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Is it hard coping with all the attention?
Yes. It's a bit weird. I don't know if I like it as it's so hard to tell when people are genuine. It can make me feel really insecure. A while back I found out this girl I was dating was dating two other people in the public eye around the same time. It wasn't serious so I wasn't bothered, but it made me question her reasons.
Do you have quite a small circle of friends?
Definitely. I have the same friends I've had all my life. I was never like Mr Cool or Mr Hip, the popular guy in the class, so the friends I made were real and I know I'll have them forever. Three good friends are better than loads who don't really care about you. I'd like to think I was a good friend. Money and fame can't buy that.
What embarrasses you?
If all the attention in the room is on me. Say I'm in a room with a few people and someone says, 'Mark, tell that story about such and such,', I'll be like (hiding head in hands), 'Oh, OK then.' I worry about making mistakes, I'm not very confident. Being in the band has helped, but somehow I have no problem performing in front of 100,000 people. But it's different sitting with a group of people and talking about yourself. I really, really hate it when people get the wrong impression about me. I'm a very, very paranoid person. Stupidly so.
Have you ever been turned down by a celeb you were trying to chat up?
To be honest, I'm not very good at chatting girls up - I don't have the confidence. I'm so scared they'll say, 'What are you doing? Go away.' If I had the slightest hint they didn't want to talk to me, I'd be gone in a second. So no, I haven't been turned down cos the situation has never happened.
So how do you introduce yourself to a girl you fancy?
The type of girl that works best for me is a girl who's forward. One who'll come straight over to me and start talking. Maybe I'll take lessons from Bryan, heh-heh. I tell you, he has no shame. But I'm definitely getting better at working up the confidence. Everything in good time!
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