What has been the highlight of 2016 for you?
Professionally, it’s been a fantastic year: I had my No.1 album in Ireland and a Top 20 in the UK which was a huge step. We toured Australia for the first time; we played in Dubai and France; and the Christmas concert tour sold out which is the most shows we’ve ever sold out in a row. The TV show I did with RTÉ was a huge thing too; I never envisioned myself getting into TV but I did a once-off thing with them previously that did really well so they offered me a series. It was fun, but I was daunted by it too.
You teamed up with former Westlife star Markus Feehily during the show, would you consider any other collaborations in the future, perhaps Niall Horan?
Absolutely, I’d love to do something like that in the future. We had Una Healy from The Saturdays on the show, she was just back from doing a duet with Sam Palladio from Nashville. But I would have done something with her too, she is a great singer and is doing a lot of things I really like. So I’d definitely be interested in looking at doing collaborations up ahead.
Is it a different experience sitting at home and watching people react to your show on social media? You don’t get that when you’re performing a live show.
It was very strange. You have to be very thick-skinned. The producers of the show were saying to me, “Check out Twitter, but maybe don’t type in your name”. Of course, I typed it in anyway; it’s funny seeing people’s reactions. Some people really enjoyed it, but then there were others who were slagging it off but still there 30 minutes later. So they are giving out and saying it is s***, but you are asking yourself, “Why are they still tuned in then?”
Are you the kind of person that ignores the 100 lovely comments and just sees the bad one?
I am, but I think everyone is. I certainly don’t know anyone who can ignore that, though you get more used to it. After doing a gig you could meet 200 people who stuck around to meet you and get something signed which is lovely, but all it takes is one bad comment and that’s what you go home thinking about. It is very hard not to do that. You put so much into your shows and to get that negative comment, it just feels bad. On certain nights it’s harder to take, generally it’s the night there is drinks taken that you get people coming up having a dig. It’s rare but it happens. I’m lucky with my fans though, they are very loyal and come back time and time again, and are mostly very positive.
People were so excited to see you here in Cabra Castle today, is that bizarre having strangers get so worked up about seeing you?
It really is, no matter how many times it happens. They are really excited and I’m like, “It’s just me”, I don’t understand! I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that. I didn’t get into this to be famous or to be a pop star, I got into music because I was passionate about performing and entertaining people. I was never one for the fame thing and I still find it strange. I could understand if it was Michael Bublé, but it’s just me.
It’s one thing meeting people after a show but do you ever find it intrusive? Can you ever just go away for a night and get away from being a music star?
I can’t, not in Ireland anyway. No matter where I go, whether it’s a five-star hotel or a restaurant, it’s the same. I’ve never been recognised in the cinema funnily enough. So I love the cinema, I go every two weeks and it’s the only place I’m never stopped. But, if you’re in the public eye you have to expect that; people will want to come up and chat, or get something signed. And that’s the least I can do, to give them a minute. It’s just a minute out of my day and it makes them happy, so why not?
How do you deal with life on the road, it must be exhausting touring so much?
For me it’s just normal. Some people say, “I don’t know how you do that”, but I don’t know how they do nine to five in an office, I couldn’t do that every week.
Is there a big party lifestyle with touring – always a session after the gigs?
There is always a few drinks and a bit of a session after a show. But a lot of the time we are travelling, so we are either driving to the next place or if I am within two hours of home I will always drive home, just to sleep in my own bed. In England, we do two months of the year, living on a tour bus and that’s a completely different story because there is 13 or 14 people living on a bus. Half of them want to stay up and party, and half of them want to sleep. I am normally the one staying up so it makes no odds to me, but I’d hate to be in the other group.
What about drinking around fans, are you wary of doing that?
That’s probably one of my downfalls. I will sit and drink with anyone until any time of the morning and people have often said that maybe I shouldn’t have that many drinks with the fans. But I think, what’s the harm? There’s no fighting, no drugs; it’s just clean fun and getting drunk with people after a gig. I think a lot of people in the public eye don’t do that, but I just see myself as the same as anyone else and I love having the craic and socialising, so I don’t see an issue.
Do you get lonely spending your life on the road?
No, when you get on with your crew then it’s different. I have a few close friends within the band and the crew, it’s very much the lads having the craic so I’m very lucky with the people around me. If that wasn’t the case, it would be very difficult though.
Is that why so many celebrities hire close friends and family as part of their crew? Is it like you are trying to create your own family unit to be with you all the time?
Definitely. I couldn’t employ 10 or 12 people that I didn’t get on with, it would be a nightmare. Of course you’ll always come across personality clashes but for the most part I’m lucky. And when I’m in the UK, my nan comes on tour with us. She’s there doing all the washing and ironing for the lads, she sells the merchandise too and she’s 76, but she’s mad for the craic and sitting up drinking gin and tonic until 3am. She is great fun to have about and that helps me because it is like a home away from home.
Are you single right now?
Yes, I am still single.
You have a lot of female fans that follow you from show to show, would you date a fan?
Definitely. Up ahead who knows what will happen, but I probably will settle down in the next few years.
Would you find it difficult to maintain a relationship with all of the touring?
I think when you’re with a guy like me, who is away so much, it is unfair on the other person. Over the last month, I’ve been home in Enniskillen in my own bed for about five nights. So to not be able to see your other half for that length of time is very difficult.
What sort of person could you see yourself ending up with?
I think they would just have to very understanding of my lifestyle because it does take a toll. They can’t be jealous either because I am constantly around fans at gigs and with social media now anyone can say anything. They’d have to trust me and take me on my word.
