AS FRONTMAN Danny O'Donohughe prepares to work on a new series of BBC1's singing contest The Voice, his band The Script have just started a sell-out tour of the UK.
And having just spent four years in the limelight, The Script have already played in front of record crowds – 50,000 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium in July 2011.
The success of the band – whose hits include We Cry, The Man Who Can't Be Moved, Breakeven and For The First Time – in Ireland, the UK and America is something which still comes as a surprise to the boys.
Drummer Glen said: "Our rise has been quite fast at times so it's been hard to adjust to and deal with but it's something you never get used to. It's always really hard. We recently played the O2 in Dublin and we keep telling each other 'this is real'. We don't quite understand how we got here but we are enjoying it.
"Our success in the US has been a surprise because when we went out there we had to go back and do smaller shows like in the beginning and start from the ground up but every time we go back more people come to our shows and we get great reviews which is great for us being Irish."
Their music has been featured in popular television programmes such as 90210, Ghost Whisperer, The Hills, Waterloo Road, EastEnders, Made in Chelsea and The Vampire Diaries.
"It's always encouraging having TV shows playing our music," said Glen. "It's helpful from a business level – more people hear our music and the band. When our song was played in the background on EastEnders we knew we had done well. When that happened we had lots of texts from people telling us they heard it."
And just like many bands, The Script has its fair share of cringing clips from the past – Danny and guitarist Mark Sheehan were formerly part of a band called Mytown, which formed in 1996. They ended up travelling to Canada to collaborate with some of their production heroes including modern RnB legends Montell Jordan and Teddy Riley and completed the boyband style with tracksuits and dance routines.
Glen missed out on this era, having not met the boys until the mid-2000s, but admits he would have given it a go if he had the chance to.
"They got the chance to do something and I would have been in that band especially because I was so desperate to get a break doing anything," he said.
"But I couldn't dance like that anyway. I was playing guitar and doing enough to keep my feet on the ground."
Before The Script signed to Phonogenic in 2005, Glen's first encounter with the boys was when he met Mark in Dublin.
"He invited me to LA with him and Danny," said Glen. "We just played music and we wrote a few tracks – it was that simple – we had the right hunger between us to get recognised. Now if I've got a musical idea I get into the middle of it, but when it comes to lyrics I leave it to the boys."
Being in the band has already had a positive effect on Glen both personally and professionally. He said: "My greatest achievement in music is learning to be happy in the midst of it all and, personally, my greatest achievement is giving up alcohol."
But one of the biggest benefits to the band has been Danny's role on The Voice.
"I think Danny is great on it," said Glen. "Danny is a good mentor, he gives some great advice. He does really well and it's something we needed as most people don't know who the band is. It's great exposure in that sense, exposing him to the public, and it led to us collaborating with people in the show like Will.i.am."
The band recorded and released single Hall of Fame with the former Black Eyed Peas member and fellow judge on The Voice in a collaboration which, like many, was not planned. It scored them their first UK number one.
"It was great working with him," said Glen. "When he off-loads things in his head it's a wonder he sleeps. It's amazing to watch a genius at work.
"Collaborations only happen if we bump into someone and we just jam. A lot of our collaborations are never planned."
Performing alongside established artists like U2, Take That and Paul McCartney is something which makes Glen nervous.
He said: "It's daunting standing in front of people who are massive and you always get nervous but you have to go and get out there and do what you do. The more you do, the more you learn and the more relaxed you get.
"When a show is a sell-out you panic and hope you put on a good show. You just have to try the best you can."
Once the 12-date tour is over, The Script will continue to push the boundaries that have got them paving their way in the music world.
Glen added: "We will continue to write after the tour – we're just trying to expand what we are doing and grow the group.
"The target next is to be as good as we can – we are always chasing how big we are."
Source: Daily Mail / Edited: DannyODonoghue.Net
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