Did you know that Joe was voted top New Kid in a national American telephone poll? And that he gets more fan mail than all the other four Kids combined? And that the other Kids used to laugh at him behind his back, and his mum wanted him to be a priest? (God forbid!) New fan or New Kids knowall, your prayers have been answered as we take a long, hard look at the youngest Kid on The Block, putting McIntyre under the microscope, you might say! This special mag takes an in-depth look at the likely lad who drives fans (and posties!) mad, so put your fave New Kids album on your turntable, turn it up and turn the page, as by popular demand, we bring you the Monster Hits Joe Special!
Family Ties
If the New Kids are like one big happy family, Joe's real relations are the real thing. "When I go home," he says, "I'm pretty normal. I go home and it's normal and plain. .. I do normal things, forget I'm a popstar." But one thing he certainly doesn't do is get lonely. The ninth child born to Irish-Americans Tom and Katherine (Kay for short) on the very last day of 1972 in Needham, Massachussetts, Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (he was named after a family friend) was preceeded by a brother, Tommy, and no fewer than seven (count 'em) sisters! Judith, Ann, Susan, Patricia, Carol, Jean and Kate are all, of course, mad keen New Kids fans and could just about make up an audience by themselves. And as if that wasn't enough, the family is completed by a Boston terrier named Boe. The girls were all keen singers, and Joe quickly caught the bug, making his first public appearance with them at the tender age of six in the neighbourhood Children's Theatre of Boston. Just three years later, he was taking lead roles, the first in a production of the musical Oliver. His dad, a bricklayer by trade, fancied himself as a bit of a crooner, so Joe found himself word-perfect in the Sinatra songbook while still in short trousers! They would all sing together on the drive to the McIntyre holiday home in Cape Cod - all good practice for the career to come! Eldest sister Judith, now in her mid-thirties, is a successful broadway actress and she's even started writing scripts with baby brother in mind! But the main driving force of the family is mum Kay. "She was never like any of those pushy theatrical mothers you read about though," Joe maintains. "She always knew that I could do whatever I put my heart into." Even when New Kids' mania reached its peak, Mrs McIntyre helped keep her son's ego intact. "Basically it was 'Okay, as long as you keep your grades in check'," Joe remembers. The determined mum had ways of checking on her son's progress. She would often send Joe's sister Alice, a teacher in Vermont, to check on his grades. For Joe, this had it's drwabacks, notably the fact that she calls him "Joseph" - which didn't sound cool in front of his pals! On the plus side though, they both play pool together and rumour has it they have quite a little competition going.
Ladies man?
You're never too young for love, and Joe's living proof! At least, that's what the papers say, pairing him off with every eligible female around. Let's take a closer look and try to separate rumour from fact:
The video for Games caused much controversy when Joe was pictured with his arms around a ravishing young lady while Donnie rapped in the foreground. Many a videorecorder was re-wound and freeze-framed as horrified fans checked out the action. It was enough to put any self-respecting McIntyre maniac off their Pot Noodle! Fortunately, Chloe (for that was her name) was a dancer employed for the video, and although the pair got on really well, we're assured no relationship developed off-screen. When Madonna threw an end of tour bash, party animals Joe and Jordan were both in attendance. The hostess with the mostess was quick off the mark to recognise our dynamic duo and sauntered over. Next thing Joe knew, he was whirling around the dance floor like his idol, Michael Jackson - the controversial Queen of Pop had literally swept him off his feet! "She seemed quite taken with Joe," Jordan observed from the sidelines. When he'd finally got his breath back, we waited for word from the man himself. His verdict? "Madonna was cool. She's a nice lady, very professional." Perhaps the Material Girl saw him as a potential toy boy? Another rumour concerned one of Maddy's backing singers, but there was a lot less substance in this rumour. "That was all it was, just a rumour," explains Joe. "But there are plenty of girls that I think are cute." Including Maddy herself, perhaps? Janet Jackson let Joe know that she thinks he's "cute" in a magazine interview. But he's not so sure. "It seems like she's really into herself," he says doubtfully. "And she doesn't really pay attention to other people from what I hear." No romance there, then. So what is his ideal girl? Joe says hes looking for someone whos "independent yet beautiful - someone who just wants to be happy." And who wouldn't be around Mr. McIntyre? But look out, mother Kay takes a dim view of romance where her little lad's concerned. "My boy isn't ever going to have a girlfriend," she insists. "I'm his girlfriend. And anyway, he's going to become a priest like every good Irish mum wants her son to be ..." Glad that's settled then! Fear not girls, when mum's away, you'll find Joe at play. He was something of an early starter too. He met his first girlfriend in the theatre group he was with when aged only 12. "Her name was Chrissie: we went out for six or seven months," he recalls. "The first time she broke it off. Then the second time I broke it off." Thousands of Blockheads will be watching the Kids' show this December wishing the same thing could happen to her... but one last tip before you start scheming: Joe wants his ideal girl to love him for himself, not what he represents. "My friends don't treat me as this big star who's been around the world," he says, "but as plain old Joe McIntyre - which is who I am."
Come in Number Five ...
Joe was the last piece of the New Kids jigsaw to fall into place, completing the perfect pop picture. The man who spotted him was of course, the Kids' creator, Maurice Starr, who moved fast when the original fifth kid, Jamie Kelly, didn't seem to be fitting in. At that point the Kids were living on hope, with fame and fortune seemingly out of reach. "In the beginning," explains Jon, "it took a lot of faith. I guess he (Jamie) just didn't have that determination." Joe agrees that the fifth guy wasn't working out. "I was singing around the neighbourhood and I just tried out." But this was one kid who had done his homework and for his audition, he chose a number the boys happened to be working on at the time. The reaction was instant. "Maurice just said, 'so do you want to be in the group or what?' " The answer was of course yes, but not all the Kids were quick to extend high fives all round. In their eyes, Joe was a wimp, he didn't come from the streets like them, and he took a while to get the hang of the slick dance routines. They used to call him "Slow Joe" behind his back. Joe admitted later: "I used to wish I could just play football with my friends and lead a normal life." Fortunately, talent won through in the end. Faced with such a professional performer, not to mention likeable character, the Kids' resistance towards the latecomer began to wane. "In the beginning me and Joe weren't real close," admits Jon. "There was such an age difference: he was 12 and I was 16. It made a big difference." No, things weren't easy for Joe or any of them. The group's first album flopped out and they were reduced to singing in seedy night shops, talent contests and even department stores. In those days, the height of their fame was the occasional appearance at Disneyland, but even then they stuck together in their beliefs. "All the while it it was coming together and one of us would be saying 'This is gonna be pretty wild'," he recalls. And as we all know, he was right! Joe suffered badly from asthma as a youngster, but his Mum helped him through, even though she worked hard as a secretary. And to this day, Joe's very grateful. "Parents are a very important barometer to judge your life against. They can make everything seem just right." Now of course, he can start paying his parents back. "The really good thing since the New Kids happened is that I can buy Mom things she could only ever dream of before. It's just nice to see the expression on her face..." A few Christmas' ago, Joe gave each member of his family a $5000 cheque - now that's what we call generous! When the New Kids call themselves homeboys, they aren't kidding. But Joe has to be the biggest homeboy of the bunch. "Family is everything to me," he says. "That's my biggest treasure - my family." All together now .... aaah!