Backstreet Boys' devoted fans will do almost anything to get near their favorite group! Some are simply adorable, some are a little weird, and some just go too far! We asked Kevin, Nick, Brian, Howie and A.J. to tell us the stories of some of their most memorable encounters.

Don't Call Us!

On Backstreet Boys' first tour of Europe they were invited to appear twice on the German answer to MTV, Viva. Unfortunatley a lot of very nice cars were damaged outside the television station's studio when they came between the BSB's fans and the guys tour bus. "The mistake they made was publicizing all week that Backstreet Boys are gonna be here," remembers A.J. "There were over 2000 girls waiting for us and they ended up walking and jumping on soft-top convertibles and putting holes in them. The ruckus tht caused made Viva tell us they don't want us back."

Picked Out In Piccadilly

Piccadilly Circus in London doesn't have clowns and a giant tent. It's actually a touristuy area of the city with lots of cool restaurants, cafes, theaters and places to shop. A.J. and Howie were there minding their own business one night when they became surrounded by fans. "Things were just starting to happen [for the group] there. So we're in Piccadilly Circus to get something to eat and we were on a corner waiting for some friends and the next thing you know we were surrounded by all these Europeans." Without any security to get them out of the crowd the guys ended up signing autagraphs for almost an hour. "You can't control it," adds A.J. "With security, they'll be like 'Okay, thats enough, the guys have to go,' but we were like 'Okay, okay, okay, okay' and we're trying to work our way back into the mall area." In case you were wondering, A.J. and Howie did eventually find their friends and have dinner, although a bit later than they originally expected.

Eat All Your Veggies

Of course it's not always the fans who get a little nuts, sometimes Backstreet Boys' own road crew acts a bit zany. The boys say that the first and last nights of a concert tour are usually easy targets for a practical joke. "We always do stuff to mess with each other," says A.J. "The last show on our Christmas tour was ridiculous." Interjects Howie, "Anything and everything can happen on the last show." "Our crew was trying stuff with us. We did the song "Boys Will Be Boys" where we're supposed to dance with our mikestands," recalls A.J. Apparently, the crew thought the Backstreet Boys needed more Vitamin A in their diets. "They put carrots in our mikestands!" says A.J. "I didn't know what it was and I couldn't stop laughing!"

At Home With The Family

Although Backstreet Boy mania hasn't hit full effect in the United States yet, plenty of fans from other countries have found their way to the homes of the Backstreet Boys and their relatives. "My family has had it all," says Kevin. "Not just my mother, but my grandfather and my grandfather's brothers and sisters because we all have the same last name. My grandfather actually had people come to his house in Kentucky from Germany." Similar incidents have happened to the families of the other Backstreet Boys, too. "My mom and dad have met fans," says Brian. "There will be little girls on vacation to the U.S. who'll come to visit their families. A little girl [who was visiting] drove from Ohio to come visit my family in Lexington and they contacted my parents. So my mom said, 'Okay, you can't come to the house but I'll meet you for breakfast.' So they met and because she went to all that trouble to bring a fan letter personally to my mother so I could get it--my mother was like, 'Brian Thomas, you write that girl back!'"

A Different Kind Of Christmas

Nick's family has had such a hard time with keeping fans off the lawn and out of the garden that they finally had to resort to putting a large fence around their property. That hasn't stopped fans from visiting--even in holidays! "This Christmas, some fans came to my house. We were all dressed up and getting ready to eat Christmas dinner. I came out and signed a few autographs anyway," recalls Nick. "They came back the next day to apologize for bothering us on Christmas, but they wrote me a letter explaining that this was their Christmas present. I was like, wow."

Please Don't Pick The Flowers

Nick's family home has definitely come under siege! "This sounds really nuts but where Nick lives there was a gentleman who was selling maps to Nick's house!" says Brian in disbelief. "He would charter a bus that would go to his court and he'd get everyone out--they were getting 30 people a day at his poor little house! They'd go up and steal flowers for souvenirs. Nick had a basketball left in the front yard and they took it--'I got it from Nick's house.'"

The Case Of The Dancing House

Some people are a lot more considerate, though. They don't take anything more than photos of their favorite group member's house. One photo of Nick's house really surprised the group by turning up when they least expected it. "We were performing and some girl was holding up this big poster," remembers Kevin. "It was a picture of Nick's house and it said 'I was there.' Brian adds, "It was so funny because we were right at the beginning of the show and I was standing by Nick. He looked down and said, 'My house is in the audience!' I looked and there it was!"

Don't Feed Howie The Bears!

It's always nice to receive a well-meaning present from a person who appreciates your talent, but these days Backstreet Boys are careful what they wish for! "I'm sick of Gummi Bears!" says Howie. "A while back, I said that I liked them, but then I got sent so many of them by fans that I was eating them every day. Now I'm like, 'No more Gummi Bears!' I try and keep my figure."

Fan Fever

Most of the time, fans don't mean to do harm, they just want to get a little bit closer to their favorite stars. That love can go into overdrive, however, when fan fever grips a mob of girls who've been waiting all day (and sometimes part of the night) for just one glimpse. "We've done signing at record stores where there've been over 3000 people," says Brian. "One time in Germany, there was a riot, I'm telling you! We signed CDs for five minutes--we had a chance to sign maybe 10 autographs--and the girls busted through the barriers. They wrecked the store and stole posters and stand-ups of us that they had on display. We had to leave. But we know it's only because ours fans want to get close to us, and we really do love them."