BOYBAND turned manband Blue are back on tour in 2015 with a stop in Bristol later this month.

The foursome, famed in the naughties for their muscle-flexing dance routines, front cover good looks and wistful harmonies, have been no strangers to hardship since splitting in 2005 and reforming in 2011; three have declared themselves bankrupt and two have suffered depression.

But with their annus horribilis of last year behind them, the R n’ B boys – Duncan James, Lee Ryan, Simon Webbe and Antony Costa – are back on form and ready to take the pop scene once again by storm.

“We are excited,” Antony told the Gazette. “We are all out there again doing what we love, what we thrive on.

“We have all got our health back and that is more important than anything. It is all about living for the moment and enjoying it.”

Blue, whose most famous hits include All Rise, One Love and Bubblin, have just released their new album Colours, the first in a career-saving, two-record deal with Sony. And with a 16-date tour due to start on March 21, the cheeky London boys have it all to play for.

“It is nice to be given a second bite of the cherry. Our last tour (the first since reforming) was very nostalgic – this one is going to be more of a show,” said Antony.

“We are vocalists and this is Blue in 2015. It is all about the music and will be uplifting. Hopefully people who come to see us will enjoy it and go away with a smile on their faces.”

Blue have always mixed the old with the new having, in their heyday, released Elton John’s Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word and Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered. And their new album is no exception, featuring Rod Stewart’s I Don’t Want to Talk About It.

“That was kind of down to me,” added Antony. “It is a favourite of mine and we as vocalists are so looking forward to performing that.  

“Originally it was going to be an album of covers but we didn’t want that. We all grew up with motown and the first single, King of the World, really depicts what the album is all about.

“Think Bruno Mars. It is very much still Blue but with a bit of an edge.”

There was chaos outside Bristol’s O2 Academy last time the boys played the city in October 2013. And Antony, 33, said despite nearly 15 years of being in one of Britain’s most famous boybands, he would never grow tired of Blue’s adoring fans.
“They have grown up with us,” he said. “They have lived our journey with us.

“It is always nice when people wait outside our gigs for us, when they don’t it will be time to start worrying. We are grateful to them and always will be.”

Blue play the Colston Hall, Bristol on March 24.