and I’d be miserable. I have forgiven Lou, but I’m never going to forget the good and the bad times. It’s made us stronger as a group, it’s made us who we are today, it’s made us more business savvy, we look at things with a fine-tooth comb now. Now we run our own label and do everything in-house we need to be businessmen. It made us have to grow up a little quicker than normal, I think it’s a blessing.

The documentary also serves as a what not to do for bands ...

If we’ve paved the road for any of the new boy bands coming out that’s awesome. Unfortunately we were the guinea pigs but I think because of that a lot of groups now are having success with a little more ease and a little less drama. We had no social media, everything was grassroots, we had to go to every radio station and TV show around the world. Now it’s a little easier for people to be noticed. We’ve definitely shown people what not to do.

You had battles with booze and drugs. Do you think you dodged a bullet in going through that before everyone in the world had a camera on their phone to catch you out?

I dodged a bullet in more ways than one, I dodged a bullet in the drink-driving world, in overdosing, in all kinds of things that could have happened to me. Numerous times I should have been in deep, deep doo-doo but my guardian angel was definitely with me. I’m now sober, I’m happy, I’ve got a beautiful family, life couldn’t be better. It’s an ongoing struggle but I’m happy today and that’s all I can think about.

You celebrated your daugther’s birth and people thought you’d relapsed ...

With social media if God forbid I slip up it’s going to be blasted all over the internet in 20 minutes. You have to walk on eggshells and be cautious but it’s easier if you don’t eff up. Then you don’t have to worry about anybody catching you. I’d say to (famous) people If you want to do something stupid do it in the privacy of your own room, don’t do it out in public where everyone can see.

The curl years ... `N Sync were created to replace and conquer Backstreet.

The film also goes into how Lou Pearlman created `N Sync effectively to replace you.

It was bittersweet. Johnny Wright, who was our manager and `N Sync’s manager told us `I’m going to start managing this group, it’s kind of a double-edged sword, I’m managing them to keep them out of your way’. Unfortunately it went the other way, every time we turned something down `N Sync was right there to do it instead. I don’t think anyone told them what was happening, they were just doing what they were told. Lou got a little too greedy, he couldn’t be happy with just us. He tried to build this empire of multiple boy groups and things backfired and he’s in prison because of it.

What’s in the setlist for this anniversary tour?

Well the original setlist for the show was three hours long. There was no way. We have to do the hits. If I go see Prince and he doesn’t do Little Red Corvette or When Doves Cry I’d be really upset. Our fans want to see the hits. But they also want to hear something new. We’ve got a healthy balance. We bring back some of the old dance moves and there’s some new dance moves.

The early days ... Backstreet do the mean streets of Sydney in 1996.

You helped put Max Martin on the map, along with Britney, any plans to work with him again?

Definitely. We’re going to start a new album after this tour ends and we have a break. There was a certain formula that obviously worked really well then. Max had the Max Martin sound, him and Denniz Pop were pioneers. To be honest I miss that sound, and that era. Music in the early to mid ‘90s has some of the best lyrics and melodies and songs of all time, up with the Beatles era or the Jackson 5 era or the Beach Boys era. Max is still going strong. I feel he’s found his niche with Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, he’s just added a more modern twist. Max was 21 when we first met him, he’ll forever be family to us.

Speaking of family, is your six-year-old daughter Abbygail a Backstreet fan?

It’s either Backstreet Boys or Frozen. It’s really nice when she’s had enough of Let It Go and says ‘Daddy sing!’ Plus daddy gets a break from hearing Let It Go for the fiftieth time in a row. Her favourite Backstreet songs are Incomplete and Shape of My Heart, she’s my No. 1 fan.

Backstreet Boys, Rod Laver Arena, May 8. Allphones Arena, May 9. Brisbane Entertainment Centre May 10, Perth Arena, May 15. Tix — livenation.com.au

Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of screens at selected cinemas from this Saturday to Monday for a very limited season.

Originally published as My wild life as a Backstreet Boy