Attitude May 1997

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It would be easy to dismiss singer-songwriter as nothing but a Mark Owen clone - cute in a puppy dog sort of way, but
completely lacking in erotic allure. Only 19, he is so sweet and cuddlesome that you almost feel the need to reach out and tie a
red bow in his floppy fringe and treat him to a bowlful of the very best, most succulent choice cuts in their own delicious gravy.
Yet for all his petability, there is a steely determination that runs right through him. Underneath his fluffiness, he is a cocky kid -
he's never had any doubts anbout his talents and always thought he would be famous.
When he was growing up on a rough council estate in Manchester, he never bothered striving to clinch the lead part in the local
amateur dramatic production or to sing to a school choir. "I wanted more than that, that wasn't enough for me - I had big
ambitions," he says, sounding like he's just walked off the set of Coronation Street.
Indeed, his background in classic Northern lad made good. Hid mam, Rita, has curly hair, reads the tea leaves and looks like
Very Duckworth. His dad, Andy, sports - like Jack - a plaster on his glasses and whenever things get too much for him nips
down to the bookies for to put a bet on the gee-gees.
So how did cute Kav - he rufuses to reveal his first name - who left school with five GCSEs - manage to launch himself as a
happenin' popster and wangle a stonking record deal from Virgin?
No doubt he would explain it by saying he was just really lucky. Others might say he was just a tad pushy. After recording a
couple of Stevie Wonder songs on his tape-to-tape machine in his bedroom, the plucky 16-year-old blagged his way into Nigel
Martin-Smith's office - famous for giving us Take That - and insisted on leaving his demo. Two days leter the manager with the
Midas touch called Kav up, arranged to meet him and signed him as his next big thing.
"That night he drove me home in his big car to meet me mam and dad," says Kav, fluttering his long, lush eyelashes. "They met
him and liked him straight away. There's no show with him. Although he drives a flash car, there's no bollocks with him."
And how did they take the news that he was going to be managed by a gay man? "Obviously they are only human," he says,
"they come from a working class background, but they were cool about it really." Really? And was he totally convinced that he
was being taken on for his musical talent rather than what was down his pants?
"Obviously, at first I thought, 'what if he just fancies me and doesn't want to release my music?' But it was just purely
proffessional. He was almost like a dad to me, someone who really looked after me. I never felt sexually threatened by him. I
don't know why I didn't. There was never any, 'I'll only make you famous if you...' Know what I mean? I suppose in his
position he could have anyone he wants so why would he waste his time on me?"
Martin-Smith not only spotted Kavana's raw potential but knew how best to mould it into a form that would make young girls
swoon - a sort of George Michael for the pre-teens. While working as an office boy - making tea and fetching sandwiches - for
Martin-Smith, he was groomed for pop stardom.
He went to the gym and tried to develop some beefcake - "I tried to get muscles but it didn't really happen" - and worked on
his songwriting skills. At times, he doubted whether he would ever be given the chance, but unknown to him Martin-Smith was
putting the feelers out for offers, talking to record companies.
Then, last spring he released his first single - Crazy Chance, which was written by ex-Take Thatter Howard Donald. But it was
his cover of Shalamar's I Can Make You Feel Good that he really hit the teen dream market in a big way.
His latest single - M.F.E.O. (Made For Each Other) - boasts a title that would not look out of place scribbled on the back of
some 11-year-old's exercise book. And the lyrics - predictably - are similarly adolescent: 'You turn me around/I can't let you
go/ I'll make you see we're MFEO/No matter how long it takes me to show/You've got to believe we're MFEO'.
He has - so far - played along with the teeny-bopper mags and as a result, we now know, for instance, such gems as: who his
top babe of all time is (Madonna); he most disgusting habit (picking his nose); his absolute best dunking biscuit (Chocolate Hob
Nobbs); his favourite game (Tetris); his biggest fashion mistake (wearing a shell suit); his most surprising quality (his ability to do
12 burps in a minute); and his weirdest dream (about pineapple chunks).
The oddest question he's ever been asked was by this 50-year-old woman who worked for the German equivalent of Smash
Hits. "She sat down and said, 'So Kavana - when you're having sex where does the feeling come from. Is it from your
stomach? Or is it from around your balls?' It was like, what's going on here?"
For all his teen appeal, you can tell he's got more up top than your typical young-dumb-and-full-of-cum boy babe. He penned
eight tracks on his first album and he's witty enough to describe himself as a cross between a male Louise (ex-Eternal) and
Prince with a bit of Kenny Thomas thrown in for good measure.
