Top of the Pops-June 1998

We chase Hanson to New York to find out if their cool rock 'n' roll image runs true!

"Neeeeoooow! Splat! All over the pavement!" Young Zac Hanson is running through the various sound effects that come from chucking an array of objects from a ninth floor window, while Taylor and Isaac are trying to calm their mad bro down a notch or two. Just an average day in the life of our long-haired mates Hanson!

We're hanging out in a swish suite at the exquisitely posh Trump International Hotel in New York (they have telephones in every bathroom, don't you know?) and everyone's feeling very rock 'n' roll.

"You know they keep these windows permanently shut so you can't throw anything out, don't you?" informs Isaac as he gazes across the tree tops of Central Park to the soaring New York skyline. "And to stop people jumping out," adds Zac. "Peeeeoooow! Splurdge! All over that road come!"

"I don't think jumping out of a window would be too good an idea," advises Taylor, "but skydiving from a plane...wow what a rush!"

Yep, these guys are certainly the best judges of what's hot and what's not so as we take to the mean streets of The Big Apple, Hanson give us their ultimate guide to rock 'n' roll-dum.

Do you ever wake up and think, 'Wow, I'm a rock 'n' roll star!'?

Isaac: Not in a million years.

Zac: Never, ever, ever, never.

Isaac: I think I sometimes wake up and go, 'Wow this is cool!'

Taylor: When we wake up I wouldn't say that we think anything except, 'Hey it's a nice day out there!'

Isaac: Then as the day goes on and you have fans hanging outside the hotel, that's when it hits you.

Didn't you nearly get mobbed yesterday?

Taylor: Well we played the David Letterman Show and there were 500 people outside blocking up the street. They were all there just for us and that was really cool.

Isaac: It's a big honor cause I mean...

Zac: You guys! (He points to a flat looking bun on the boys lunch trolley.) It's a bagel!

Isaac: (To Zac) Yeah, yeah... I mean it's definitely amazing that...

Zac: (Still preoccupied with the bagel) Look at this! Someone's sat on my bagel!

Isaac: It's amazing that so many people want to travel just to see us walk into a building.

What does riding around in a limo really feel like?

Taylor: Um, it's fun.

Zac: The problem with limos is...

Isaac: ...they attract attention. People think, 'Oooh, who's in there?'

Taylor: Some of them have seats facing backwards, which makes you feel a bit queasy. Zac nearly threw up during one limo ride.

Isaac: He did throw up, didn't he?

Zac: No only almost. I held it in.

Isaac: Wasn't it cause the roads were really curvy that day?

Zac: No guys, that's just me. I even get sick in normal cars.

So come on, why are limos so much fun?

Isaac: Cause they're nicer than a van.

Zac: They best ones have this remote and you go, 'Beeep!' (points imaginary remote control at Taylor) and this panel opens up and a TV comes whizzing out.

Taylor: You can stick your head out the sunroof while your cruising round town and stand up in them.

Isaac: Yeah that’s pretty cool.

Do you get given loads of free stuff from cool companies?

Taylor: Yeah, people are always giving us clothes but that doesn’t mean we wear them all.

So you turn down lots of freebie gifts?

Taylor: Oh no, we always take them and then if we want the stuff we keep it and if we don't...

Isaac: Woah woah woah! People don't necessarily just give us stuff because of who we are.

Taylor: Yeah, we don't like to wear big logos, we just wear stuff we like.

What are the coolest freebies you've got your mitts on?

Isaac: I go some guitars from Gibson. That was very, very cool and a real thrill for me.

Taylor: We get given loads of lava lamps cause we are starting a lava lamp collection at home.

Zac: If this was our room there'd be two big lava lamps here (points to a pile of bagels), one here (waves hand at Taylor's foot), one here (points at Walker's head), and one here (gestures over to Isaac).

Isaac: The two big lamps are over three feet tall. (i.e. nearly as big as Zac himself. Well almost nearly).

Zac: They're not three feet tall. They're two foot twelve.

