Former Westlife heartthrob Markus Feehily will be bringing his addictive new single ‘Love is a Drug’ to G-A-Y this Saturday. Before that, the openly gay singer spoke with James Egan about everything from marriage equality in Ireland, to scary old ladies in Elephant & Castle.
So, ‘Love is a Drug’ – what inspired it?
A wanker. Honestly. It was someone who was just messing me about.
A timewaster?
Yeah, a timewaster, but then all of a sudden they’d say something and I’d think ‘oh maybe they’re just going through a weird time and they’re not actually this mean. Just give it time and they’ll be okay.” I just kept on going back. Every time I was like ‘That’s it! Never again!” but then I’d get a drunken text three weeks later and I’d end up replying.
A relapse.
Yeah exactly! It was just a repeated situation and in hindsight, it was wearing me down, slowly but surely. I actually became really unhappy. Frustrated with going back to a situation that was bad for me. That’s where the similarity to drugs was, if you know what I mean.
A metaphor for the addiction of love and the high and lows.
Exactly. A lot of people say they can relate to it. I know it’s a fairly standard thing and it happens to everyone. There’s that person that you know you shouldn’t and you just do.
I think everyone thinks they’ll outsmart it until it happens to them.
You know, I’m a mature adult now, I know what I’m doing and I’m not stupid. But then all of a sudden you fall for someone and you’re acting like a fucking 16 year old teenager again!
The video is fantastic too. It’s very intense.
I didn’t want it to be all boy-band-y, like lipsyncing down the camera and smiling. I wanted the song to be heard first and then somebody might go “Oh, that’s the guy from Westlife”. I’ve found in general that at times when I’ve led with “this is Mark from Westlife, have a listen to his song” people have a big preconception. My management have stopped telling people who it is, so they send the song and people are like “Oh my god, I love it, who is it?” Then they find out and they’re really surprised.
Like a sneak attack.
Yeah, like sneaking up from behind and going BOOM! I’m just taking a backseat, visually, for once.
There’s not a white overcoat or Timberland boot in sight in the video either. It’s a whole new look.
Exactly! I had the idea in my head of a lot of red. The colour of anger and frustration and danger. I wanted to make the entire video red. The director was like “Er, we need a little bit of non-red”. To be fair, I think that would have been hard to get on TV. It probably would have started sending people into fits.
You would have had to have a disclaimer before each play, like when there’s strobe lighting.
You should have seen the director when I told him I wanted the video to be in a darkroom.
Oh my God.
[Laughs] I meant a photographic darkroom!
Some of the video looks like it was filmed in Elephant and Castle. Those underpasses are scary.
Yeah it was! Even the nicest, most innocent little grandma looks like she’s gonna take a knife out and chop your head off down there.
A woman once pulled down her knickers in front of me down there and took a piss. I’ve not been back since.
[Laughs] Oh my god.
You’re playing at G-A-Y very shortly, and I hear you have something special planned for your show?
The Irish marriage equality referendum is happening in May. As someone who’s been in relationships before and been in love and wanting to get married, I think it’s insane and quite weird to me that anyone would suggest that shouldn’t be the case. So I’ve been looking for the right opportunity to make my statement about it. It’s not going be a fucking Madonna-type statement though. I’m not going to be snogging Jeremy Joseph onstage. I’m just gonna incorporate it into the gig. Nothing mental. But I’m looking forward to it. I thought it would be a good opportunity. I’m doing it in a country where you already have what we’re fighting for in Ireland. Ireland should get with the program.
I think it’s the right platform and audience to weave it into the show.
Every time I go to Heaven, there are a million Irish people there. I’ll be sending them back on the plane with their vote in their back pocket. I’m looking forward to it, I’ve played G-A-Y loads of times with Westlife but I’ve never played at Heaven.
Ah, so you were at the Astoria before?
I was at the Astoria every second bloody weekend!
Markus Feehily is at G-A-Y @ Heaven (Under the Arches, Villiers Street, Charing Cross, WC2N 6NG) on Saturday 25th April, 11pm-5am. Discount entry wristbands available at G-A-Y Bar.