He loves being famous - he likes the fact that he's now paid to express himself 'creatively'. He adores splashing out on clothes
and gets a kick out of switching between styles as diverse as combat trousers as combat trousers and Adidas top and Prada
with Helmet Lang. When he wants to feel a bit intellectual he dons a pair of black Ferre glasses to give him that fashionable
nerdy-swat look. Yet there is, he admits, a downside to fame: loneliness and sexual frustation.
"There was this time when I was in Norway and I went back to my hotel room, which had horrible yellow walls," he says, "and
I just thought, 'I can't wait for this to get better. I'm a pop star travelling the world and I'm as miseable as hell.'
"I have lost contact with a few friends as a result of my fame. A few became jealous and started slagging me off. They said
thinks like I didn't want to know my mates 'cos I had loads of money. There's a song on my new album called Jealousy - the
person involved will know it's about him.
"Another consequence of constant travelling is the fact that I haven't had any hanky-panky for about six months. Me hormones
are a bit dead at the moment. I suppose I would even go as far as to say that I'm celibate."
So when did he lose his virginity? "I was a bit late - all my mates were shagging and I didn't lose it until I was about 15 or 16. I
went away on this school drama trip and there was this whole bunch of us in this chalet in Wales. We smuggled a bottle of
vodka into the room and before I knew it I'd done it with this girl." And how was it for him? "Let's just say that it wasn't a
fantastic, memorable experience."
Since then he's slept with three other girls. "I've done the ruderies with a lot more, but sex with just four girls so far," he says.
One of his first loves was a girl from school, whom he went out with for two or three years. "We snogged and did the business,
but the summer I left school she didn't want to know me. I spent all the time ringing her but she gave me the brush off. Then, a
few months ago, I was in the VIP lounge of the Hacienda and then somehow she had managed to get in there. She was all over
me. I said that I really appreciate you saying hello, but, like, just fuck off!"
And has he ever felt the urge to do it with another guy? "Up until now I've never had strong sexual feelings towards other boys
and I've never fantasised about them. In the Greek times people were just people - there was never any of this, 'he's gay, she's
bisexual business'. Maybe one day I'll wake up and I'll want to sleep with another man. If I do, I certainly won't be embarassed
about it. Once you've tried it you never know..."
Although he was never bullied at school he was often called a 'poof' - most probably because of his delicate, feminine features.
He was also - mortifying as it must have been - mistaken for a girl. "When I was about 11 or 12 people would come up to my
mam and ask if I was her daughter," he says. "I think it was because I had really long eyelashes - which I used to cut off to
make me look a bit more boyish."
It still happens - the other month he was flying from Manchester down to London when the stewardess bent over him and
asked if madam would like a drink. "When I was younger it really pissed me off, but now it doesn't bother me that much," he
says. "In fact I'm really into the idea of people not knowing whether you're a boy or a girl. I like all that stuff."
He has, he admits, been chatted up by loads of gay men. He often pops down to Paradise with his manager, where he enjoys
being a bit of a prick-teaser. "Men come onto me all the time," he says. "I think it's great, me. I kinda get off on it. It's quite a
thrill." But would he ever let them come close for a little bit? "No, I've never had any tongues down my throat, no, never."
If he had to kiss a man he'd steer clear of fatties, uglies and those covered in lots of body hair. He would fall for a man who
was cool, someone like Robert DeNiro. He also can't understand the attraction of teenage pretty boys like himself.
Talking of pretty boys, can he reveal once and for all which - if any - members of Take That are gay? "You hear rumours about
everyone in this business," he murmers, trying to dodge the question, "but as far as I'm concerned I never knew anything about
it. But if that's what they are, that's cool - the fans would be there for them whether or not." So come on, spill the beans, you
say - which ones are benders? "I honestly don't know, it's not for me to say. As far as I'm concerned, as boring as it is for
everyone, I do think they are all straight - or at least they've all got girlfriends. I don't know what they've done in the past."
Although it's clear he's not prepared to tell all, he will say that out of Take That he is most similar in temperament to Robbie,
while he prefers Howard's music. The only one he didn't really get to know was Gary.
Unlike the Take That boys, Kavana intends to keep his shirt on - for the time being. He wants to get known for his music,
rather than his body. So, is there no chance we'll see him in all his glory?
"Once I get known for my work I wouldn't mind stripping off." And after all, he says, he's got nothing to be ashamed of. "I can't
say how big I am - I haven't measured myself - but I'm not embarassed by my size. Maybe it's still growing, I don't know. But
it's what you do with it that counts.
And with that he brushes back his floppy fringe, flashes his baby-blue eyes and tries to look a bit sexy. It's beginning to work.