Isaac: Well whatever, they're pretty big and they take a while to start working but once they do they look great.

Zac: Like pillars.

You mentioned that the Hanson tour will be pretty wild. Just how rock 'n' roll were you planning on being?

Zac: I don't know if I'd call it wild. (Getting cheeky) But there'll be some music, a stage, a few lights, some speakers, and audience...

Taylor: We hope!

Isaac: We're not going for tons of special effects but the set we helped design is very cool.

Do you fancy roaring onto the stage on your motorbikes?

Taylor: We actually thought of that but it would be really dangerous. You could drive a little too far and end up in the audience...break a few bones.

Zac: Or miss and smash into a wall.

Isaac: We thought it would be cool if Zac drove up a ramp to his drums and parked behind them.

Zac: Or you could do a wheelie, give it too much gas and end up flipping over backwards.

Taylor: And crushing your whole body!

Isaac: Tay and Zac have had some pretty incredible wrecks recently.

Taylor: Zac hit a rock and just flipped. He flew about ten feet through the air.

Zac: Hey, I was teaching gymnastics to my brothers!

Are you all set to smash up your instruments on stage?

Zac: I don't think I could bear to do that. I already smash my drums enough as it is, hitting them as hard as I do.

Taylor: Zac takes his out his anger by snapping his drumsticks. Rock ‘n’ roll!

Isaac: I'd never be able to smash a guitar. First of all it's mine so I'd be ruining my own stuff.

Zac: And secondly... why?

Isaac: Yeah, why wreck good gear?!

Who's been the most rock ‘n’ roll that you've run into?

Isaac: Aerosmith!

Taylor: And John McEnroe, the tennis player.

Isaac: Oh and we met Ringo Starr from the Beatles last night.

Taylor: We did a little cameo in his new video.

Isaac: The song's called La Di Da.

Zac: (in a posh falsetto) La Di Da!

Isaac: But, um, it's kind of strange, so we'll see how it turns out.

When are you getting some rock ‘n’ roll tattoos then?

Taylor: We thought about getting earrings and tattoos but it's so cliched. Everyone's done that.

Isaac: We thought about eyebrow rings. That could've been cool.

Taylor: Yeah but everyone does it. It's no big deal.

Have you ever been sick in public?

Zac: Of course. On one of the first shows for the Middle of Nowhere tour both Tay and I got sick.

Taylor: Yeah we were spewing all over the place.

Zac: But luckily one of the first things we said was, if you're gonna spew up on stage make sure you've got your back to the audience.

Taylor: Yeah, don't spew on the audience! Bad move.

Isaac: That's not true. They didn't actually spew on stage. They just looked very green for the whole set.

Zac: It's very easy to get sick when you're meeting so many people.

Taylor: You shake somebody's hand, then you pick your nose, wipe it on your leg. Then you pick your ear... It's tough!

Finally have you ever pulled a rock ‘n’ roll moon?

Taylor: Never to anyone we didn't know really well.

Zac: And only in the dark - not where anyone could see us!

Isaac: Before you ask, there are no pictures. Trust me!

Just How Rock 'n' Roll are Hanson?

They have the long hair, the can play the guitar and they're not totally unfamiliar with leather pants, but are Hanson 101 per cent bona fide rock gods? We put them to the test.

1. You're due to play at a big outdoor festival and all you need to do is arrange the accommodations. Do you...

a) Take a tent and camping stove? There's nothing like the big outdoors, even if it does mean peeing behind a hedge.

b) Roll up in a huge tour bus? The bunks are cozy and if it means going without a shower for a day then, so what?

c) Book into the nearest hotel? Peace and quiet, fresh sheets and 24-hour room service. Bliss.

Taylor: We'd book into a hotel.

Zac: No, we'd stay on the tour bus cause then we wouldn't have to do any horrible travelling.

Taylor: No, you'd stick to the bus during the day and then hang out in the hotel at night.

Isaac: We couldn’t camp cause there's not usually dressing room areas backstage at festivals.

