Emma Pinch talks to the former Popstars winner now starring in Flashdance

WHEN Noel Sullivan watched Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke gliding off the production line of X Factor, he couldn’t help but make comparisons.

Way back in 2000, he, Myleene Klass, Suzanne Shaw, Kym Marsh and Danny Foster won Popstars, the very first pop talent show.

Hear’Say was the original manufactured pop band and the public couldn’t get enough of them. The first single, Pure and Simple, streaked up the charts, and they were the first British band to have a debut single and album at number one simultaneously.

But the band, created by “nasty” Nigel Lythgoe, Nicki Chapman and A&R man Paul Adam, lasted a mere two years. By the time they split, they were facing not just public indifference, but outright hostility.

“I think it’s pretty obvious from everyone’s point of view what happened,” Noel says abruptly. “Nobody knew how big it would be or what to do with it. We were over-exposed and mismanaged, so we were always going to burn out quickly.

“We were on everything. People got sick of us. I was getting sick of us. We had a 2½-year run where you couldn’t pick up a paper or turn on TV without us being on.

“You can’t maintain that level of fame and hype.”

He notes that now, with an army of marketing execs, stylists and publicists, and a mogul like Simon Cowell behind winners, the outcome is different.

“Look how perfectly polished people are who come out of X Factor now,” he says.

“It’s great we went through that, I’m really proud to have been through the first one, and it’s great to see how they’ve fixed that. We were the guinea pigs.”

But there are no regrets.

“To go on a whole journey in your early 20s with the world at your feet, then back to having nothing again, I learned a lot of life lessons,” he says. “It makes you stronger.”

Going “back to nothing” was tough, though. It took six months for him to decide what he was going to do.

“There were some re-entry problems,” he admits. “I don’t think I handled it all that well and there was a period after Hear’Say when I didn’t do any-thing. I had to take stock and take a while to get my voice back. The bubble had burst.”

In the end, he decided to reinvent himself as a jobbing musical theatre actor. His friends and family acted as the “safety net” and showed him the way back, he says.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing. I knew they wouldn’t kid me about what I should do.

“In Hear’Say, we didn’t earn enough money to set us up for life and I’m grateful for that. You’ve still got some motivation to do other things.”

He was joining a long line of fading pop stars who pop up on stage. Their names inject a shot of fresh publicity into well-worn shows, and it props up the pop star’s declining profile. That scenario was something Noel was determined to avoid. He honed his craft for five years with touring productions.

His Hear’Say experience proved a mixed blessing, he says.

He made some great friendships – he went to Myleene’s daughter’s christening, Suzy’s been to see him on tour and Myleene will shortly, and he “has the odd text” from Danny – and is happy about the music they made.

“At the time, yeah, they were tunes that were my cup of tea,” he grins. “I’m all for tunes that make you dance on Friday night. I’ve never been a music snob. I’m all for the key change in the middle and standing up.

“But people know me from what I did six years ago, and I’m not known for what I’ve done since.”

He even travelled to America to get a realistic idea of his talents.

“I wanted to earn my stripes in the industry, and not be someone who was in a pop band and is now in shows. I want longevity, not to be pop star number 438 in Joseph. It takes time and graft.

“In Las Vegas and LA, it was great, because for 10 minutes I wasn’t being known for being in Hear’Say, so I could gauge where I’m at. I could go to an audition without that round my neck.”

His slog has paid dividends. After his debut in 2003 at the Jersey Opera House, playing the role of Danny in Grease, then Nick Piazza in Fame, he’s been selected to play Nick Hurley, the male lead and love interest of the infamous welder/ dancer in Flashdance.

It’s a new production choreographed by Arlene Phillips, of Strictly Come Dancing judging fame. Noel’s role as Hurley came after eight auditions – his toughest ordeal yet: “On the last one, there were 21 people on the panel, including Arlene Phillips, so it was pretty intense,” he says.

“It was the first production I’ve done on just my abilities, rather than just my name. It was more important to have someone who could play the role rather than having a name to put bums on seats, and that’s the way I like it.

“I waited five years for this opportunity. Six months from now I hope to be on at the West End.”

Who needs Simon Cowell now?

FLASHDANCE is at the Liverpool Empire from January 26-31. The Box Office is on 0844 847 2525.

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