You just wanna BB with them! BBMak

    BBMak is a true success story of 2000.   After showcases, concert specials and a summer tour schedule that included a much-loved warm-up spot for Britney Spears, the three lads from England found gold-success with their very first single, "Back Here."
    Their entire Sooner or Later CD-maybe it was named for their attitude about when they'd hit the big time?-is a soft-rockin' roller coaster that includes some of the best vocals in any genre.
    We love these guys so much we recently booked a whole afternoon with them to get all the latest on their lives and careers and-of course-to get some juicy exclusive pix for this and future issues.
    They sing "I'm Not In Love," but how could *anyone* not be in love with Christian, Mark and Ste?

Popstar: Describe Sooner or Later for potential fans.

Mark: It's distinctive, it's different.   We've got our own unique sound.  It's the pop with the melodies and also the rocky, guitar sound.  There is a song on the album that you can listen to for any mood that you're in.  It's a universal sound.  It's a well-written album.

Ste, how did you come up with that as a nickname for Steven?

Ste: [Laughs] It's the thing that people in Northern England call anyone named Steven.  I don't know, it's weird.

What was the last CD you bought?

Christian: Goo Goo Dolls, the Dizzy Up the Girl album.  I also like Limp Bizkit, Sugar Ray-everything.

Ste: I actually went to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square yesterday and bought Kenny Wayne Shepherd.  He's a blues guitarist.  Times Square is so cool-it's very touristy, but it's cool because I'm a tourist myself.

Mark: I haven't bought one recently.   But last time I was in New York, I bought the Christina Aguilera CD.  She's great.

What do you think of boy bands?

Mark: For boy bands, I think the Backstreet Boys are my favorite, vocally.  They're great.

What was the first song that you guys sang together?

Christian: "More Than Words" by Extreme.  We did a cover on that on the Asian album.  But that won't be on the US album.  We wrote more tunes, so we figured we'd stick one of ours on instead of someone else's and we thought America might be sick of that tune by now.

Where are you most looking forward to visiting in America?

Christian: Vegas.  And also Dallas.   I like country music and blues-there are great musicians down there.

Mark: I can't wait to go to Vegas.   We've seen it on the telly-all the lights.  I love LA, all the sunshine and it's a lot more laid back than New York.  But I like New York, too.  This is our fourth time in New York.  We actually shot a video here for promotion, so we got to go up in a helicopter by the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

How different do you feel America is from England?

Christian: In a lot of ways, it's the same, but just a thousand times bigger.  It was amazing the first time we came to New York, just looking at the buildings.

Ste: It depends where you go in America.   In LA, it's a lot warmer.  In New York, it's a lot like London, it's urban.   It's my favorite place in America up till now.  I was just amazed by everything, the pizzas are massive, unbelievable big! [Laughs]

How did you react when you first got your record deal?

Ste: We were amazed.  We got together in 1996 and we didn't sign the record deal until two years later.  We hoped and prayed and we knew that we worked hard for it.

What can fans expect of you in concert?

Ste: A lot of energy-high energy-great music and just a good live show.

Mark: Visually as a band, we don't dance.   [Laughs]  We actually play our own instruments.  We have no set rountines.  It's great to watch, loads of energy on stage.

Christian: We're a new band, especially in America.  Not a lot of them know who we are yet, so it's encouraging to get some really good response from the crowd.

Are you surprised that America is embracing this British trio so enthusiastically?

Christian: It's been absolutely fantastic.   We recorded 90% of the album in America, so it's got an American feel about it.   We've been getting a really good response from MTV and radio, so everything's been going really, really well.

Mark: It's great to see a lot of male people in the audience as well, and singing along and really enjoying it.

It was fun seeing you at Walt Disney World for the Summer Jam taping!

Christian: Yeah, we went to Blizzard Beach.  It took us three hours to go on one slide, the biggest slide in the world.

Ste: Yeah, I don't know what the big one is called, but it gives you a wedgie!

You guys were singing after midnight the same days you were taping.  How do you do that?!

All: Lots of orange juice!

What are some hobbies you have when you're not singing?

Ste: Sleep.

Mark: I love going home to see my family and friends, playing football, going to the gym.

Christian: I like going to the cinema, going shopping, buying DVDs, playing soccer, watching TV, just normal things really, what we don't get a chance to do when we're on the road.

Do you guys ever go on the Internet?

Christian: Yeah, we do.  We mostly go to music websites and check out lots of stuff there.  We don't get much time to go on the Net, but when we do, we play around and stuff.

Mark: We try to reply to fans whenever we have the time.

Christian: I sent my first e-mail the other day.  That's how behind we are.

What's the strangest thing you've seen about yourself on the Internet?

All: [Laughing]

Mark: Just stories...

Christian: There's a lot about me and Mark and five Japanese girls.

Ste: That was me! [Laughs]  Just kidding.

Mark: We always see funny things about ourselves.

Christian: But we have a lot of people making websites, people putting our picture up.  Whenever we go to an autograph session, they are like, "Make a funny face!"  And then they put it on the website.

How are your families reacting to your success?

Christian: When we were first starting, they could have easily said, "Get a real job!"  But from day one, they believed in us.  It helped us a lot.  They are just the proudest people in the world.  I just can't believe it.

Have you guys splurged on anything?

Mark: Yea, we each got a motor scooter each.

Ste: And I bought myself a really expensive guitar.

Christian: I bought myself a motorbike.   And a DVD player and loads of gadgets and clothes.  We've treated our family.   I never used to be able to do that, so it's nice now.  That's the best thing for me now.

Ste: I bought a house.

Is there anything you'd like to talk about that we haven't asked?

Christian: Well, our favorite color carpet. [All laugh]