Will you hope that they will put up with your life as it is, or would making a commitment to someone force you to change your lifestyle?
I imagine I would have to scale back. Last year alone I did 150 gigs, a TV series, the Christmas TV show, recorded an album in Nashville and toured Australia. I wasn’t home at all really. But saying that, my granddad was a purser at sea and he was gone for three months at a time, and my nan raised my mum and her two sisters herself. They didn’t see each other for long periods but then I suppose he would be home for months at a time. I don’t know, I suppose if she’s the right one it will be okay.
Do you still keep in touch with your ex-girlfriend Lisa McHugh?
We’re still great friends, and she’s single too. I guess she gets how tough it is to make a relationship work in this industry.
Was it easier to maintain dating someone like that who understood the demands on your time?
It was easier that she knew what my lifestyle was, but it was harder because she was as busy as me and we didn’t see a lot of each other at all. We were younger so I definitely didn’t want to be committed and tied to one person. And you have to be so conscious of that. I don’t mean with Lisa, but you can see these things coming when you are dating.
Are you scared of commitment?
Well, when you’re dating things can get serious very quickly and I have a bit of a fear of that and wedding bells. I don’t want that right now. You’ve got to be so sure and, for me, I have never felt that.
Do you see yourself having a family?
Yes, I’d love to have children but not soon. I’d love to start a family in my mid-30s. Currently, I’m having a great time, I love what I do, I love touring, and I love the music industry. I love having no ties at the minute, I really do. I’ve got six friends that I went to school with, three of them have kids now and it changed their life hugely. And I wouldn’t like to be away this much and not see my kids. It must be very tough to be travelling for work and not being able to see them grow up.
Often with male music stars, management don’t want them to be in a relationship because it’s better for fans to think you are single, have you ever had to cover a relationship?
I can’t speak for everyone, but from my point of view it has never mattered. If someone fancies you and they want to go to a gig just to look at you, I don’t think you having a partner will put them off. If you fancy someone, you fancy someone. I get why pop bands would do that but it has never mattered for me.
Your brother is following in your footsteps now too, do you mind that?
He’s doing a lot of the gigs I started off doing around Liverpool and England when I was 17. He’s doing well, he released a single and he seems really into it. He’s doing more modern stuff then I’ve done, so he’s going down a slightly different path but I will help him in any way I can.
Seeing the pitfalls of the industry yourself, would you have any concerns for him?
I’m happy for him to try and crack it, it’s done me no harm so far. I’ve made a successful career out of it and made a good bit of money, thank God. He sees all that and he wants that too. I tried to tell him how hard it is at the start, trying to keep a crew, when no one is turning up to your gigs. I lost a good bit of money in the first few years and it’s really tough. We didn’t play some nights. There wasn’t enough people, so we didn’t go on. And then you’re going home feeling completely rubbish. You tell yourself you’re not good enough and you are doubting whether you should even be in this industry. He hasn’t been through that yet.
Will he be able to take that?
He’s pretty confident, more than I was when I was starting. He’s got broad shoulders so I think he’ll be able to manage it.
So will a duet be on the cards?
I think that would be cool to do, definitely. Maybe if I get another TV series he’ll come on that.
Looking to the future then, will you need to crack America in order to keep going? Ireland is a very small country to sustain a career over a working lifetime.
I am looking at that, I recorded a special hour-long Nathan Carter Show for PBS which is a big US channel, because I want to tour there next September. I’ll also tour Australia again this year. It’s gotten to a point in Ireland where I’ve managed to book the arenas, but to fill those big venues, I can’t be playing here all the time, so I have to look outside Ireland and I’m constantly looking at new markets all the time.
You’ve no family in Ireland , can you ever see yourself returning to Liverpool?
No, Ireland is home now, I’ve been here eight years and I love it. I still love going back to Liverpool to visit, my parents are there, but I’d never move back. I don’t have family here but my nan and brother are over constantly. I can’t get rid of them, they are like permanent lodgers who just spend a little time in Liverpool!
You talk about your nan a lot, she seems to be the most important woman in your life, why is that?
She got me my first ever gigs, she pushed me to make my first CD, she helped me sell them. She used to drive me to gigs and help sell the CDs there, she’s been so driven and good to me. I wouldn’t be here without her. I would have had the want, but I would never have had the opportunities without her doing everything she did. She dedicated the last 15 years to helping me.
Interview: Blathin De Paor
Photographer: Dave Cooley, cooleyballs@hotmail.com
Hair Stylist: Siobhan, Illusions Hair Salon in Bailieborough,
042 967 5512. Illusions leads the way in the North East with the hottest cuts, amazing colours and latest trends at Waverely College.
Make-up Artist: Pamela, 087 786 6550, Enniskillen Beauty College.
All clothes courtesy of EJ Menswear, Grattan St, Sligo, www.ejmenswear.com
LOCATION:
Cabra Castle, Co. Cavan is a member of the Romantic Castles of Ireland group which also includes Ballyseede in Kerry, Bellingham in Louth and the soon-to-be reopened Markree in Sligo. All of the castles are family-owned and run, and offer unique romantic locations for special events, weddings and getaways. Each location retains the atmosphere and ambiance of their historic past whilst offering all modern comforts, personalised hospitality and service as well as attention to detail.Cabra Castle, with its own 9-hole golf course, features beautiful parkland views over Dún na Rí Forest Park nearby. The other castle properties are all perfectly appointed for touring from the Wild Atlantic Way at Ballyseede and Markree to Ireland’s Ancient East at Bellingham.
