Backstreet Boys Are Upfront About Bandmate McLean

When four Backstreet Boys went public with the news that bandmate A.J. McLean was entering a rehabilitation center for alcohol abuse, depression and anxiety, they spoke about his “late-night ventures.”

McLean, 23, played the bad boy in a band with an all-American-boy image.

“We would have some dinner and maybe have a few cocktails at dinner,” Backstreeter Kevin Richardson said. “It would be late, and after that he would go off on his own. He didn’t just want to go back to the room and go to bed. He wanted to continue. He was becoming a vampire.”

Although there were no reports of McLean exhibiting negative behavior on his recent three-night stay in Hartford, Conn., he certainly did his share of staying out late, usually apart from his Backstreet chums.

The band played at the Meadows Music Centre on June 28 and 29. They arrived June 27 and stayed at the Goodwin Hotel, where general manager Don Dougherty called them “just regular old American kids.”

One thing that struck Dougherty as different about McLean from other stars who have stayed there: He spent every night at the Bowl-O-Rama in Newington, Conn., from midnight until as late as 4 a.m.

On June 27, the night before their first concert, McLean went to Carbone’s in Hartford, where he and a female friend dined from 9:30 to 11--after closing time--on salad and veal, splitting a bottle of wine, according to bartender and manager Tommy Joe Carbone.

And on two nights, he went to the Pig’s Eye Pub downtown for “a few drinks and some pool,” manager Russ Probulis said.

The night life, though not disturbing to patrons or restaurant managers, was growing toxic to McLean, who also was troubled, bandmates said, by the recent death of his grandmother.

“A.J. wasn’t fulfilling his duties as a band member,” Backstreeter Brian Littrell said. “He can’t travel and be unhealthy.”

The other four Backstreet Boys, saying they realized their importance as role models, took the unusual approach of going public with the news, starting Monday by announcing news of McLean’s 30-day treatment program on MTV’s “Total Request Live.”

Tuesday morning they appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to talk about it with host Matt Lauer. The band had performed at Rockefeller Plaza just one week before for the “Today” show’s summer concert series.

And although band members told Lauer that attorneys had counseled them not to be so open with the public, they decided this approach was the way to go.

“It’s important for us to be honest about it and not push it under the rug,” Richardson said. “We have a lot of young fans, and it’s important to be a good role model.”

Gene Sheehan, who heads Sullivan & LeShane public relations in Hartford, Conn., said lawyers and public relations people frequently differ in their advice when there’s bad news.

“Lawyers try to limit your exposure. They don’t want you to say a lot,” Sheehan said. “Public relations people try to get the bad exposure behind you, take the bad hit and move on.”

He thought the band’s approach was especially healthy given their appeal to young teens.

“It’s the best chance of them keeping their image,” Sheehan said.

The news hit McLean’s young female fans hard in Boston, where the band was scheduled to perform Monday in the middle of a sold-out, five-night stand. Many arrived at the FleetCenter to learn only then of the cancellation. (The group has postponed 17 concerts while McLean is getting treatment but plans to resume its North American tour Aug. 7 in Vancouver, Canada. They’re scheduled to perform Aug. 16 at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood and Aug. 18 at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion in San Bernardino.)

And news sunk in as distraught girls quickly set up cyber support groups in chat rooms across the Internet to share their thoughts, prayers and poems.

Nora Porcelli, 14, of Simsbury, Conn., spent Tuesday visiting message boards, not posting messages. She was more interested in reading what other people were writing.

“A lot of them were saying how they cried all day yesterday,” she said.