March's TOTP

The Troublesome Trio

The Hanson boys - now surely they can't get into mischief? Hmm, that's what they'll have you believe, so it would appear that trouble just seems to follow them around. Perhaps!

Three pairs of mischievous brown (?!) eyes look around their hotel room, their owners grinning. They appear to be plotting something destructive as they survey the swanky curtain drapes, china dinner sets and crystal chandeliers. After all, Isaac, Taylor and Zac are the hugest trio in pop.

Why shouldn't they be chucking televisions out of windows and staining the carpets in true rock n' roll fashion? Zac shakes his blond head and throws
himself back into his seat. "Nah," he sighs, "It would be just too hard to
trash a place like this!"

Worry not readers! Hanson haven't come over all Oasis-like, throwing settees
and stuff about for a laugh. "We're not exactly into trashing apartments,"
reassures Taylor, looking spookily angelic as he pushes his hair from his
eyes. "Well, no at the moment," adds Ike with a cheeky glint in his eye, "but I guess sometime on tour we may become angry and erm, do something wild!" Zac and Tay fall about laughing at the thought of hotel furniture-throwing while Ike goes into an uncontrollable coughing fit, sparking off even more giggles from his younger brothers.

Tour Trouble
Talking of touring, the boys can't wait to set off on their global travels again. "We're going to start our first real proper tour this year..." enthuses a recovered Ike. "Yeah, we're touring across the States and hopefully we'll be making plans to tour in Europe after that," adds Tay, "and believe me, when you come to see Hanson on tour you can expect an extremely wild experience!" Crikey! Are they expecting stage invasions and mobbing scenes? "Well, when we did a tour of shopping malls it was absolutely wild!" says Zac. "It caused so much
trouble for the security guys..." "Yeah, like when we turned up at a store in Melbourne," laughs Taylor, "and 25,000 people showed up!" "When we went outside we couldn't see an end to the crowd. They were squeezing over the barricades, even hanging off the edge of the multi-storey car park!" adds an excited Zac, his eyes lighting up at the thought of what might happen the next time Hanson hit the stage.

Transport Trouble
It seems The Hanson Life is full of troubles such as these, as the shockwaves of their super-fame spreads out around them. There's the time they closed the Kansas Highway: "We did a surprise 30-minute show and 30,000 people showed up!" explains Tay, still gobsmacked. "Fans were standing right across the road, loads of'em." Don't forget the airport folly either, in Australia again, where they couldn't even leave the plane without top cops beside them! "We could hear a humming when we landed," says Ike, "and it was the sound of a thousand fans waiting for us!"

Being Normal Trouble
But isn't it a tiny bit scaresome being chased all over the place, especially when you're back home trying to get on with being a normal teenager? "Well, when we're performing we do try to make sure it’s safe," explains Zac, his eyes widening, "but you know what crowds that size can do when they crush forward.
It is scary. They could crush a building!" "And things are different when we go home now, too," says Tay. "When we want to go out to the mall or to a theme park there's a lot of planning involved and we always travel in groups - it’s safer that way. We would put on pretend beards and moustaches, but I think we'd attract
even more attention!" Doesn't it ever bother the boys that they can't act like normal teenagers? "We rarely feel bothered by it," says Tay. "I mean, it just comes with the job. It hasn't changed where we can go, there's no way we're going to be restricted - we just have to plan going out more. "Yeah, it's not like we go round singing MMMbop when we're walking down the street," giggles Zac.

Girl Trouble
Another prob that comes with the job is the whoppingly untrue Hanson stories that appear in the tabloids. Zac might have a good laugh about the most famous fib, reported in their Local Tulsa newspaper: "Supposedly we were all in a car crash, and I was dead," he remembers. "They could have come up with something more original!" he humfs, looking almost disappointed, "I mean they said that
Tay had got some girl pregnant!" Uh-huh? "And, that is definitely, definitely not true!" Phew, thank goodness for that! "It’s usually our friends who tell us about these wild rumours," says Isaac. "We're hardly ever home, so we'll call our friends and they'll say: 'You'll never guess what you're supposed to have done this week!' They really get a kick out of it." "It’s weird for our friends," adds Tay. "I mean, we're just the same old Ike, Tay and Zac to them but they see us on the TV all the time and on the front page of magazines, it's strange!" So don't the boys' friends treat them a little differently now they're megastars? "They're really cool about it," says Ike. "It's just a shame we don't see them very often. There was one time we were meant to go home for Thanksgiving and we had to work. We were filming a concert for our video in New York and it meant we couldn't see our friends at home." Was he unhappy about that? "Oh no," interrupts Zac, as he practically jumps over the table to tell the tale first, "cos that was when we flew out our best friends to hang out with us before the show!"

Bike Trouble
Hmm, Zac's going all quiet and thoughtful "Do you know what?" he ponders, "If you're disappointed over one thing, you'll be able to do something else you've always wanted." Eh? "Like, if you wanted a motorbike and you didn't get one, you'd get something else you really wanted to make up for it."

Indeedy! But surely Hanson do get most things they want: No 1 records, MTV awards, worldwide adoration, even bikes! "We were all desperate for motorbikes last Christmas," says Tay, "and we all got them - they're brilliant." "Mine's a 200cc dirt bike and it goes 110km an hour! And there are loads of fields and hills near our house to ride around on." So have there been any accidents while wheelie-pulling and ramp-jumping? "Nah," laughs Zac, "but we're looking forward to trying a few stunts.” "Trouble is, we're never at home to ride them," adds Ike.

Travel Trouble
So is jetting off on another tour such a good idea for the boys when they haven't even had time to play with the Christmas presents yet? "We love travelling!" announces Tay. "When we're on tour we have a ball because everywhere is new to us. We've been all over South East Asia, everywhere in Europe it's great... Italy in particular, the food is out of this world!" "Yeah, and the girls are real cute there too!" grins Zac. "And you see all the castles and churches and museums, historical artefacts, erm...' Hmm. So are we likely to spot you brass rubbing some historical artefacts at St Paul’s Cathedral, then? "Y'know,”cuts in Ike, "I feel really bad cos we haven’t been able to go out and see as much of the UK as would have liked, although we did go to Oxford for day once." Hmm. Did they do any brass rubbing while they were there, then? "Noo. We didn't even have the
chance to go punting on those cute little boats. We had the Snowed In album to make!" Bah humbug!

Nappy Trouble
One last thing we need to know! When the boys do come home to Tulsa, what’s the first thing they do? Catch up with their old friends, play on their beloved motorbikes? “Erm, well, we’ve been kinda helping out at home,” admits Isaac, “It’s good to just do normal stuff like that, “ chips in Zac, “I don’t have a problem with it at all.” A Problem with what? Erm, changing nappies actually,” announces Ike.
Ah yes! Baby Zoe has now arrived, taking the total of Hanson children to seven. We all lend a hand,” says Taylor, “And as I’m the eldest I’ve had lots of brothers and sisters to practise on!” states Isaac authoritatively. “The smell can be unpleasant, though,” adds Tay, wrinkling his nose. Pop’s most famous trio burst into laughter once again.

They may have troubles with constant travelling, being chased by fans, and false rumours but, when it comes to nappies, Hanson have no worries - now that’s definitely not to be sniffed at!