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Setting the stage: Antony Costa will perfom songs from his boy band days and his musical theatre shows, at Millfield Arts Centre this Sunday

At the age of 20, Edgware's Antony Costa shot to fame as a member of boy band Blue. Miriam Craig finds out what success has taught him ahead of his next series of gigs

After forming in 2001, Blue established themselves as a leading boy band with hits such as All Rise and One Love, playing to sell-out crowds in arenas worldwide.

They received numerous awards, including Best Newcomer 2002 and Best Pop Act 2003 at The Brits, and collaborated with Stevie Wonder and Elton John.

Antony Costa was "living a dream", as he told this newspaper in 2001, forming the band with friends including Duncan James, from Finchley.

But since the group split up in 2005, Costa has become more wary of fame. He says: "It's a tough business. You go on TV for five minutes and suddenly you're in OK magazine with some girl, then the week after that people drop you and they don't speak to you.

"The fame thing doesn't last forever. You've got to make sure you invest your money wisely, keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Costa admits the sudden change from being part of a household-name boy band to negotiating the difficulties of striking out on his own has hardened him.

He says: "I'm on my own now. I haven't got a manager. So it's all about protecting your own life. I don't like people misleading me, people who say they'll do something and then don't deliver."

After boldly declaring his independence from Blue by appearing on ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2005, much of Costa's time has been spent in musical theatre. He made his West End debut play- ing Liverpuddlian twin Mickey in the musical Blood Brothers in 2006, and toured with both that production and as Roddy in the musical Boogie Nights the following year.

Costa grew up with a love of theatre; as a pupil at Hendon School, living in Edgware and Mill Hill, he was something of a class clown, and went to drama classes every Thursday night from the ages of 11 to 15. As a teenager he played Tony in Grange Hill and took roles in BBC comedy Chalk and The Bill on ITV. During his time in Blue, he was a regular presenter on MTV News and Britain's Most Embarrassing Parents (Trouble TV), and presented for T4 alongside June Sarpong.

The return to theatre came after the disappointing performance of his solo single Do You Ever Think of Me in February 2006. Costa's singles deal with Globe Records (part of Universal Music UK) came to end when the label chose not to follow it up with an album.

Now 26 and living in Mill Hill with his attention firmly fixed on acting, Costa doesn't seem to be taking anything for granted. He says: "For now I'm going to put song-writing aside. I don't really plan anything. Offers come up and I either take them or don't.

"My plan is to do these gigs, give 100 per cent and then concentrate more on musical theatre and acting. I've always known I wanted to do that. Acting is my passion, deep down. I love going on stage every night - live theatre is the best."

As one of four UK shows in February and March, Costa will perform songs from Blue, Blood Brothers, Boogie Nights and a medley of Sixties Motown, as well as answer questions from the audience, at Millfield Arts Centre, in Silver Street, Edmonton, on Sunday, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £18 and are available from the box office on 020 8807 6680.

10:00am Tuesday 26th February 2008

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