I say BLUE! U say what! BLUE! What! BLUE! What!

Admin fan club: lee_lovah

By Lynn Mcpherson
BLUE hunk Duncan James yesterday admitted the hit boy band are breaking up.

Emotional Duncan tried to play down the rift that has shattered the band by saying the split would 'be about a year but maybe more'.

But their Scots songwriter John McLaughlin claims they are getting out before the bubble bursts on boy bands.

Duncan, 25, ended months of speculation the band would call it a day after signing up to sing the title track for Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical The Woman In White.

Duncan said: 'It's really hard because we've always been more diverse as individuals than just members of a boy band.

'We've got our Greatest Hits coming out at Christmas but then we are taking a long break from each other.

'There's stuff I want to do and that goes for the others, too, but we have got some material for a fifth album but we won't be working on it until late next year.

'We are going to have a break for quite a while to do our own things.

'Look at Beyonce. She had an amazingly successful solo career and now she's back with Destiny's Child - she proved it can work.'

Blue are already working on solo projects. Duncan has just released the ballad I Believe My Heart, a duet with classical singer Keedie, while Simon Webbe, 25, runs production company Live 4 Music and has launched a public relations firm.

Anthony Costa, 23, aims to break into acting and Lee Ryan, 21, hopes to become a movie director. He was spotted taking a film- making class in New York.

John McLaughlin - who penned many of Blue's hits, including their number two smash You Make Me Wanna - said the split has been on the cards for a while.

He said: 'This is no surprise. When a band talk about releasing a greatest hits album and a tour, there is something afoot - that's them gearing up for the last big pay day.

'There has been a shift in music and in fans. The younger ones coming through aren't excited by the formulaic, good looking boy bands.

'Blue and Duncan have been sensible enough to sense it's time to bow out before record sales start falling. It's good business sense and Duncan probably hopes to take a lot of Blue's fan base with him.

'If any of them are hugely successful, I don't see them getting back together.' Music industry insiders also predicted the split earlier this year.

One expert said: 'Duncan's long seen himself as the star of the show and is desperate to see how far he can go solo.

'Much of the Blue fan base will move with him and he wants a career like Robbie Williams. The only problem is that if his music isn't up to scratch, he'll fade into obscurity.'

Yeste rday, Blue fans were devastated. A message posted on a fan website by a 14-year-old devotee named Ann said: 'They can't be allowed to split. I am heartbroken.'

mai lfile

Blue's rise to fame # BLUE shot to fame in 2001 with debut single All Rise.

# Shortly afterwards they were nominated Best Newcomers at the Brit Awards and played at Buckingham Palace in the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

# Their debut album, also entitled All Rise, reached multi-platinum status and spawned three No.1s - Too Close, Back In My Life and Fly By.

# Their second and third albums also shot straight to No.1 and their duet with Elton John - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word - was a Christmas No.1.

# They teamed up with soul legend Stevie Wonder on a cover of his 60s smash Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

# Last year they won another Brit Award for Best Pop Act and are estimated to have earned around £20million from record sales alone.

# Fans include Princes William and Harry.