Blue have opened up on their friendship and the bond that keeps them together as they celebrate the group’s 20th anniversary.
In the early noughties, the four-piece – starring Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe – secured a stellar run of three UK No. 1 albums and 12 Top 20 singles between 2001 and 2005.
Marking two decades of success, the band will release the brand new album ‘Heart & Soul’ this autumn – and speaking in Retro Pop’s October 2022 issue, they reveal the LP has been a long time coming.
“With the 20th anniversary looming, we wanted to do something for the fans and put something new out there, although the plan was never to do an album,” says Duncan. “The plan was to do a single or an EP at the most.
“We tried to do all this a couple of years ago, but then obviously Covid happened and kind of ruined the plan. The whole world had to put everything on pause, didn’t it?”
Lee is taking some time off from the group in the build-up to the release of ‘Heart & Soul’ to seek professional help for issues with alcohol, saying in a statement on Blue’s official Instagram page: “As it has been well documented I have always had my struggles with alcohol and often say or do silly things as a results of that, which in turn has caused problems for myself and those around me…
“The time has come for me to take ownership of the root cause of these problems and for that reason I am reducing my schedule for the time being to seek professional help and spend time with my family.”
The Blue boys have his back every step of the way, with Antony insisting: “That’s how it’s always been. We’re always there for each other.
“The chemistry was there from the start because we were already mates,” he explains. “The beauty of Blue was that we were four friends just doing what we loved doing and we still are – making music, getting on stage and trying to entertain people.
“I think we came out at a really good time. There was no social media, no TikTok and all of that. We went the old school way and we’re proud of the fact we slowly built a fanbase.”
However, he’ll rejoin the fold when it comes to their December arena tour, and Simon can’t wait to celebrate their success with fans across the UK.
“I’m excited about all the nostalgia from the crowd about the old songs too, taking them back in time, putting on a great show and proving we’re still passionate about what we do,” he beams.
“We still get the same buzz from performing live. Even when you’re feeling tired, to go on stage and sing a song from 20 years ago and people still love it is such a great feeling.
“After the show I always say to the others, ‘We haven’t got a bad job have we, boys?’”
‘Heart and Soul’ is out October 28 and available to pre-order.
Read the full interview in the October 2022 edition of Retro Pop, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store, use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist, or get Digital Copies delivered direct to your devices.
