Boyzone in the 1990s © to the owners
Songs like Love Me For A Reason, No Matter What, You Needed Me, Picture of You, Baby Can I Hold You and many other smashing hits by the Irish band Boyzone made the life soundtrack of any 1990s screaming teenager in her right mind, including those whose biggest love were Take That instead, like the one who is writing this right now.
Boyzone’s fame and fortune in Ireland, the UK and everywhere else in Europe was monumental back then; each and every single they released from 1994 to 1999 – and there were 16 of them in total – went straight to the top 5 charts in the UK, which made them one of the biggest-selling singles acts in the British music chart history, as well as the first Irish entity to have four number-one hits in their neighbouring country.
Ronan Keating at the Summarfestivalur in 2012 by SuperDopeBass CC BY-SA 3.0 ©
Ronan Keating is probably the most recognisable icon of Boyzone, as well as one of the most successful solo artists in the continent with over 20 million records sold worldwide, plus 25 million records sold with the band. He gained global acclaim in 1999 as his debut solo single When You Say Nothing At All reached number one in the UK, Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand after being featured as a theme song for the romantic comedy film Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
33% Chris Martin, 33% David Beckham and 33% Gary Barlow: here is what Ronan Keating looked like in 2013. Picture by Eva Rinaldi CC BY-SA 2.0 ©
The next single, Life Is A Rollercoaster, released in 2000, was another big hit all across Europe, and Ronan’s career has seen no setbacks ever since. What’s more, the fact that at some point in life he looked equally like Chris Martin, David Beckham and Gary Barlow all mixed together didn’t stop him from developing and maintaining a unique style and charisma which contributed to his success as a judge in The X Factor and a coach on The Voice through his further career in British TV music shows.
Twenty Twenty by Ronan Keating
Songs from Home by Ronan Keating
As of today, after releasing the albums Twenty Twenty and Songs from Home in 2020 and 2021, he is doing a variety of activities including regular live shows across Europe to perform both his solo hits and the most-loved Boyzone songs.
But not all stories have a happy ending, and it didn’t work out just as well for Boyzone as a band, in the end. The group, whose original line-up included Michael Graham, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately in addition to Ronan Keating, eventually split in 1999 after six years together, and the sudden death of Stephen Gately ten years later at age 33 not only did put an end to any remaining hope for a full band reformation but also has given the whole thing a hint of sadness which will never go away.
Ronan Keating by Decca Records ©
Ronan, I’ve been a fan of your music since I was a teenager.
Oh, thank you so much, that’s pretty kind to hear!
What achievements are you most proud of?
Well, it’s obviously my family – but away from my family and my career, I think longevity, sticking around, still being here and getting to be able to tour across the UK and go out to the festivals across Europe and still be doing this. I do different things in my career, I’m on a radio show, I’m on a TV show, but I don’t see myself as “that” guy. I mean, there are things that you learn to do along the way, and that’s another facet of what I do, but who I am as a person in my career is a singer and a performer, an artist on stage. That’s why I joined Boyzone, I wanted to perform and be on stage and sing, that’s what I always wanted to do, that’s what I still want, that’s my heart and soul… that’s really everything to me.
Which one of your songs are you most attached to?
I would say When You Say Nothing At All more than anything else because it was a huge milestone in my career. I was still in Boyzone at the time and it is the song that has allowed me to still do this after 30 years. And, you know, it’s a career record; when you look at certain artists, there is a song that stands out in their career: Bryan Adam is (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, Elton John is Candle in The Wind or Your Song. I mean, they’re not their only hits, they’ve got lots of other hits, but you will always find that one song which is like their biggest hit, and these are the songs that have allowed artists to be recognisable, and I think When You Say Nothing At All is that song for me, so I’m very proud of that.
How do you feel when you hear When You Say Nothing At All playing on the radio or you bump into Notting Hill on television?
Notting Hill, film poster
I love it, I get a very proud feeling. These songs like When You Say Nothing At All and Life Is A Rollercoaster have given me a career and allowed me to still be here some 25, 30 years later. So yeah, when I hear these songs, they fill me with pride, to be honest with you. I mean, I feel very lucky to have them in my collection and yeah, pride is probably the best word.
What’s the first word that comes to your mind as you hear the word Boyzone?
Nostalgia. Pride. Brothers. We had six amazing years in the 1990s, we were a bunch of kids that made stuff up as we went along. Nobody taught us how to be pop stars or how to do it, and we had a hell of a ride. It was incredible, really magic. That was a very special time, and I wouldn’t be a solo artist today and have what I have today if it wasn’t for those six years in Boyzone and so I’m very very grateful for that and I would never turn my back on it. There are certain things you miss, like the brotherhood, the camaraderie, the friendship, that energy between us all – it’s not the same when I do it on my own. So, yes, that was a great time, it was a really magical time.
Is there any difference in music between today and when you started out with Boyzone in the 1990s?
Oh, it’s very different! I mean, the 1990s were poptastic, it was crazy funny collared shirts, it was energy in costumes and outfits, it was pantomime on steroids. You know, that was the 1990s and it was just a brilliant, brilliant time. I think pop was alive and well and at its best in the 1990s and then it transitioned into something different. You know, we’ve influenced urban music and different places and genres, but for absolutely pure and unadulterated classic pop music, the 1990s was the time.
Is there any substantial difference between Irish pop and British pop, in your opinion?
Well, no, I think a lot of Irish pop music has been inspired by British pop music because Irish pop music came later to the game. We were influenced greatly by the pop music that was coming out of the UK, so to be honest I wouldn’t say there’s a huge difference. I think that we’re very much on par, we say that we come from the same hymn sheet, haha.
What are the plans for the future?
Touring! This is the thing I’ve been waiting for after we postponed and postponed and pushed back. Literally, I’ve been waiting in the wings to tour since 2020 and honestly, I’m so excited. I can’t tell you how excited I am! I cannot wait to just get going and sing the songs again and hear the audience sing the songs back to me and you know, all of those things are just so important… I cannot wait!
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