Rixton's Jake wants to dance like Nicole Scherzinger

British band Rixton may be in a chart battle with Nicole Scherzinger for this weekend’s number 1 single, but frontman Jake Roche is such a fan he wants the former Pussycat Doll to be his dance coach.

The cheeky 21-year-old singer – the son of Shane Richie and Coleen Nolan – says he has met 36-year-old Scherzy several times but is yet to get one-on-one tuition.

‘Has she ever taught me how to be an erotic dancer? Not yet! I mean, I look at the videos and I try to copy ‘em, but there’s only so much I can do while wearing a bra before it looks a bit wrong,’ he chuckled during an exclusive chat with Guilty Pleasures.

Roche and his pop/RnB bandmates Charley Bagnall, 28, Lewi Morgan, 26 and Danny Wilkin, 24 have their eyes on Sunday’s top spot with infectious tune Me and My Broken Heart and have agreed to get matching tattoos if they beat off Scherzy.

‘We want to get a broken heart single tattooed on each other. But if Nicole does beat us, I might just have to get a Pussycat Dolls shrine tattooed on my neck,’ Roche laughed.

The Manchester-based group have already proven a hit in the USA where they are managed by Justin Bieber’s manger, Scooter Braun.

And while the boys couldn’t make 33-year-old Braun’s star-studded wedding to philanthropist Yael Cohen last week, they reckon he’d be chuffed if they rule the charts.

‘We did get invited but we missed it as we were gigging in Manchester, London and Birmingham,' Roche said of Rixton's workload.

'A number one should be a good wedding present for him. I don’t know what you buy a man like that but hopefully we can get him a number one.’

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Wednesday 16 July 2014]

Rixton’s Jake Roche: Careers, parental fears and Britney Spears

New band Rixton are poised to take the world by storm – but regret not milking their US connections to meet Britney Spears.

The lads – Jake Roche, Charley Bagnall, Lewi Morgan and Danny Wilkin – failed to bag tickets to Spears’ Sin City show despite being managed by Scooter Braun and being mates with Justin Bieber.

‘I’m a huge Britney fan so I’m gutted we didn’t get to see her. And we could’ve got free tickets as well because we’ve got the same booking agent. I’m an idiot,’ 21-year-old Roche moaned.

To make matters worse, it was his best chance to meet his idol.

‘I was probably about six or seven when she first released music and she was my first crush. She was in that school uniform and I was like, “Mum, what’s this feeling?” Not really!’

Speaking of ‘mum’, Roche is from good showbiz stock as his parents are Shane Richie and Coleen Nolan – with the latter seemingly having sleepless nights about his chosen career path.

‘My mum is so worried, bless her,’ he said. ‘She calls every day and is like, “Are you being nice to everyone? Are you speaking to everyone? Have you got clean underwear?” She has brought me up well!’

But Loose Women star Nolan may soon have something to worry about as Jake hopes his role as frontman will make him a hit with the ladies.

‘A lot of people say being in bands gets you a lot of girls but I haven’t experienced it yet. But it is very early days. Although I’ll be honest, my game is terrible,’ he admitted.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Wednesday 2 April 2014]