Zac: And if the weather was bad we wouldn't want to risk falling sick.

Taylor: Besides, we'd have to pee in the open air, eurgghh!

2. You leave the taps running in your hotel bathroom and flood the whole apartment. There's enough water to wash an elephant. Do you...

a) Get down on your hands and knees and use all of your spare undies and towels to mop up?

b) Pack up and sneak out? Hotels charge enough, they can cover the damage!

c) Sheepishly own up to the manager and offer to pay for the damage to the room?

Taylor: You'd sneak out! No argument.

Isaac: I'd clean up as much as possible, then sneak out!

Taylor: Yeah I guess so, but I wouldn't ruin my underwear. I'd use the bed sheets instead.

3. A relative wants to buy you a lovely present for your new apartment. Do you opt for...

a) A musical lavatory? It plays a top tune when you flush!

b) A new ironing board?

c) A diamond studded pinball machine?

Taylor: Easy, the pinball machine. An ironing board is boring and who wants a toilet that plays music? If you're ready to flush it you're about to leave the room aren’t you?!

Isaac: Yeah, I'd have the pinball too but I'd take the diamonds off and sell them.

Zac: And then buy the toilet!

4. During a European tour Boyzone are staying in the hotel apartment next door. You invite them in for a party, but after a while Keith starts getting a bit rowdy and begins to trash your hotel room. He's about to throw the TV out the window. Do you...

a) Shout 'Go on Keith!' and lob the alarm clock out the other window?

b) Rescue the TV from him but join in on a popcorn and Pepsi fight, accidentally spraying fizzy pop up the walls?

c) Call the police and breathe a sigh of relief as the cops lead Keith away?

Isaac: No you pull the TV out of his hands and say, 'Shut up! Sit down!'

Taylor: 'And behave like the adult you are.'

Isaac: I think throwing a TV out of the window is a little bit dangerous

Taylor: Water balloons or small animals, on the other hand are fine by me!

5. You meet a girl who likes you for all the right reasons. It's her birthday and you want to spoil her. Do you...

a) Play her a song on your acoustic guitar?

b) Record her a special tune and have it played over the radio along with a birthday message?

c) Drive around her neighborhood in a big sports car with speakers playing a romantic Celine Dion ballad.

Zac: Yuck! None of those!

Taylor: You'd take her out into the country and do something that had nothing to do with any of those. (The mind boggles...) You'd do what she wanted to do.

Isaac: But Taylor, girls don't like being asked what to do. I'd play her a song on my guitar, take her to a movie then dinner.

Zac: I'd do nothing!

Isaac: Ah Zac, that's not a good idea cause then she'll be on your back for forgetting her birthday.

Zac: Okay, I'd take the diamonds off the pinball machine and give them to her.

6. It's your mate's birthday and you're off to a posh restaurant to celebrate.

Uh oh, the doorman refuses you entry cause you're wearing trainers. Do you...

a) Say, 'Don't you know who I am?' and demand the best table in the house?

b) Take off your shoes and socks and walk in with bare feet?

c) Congratulate your mate and slink off home?

Isaac: Go home. I wouldn't want to go to a posh restaurant anyway.

Taylor: (To Isaac) But your friend's asked you along.

Isaac: Okay, I'd take my shoes and socks off.

Zac: Yeah, but just you make sure you've cut your toenails and washed your feet.

Taylor: He could still wear his socks.

Isaac: Yeah, walking in with socks on and not caring what everyone thought. Now that's pretty rock 'n' roll!

The Verdict

Ok, so Isaac, Taylor and Zac are perfectly happy to lob a cute fluffy bunny from and 18th floor window and are just gagging to own a bejeweled pinball machine but they cringe at the mere thought of peeing al fresco. A case of rock ‘n’ roll identity crisis we think!

The Sentence

We're afraid it's 40 weeks on the road with OASIS. If they can keep up with pop's bad bros then we'll crown them the true Rock Gods of Pop... forever!