Five Minutes with Antony Costa from Blue

English boy band Blue sold over 15 million albums in the noughties and enjoyed massive worldwide hit singles such as All Rise, Too Close, and One love. On Friday November 13th the band including Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe - make their Dubai debut at the Emirates Golf Club to turn back the clock and showcase some new material. Band member Antony Costa talks postponed weddings,the joys of acting and the importance of first aid!

You are playing at the Emirates Golf Club on Friday 13th. It’s your first time in Dubai so what can the audience expect?



New stuff and old stuff really. I just hope people will enjoy everything. It’s going to be quite a show and me and the boys are very much looking forward to it.

Is it weird still being in a boy band in your 30s – did you ever envisage that in the early days?



Well I always thought Blue would go on forever but we did split up in 2004. It’s nice to be able to come back and have a second bite of the cherry, release two albums and represent your country at Eurovision 2011 and do numerous sell-out tours.

How do you guys get on these days – does it help having frequent breaks and then meeting up again for shows?



The good thing about being with the boys is that we have never had an argument and we have a lot of love and respect for each other. The best thing is that the camaraderie is still there. People will be able to see that when we are on stage.

Outside Blue you have starred in a lot of musicals in your career – what do you prefer, being in Blue or treading the boards as an actor?



I love being in Blue because that’s the role I am most known for after 16 years but I love acting, I love treading the boards and playing a part. I’ve just finished a run in Europe playing in Tommy the rock opera by the Who which was amazing and I got some really lovely reviews from that. It’s something I am really proud of.

Starring in the musical Tommy meant you had to postpone your wedding to do the shows – how did your fiancée Rosanna Jasmin react to that?



It wasn’t really a laughing matter at the time – Rosanna wasn’t too happy at first. It was a bit of a shock but once I explained things to her and she understood, it was all hunky dory. We will maybe re-schedule the wedding for next year but we don’t have a date yet. I’ll have to talk to Rosanna!

You now have a lovely daughter Savannah. How has parenthood changed you as a person?



It’s great being a dad and spending as much time with my daughter as I can. You still have to work and provide though but it’s fantastic overall.

How is she – there was a bit of a health scare a few months ago when she had a fit while you were out?



She is much better now – the St John’s Ambulance men were amazing that day. She had a sudden fit and needed urgent medical attention. We were both really scared, being the first child, you don’t know how to react. But as soon as we called the emergency number, the ambulance arrived and the guys were brilliant. But after that we decided to do a first aid course to find out all the ins and outs, so if anything like that happened again we would know what to do. The natural reaction is to panic and maybe scream and shout but when you know what you are doing, you remain calm, assess the situation and try your best to help.

You famously took your Brit award in 2002 for Best Newcomer to show the teacher who said you wouldn’t amount to much – did she take back what she said?



She laughed and saw the funny side of it. She didn’t get upset about it but when you are 15 and you are told you can’t pursue your dreams I thought no, I’m not going to take that. I am going to show you what I can do.

It was really tough for you financially when Blue split up in 2004. You all decided to break up. What did you learn from that experience?



I learnt to not take things for granted and always have a back-up plan. Luckily for me I could do a bit of acting so from there I went to the West End of London to do a show called Blood Brothers. I went to the audition and proved that I could play the part regardless of my background in Blue.

Did you have to alter your lifestyle to reflect this?



I suppose you do yes. There was a time in Blue when I never paid a phone bill but when the band split you have to start taking more responsibility.

Do you think it is harder making a living now as a musician and actor than back then?



I do. I really do because there is so much out there now. There’s YouTube and social media for a start that me and the boys never experienced growing up. You can be a star on YouTube now if you have enough hits but I think: what have they done? What is this person’s talent? As a teenager I had to learn my trade in pubs and clubs.

How disappointing was it when Sony dropped Blue from the label earlier this year?



You know what? It didn’t bother me. We know the music industry has changed. If Sony has given us a knock-back then hey ho. We are still alive, we still have our health. There are more important things to worry about in life. It was a bit upsetting at first but we got through it. We can still do gigs. Scottish singer Marti Pellow once said to me ‘the future is in the past’. As long as people still want to hear our old hits like All Rise and One Love, we will carry on.