Smash Hits

Note: This is kind of a strange article...but take it for what it's worth...another Hanson article.

February 25 - March 10 1998


The Smash Hits Encyclopedia of Hanson!
It's the perfect aid to your pop studies! Amaze your mates with out 36
WEIRD facts about the band that ate the World!

A - Allo Allo
Old British sitcom about larks in a French cafe during World War 2. This
is Taylor's favorite TV program of all time, surprisingly enough!

B - Booze 'n' fags
The Hanson chaps don't like either. None of them have ever smoked, and as
for beer, "We've tried that stuff! It's nasty!" The boys suck sugarcubes
instead.

C - Cows
Whenever Hanson see cows, they all sing, "Cows! Cows! Everywhere! Cows are
all around me!" Zac says it's a "private joke".

D - Dust Brothers
Ultra-cool production team who produced MMMBop. Hanson got on with them
especially well 'cause the Dust Brothers let them jump into the studio pool
with all their clothes on!

E - Eternal
"Extremely nice ladies," according to Hanson who met the soulstredded just
before MMMBop knocked 'I wanna be the only one' of the top spot.

F - Faith
Hanson don't like talking about their strong Christian faith, because "It can get in the way of people liking their music." All the fellas will say is that their faith "is important to us.....it keeps our heads screwed on straight."

G - Girls
They don't have girlfriends, but Hanson are always talking about their
most-fancied females. Ike likes Gwen Stefani from No Doubt and Renee
Zellweger from Jerry Maguire, while Taylor fancies Cindy Crawford - "she's
hot!"

H - Housework
Ike, Tay and Zac used to write songs when they were meant to be doing the
housework. "Our parents would come back to a sink full of dishes and say
'This had better be good!" laughs Zac. "We'd sing the song, then have to
wash up!"

I - Internet
Hanson are keen web-surfers and often communicate with their fans through
their internet site. They've also laughed at some of the anti-Hanson
WebPages which have sprung up. "There was a Marilyn Hanson page where they
made us look like Marilyn Manson (scary devil-worshipping rocker) and had
blood coming from our mouths," says Ike. "It was pretty funny, actually."

J - Jessica
One of Hanson's three younger sisters (the others being Avery and Zoe).
They also have a younger bro, Mackenzie. Taylor says one of the first
songs they wrote was a lullaby for him. "It woke him up!"

K - Kids
Hanson are used to people saying that because they're "kids", they obviously
don't write their own songs. "We don't pay any attention to it," says Taylor. "If that's what they think, so what?"

L - Lego
Zac's favorite toy - the little fella has four large Tupperware boxes
crammed full of Lego pieces. Hanson have spent the last six months building
a huge Lego castle on a rock platform.

M - MMMBop
Did you know that the single has been number one in 25 countries? Or that
the car Taylor drives in the video is Sandra Bullock's from Speed 2?

N - Ninja Turtles
The first video game that Zac ever played, at the age of three. "He'd beat
us all at it," remembers Taylor. "Pretty scary stuff huh?"

O - Oompahpah
Some loons have claimed that Hanson are actually Swedish but are trying to
hide their nationality! "They said that MMMBop used to be called Ooompahpah
and it was originally all in Swedish!" recalls a disbelieving Ike.

P - Peanuts
Hanson's favorite cartoon strip. Lucy on Middle of Nowhere was written
about one of the cartoon characters Linus' elder sister Lucy.

Q - Questions, dumb
Hanson dislike being asked daft stuff in interviews. "One guy asked me if
I'd been abducted by aliens," groaned Zac, "Yeah , right!"

R - Rock 'n' Roll
The first music Hanson listened to was old '50s stuff on compilation tapes.
"That's what influenced us the most.! says Taylor.

S - Spice Girls
When the boys met the Spices, Zac was surprised to discover he's almost the
same height as Geri. "I think Zac should date her," commented Taylor.
"They've got a lot in common."

T - Tulsa
Hanson's beloved hometown and there favorite place in the World. "Someone
gave us this little snowstorm of Tulsa," says Zac. " You shake it and it makes snow go all over it. We take it everywhere we go." T is also for Tex-Mex
Spicy South American food which Hanson have a particular liking for. When
in Los Angeles, they enjoyed hanging out at the restaurant Pocito Mas.

U - Urgh!
Hanson enjoy making grisly animated films using their Lego collection. "We
did one pretty gruesome one," chuckles Ike, "where we pushed a guy out of the
control tower and he landed on the street and killed people. We used a lot
of ketchup for that!"

V - Voice
Taylor's voice broke in the making of Middle of Nowhere. Now, whenever they
play MMMBop live, it has to be in a lower key than on the record.

W - Water bombs
Hanson admit that when they're in hotels, they sometimes lob water bombs
over the balcony for amusement. "I hit someone the other day - that was
pretty cool," guffaws Taylor.

X - Xylophone
If you crossed the instrument Zac plays (the drums) with the one Taylor
plays (keyboards) you'd end up with a Xylophone! Hurrah!

Y - Yikes!
Ike confesses that he's terrified of being eaten by a shark or crocodile.
Sounds far-fetched, until you remember that Hanson have lived in Trinidad,
Ecuador and Venezuela, where such beasties are found!

Z - Zzzzz
Hanson always try to get the right amount of sleep - too much shut-eye
leaves them as groggy as getting to little.