Boyzone are an Irish boy band who had popular mainstream success during the 1990s. They were most successful in the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Asia and the UK and they also had differing levels of success in parts of Central Europe. The band have released six #1 UK hit singles and four #1 albums, with sales approaching 20 million records as of 2008.[1] They made a comeback in 2007, originally with the intention of just touring but Ronan Keating confirmed in an interview that they wanted to "outdo Take That"[2] in terms of a successful reunion.
Boyzone was put together in 1993 by Louis Walsh who is also known for managing Johnny Logan and Westlife. Before even recording any material they made a now infamous appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. Their first album Said and Done was released in 1995 and the following two studio albums in 1996 and 1998. Seven compilation albums have been released, the latest being B-Sides & Rarities in October 2008.
Band history
Formation
Boyzone was formed in 1993 through an advertisement calling for auditions to form a new all-male 'boy band' vocal group: 'the Irish Take That'. Colin Farrell is well known for auditioning in the beginning. About 300 singers tried out and initially, seven were selected. They made their first appearance, only a day after being formed, on Ireland's top-rated Late Late Show dancing to a backing track before a somewhat bemused audience in a TV moment which has often been re-played to the embarrassment of the band members who later found fame.
Breakthrough
With some of the original members fading away and others being brought into the group, it took some time before Boyzone settled down into its most recognisable five-member line-up of Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch. David McKeever, one of the original band members, left the band citing musical differences with Ronan Keating. They played through 1993 and in the early parts of 1994 all over Northern Ireland, mainly in pubs and clubs, before Polygram signed them up in 1994 and released the cover version of the Four Seasons' hit "Working My Way Back to You", featuring Graham and Gately on lead vocals. It reached No. 3 in the Irish Charts.
The release of their cover version of the classic Osmonds' hit, Love Me for a Reason, broke the British charts. The song hit No. 2 in the UK and was included in their 1995 hit debut album "Said and Done". The album reached the No. 1 spot in Ireland and the UK.
"A Different Beat"
The band's second album - A Different Beat - was released in 1996 and contained their first UK number one single, a cover of the Bee Gees' hit "Words". The album also contained the hit singles A Different Beat, "Isn't It a Wonder". Ronan Keating - who by now had emerged as the band's lead singer and front-man - won the Ivor Novello award for songwriting in 1997 for "Picture of You".
"Where We Belong"
Their third studio album, Where We Belong, was released in 1998 and featured Boyzone's writing abilities. It contained the hit singles "All That I Need" (which stayed for six weeks in the MTV Asia charts), "Baby Can I Hold You" (Tracy Chapman cover) and "No Matter What". Originally written for the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical Whistle Down the Wind, "No Matter What" was the group's best ever selling single and was voted Song of the Year, 1998. Since the song was also recorded by Meat Loaf the band shared stage with him to perform the song during his 1998 live concert in Dublin.
Greatest
In 1999, their greatest hits compilation - By Request - was released and was followed by another tour. At this time Stephen Gately revealed that he was gay and was in love with the ex-Caught in the Act member Eloy de Jong. It was also during this year when Ronan Keating released his first solo single, "When You Say Nothing at All", an Alison Krauss song which he had recorded for the movie Notting Hill. By this time, after six years together and amid growing tensions behind the scenes, the band members decided to take some time off from Boyzone to pursue solo projects.
Final performance
The group performed together for the last time in January 2000. What initially started on that (by now infamous) appearance on The Late Late Show, they had sold more than 10 million records in total.[citation needed] All sixteen of their singles reached the UK top five and they became the first Irish act to have four number one hits in the United Kingdom charts. Their 1998 tour of Ireland broke all sales records when 35,000 tickets were sold out in four hours.[citation needed] At their height, Boyzone were one of the biggest-selling artists in music.[citation needed]
2000 and beyond
Boyzone opened the door for fellow Irish boy band, Westlife. Since Boyzone split in 2000, Ronan Keating has made a career from going solo and has released five albums, also achieving countless hit singles such as "When You Say Nothing at All"; Stephen Gately released a modestly successful solo album and is now pursuing a career in stage acting and particularly West End musicals, starring in the Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Mikey Graham has also pursued solo projects and now works as a music producer; Keith Duffy has appeared in the British soap opera Coronation Street and a number of theatre productions in Ireland and Wales; Shane Lynch recently appeared on the reality TV shows, Celebrity Love Island, Dream Team and The Games. Lynch and Duffy also collaborated in 2000 releasing a version of Milli Vanilli's 1988 hit Girl You Know It's True.
The reunion
For seven years after their split in 2000 the band members had mixed success in their individual careers. Keating in particular remained a force in the music industry as he continued writing and managing other bands. Gately also continued his career as a solo artist, appearing in a number of West End stage musicals, and Duffy had some success as an actor (including a role in the TV soap Coronation Street).
In 2003 rumours of a Boyzone reunion began to circulate. Following the success of fellow Universal artists Take That's reunion and subsequent sell-out tour in 2006, these rumours came to a head and in early 2007 there were news reports that all five members and their manager, The X Factor Judge Louis Walsh, had met in Dublin to discuss and organise a comeback tour.
In February 2007 more details of the reunion were announced. [3]
On 8 March 2007 former Boyzone manager Louis Walsh was sacked from the ITV show The X Factor (UK), saying by way of explanation that "I will be having the busiest year of my career with Westlife, Shayne Ward and the re-launch of Boyzone" [4]
On 8 April 2007 several UK newspapers widely reported that the rumored reunion was cancelled due to the lack of financial investment. The papers stated that no recording company or investors were willing to back the act to guarantee a comeback success experienced by Take That.
On 11 October 2007 Louis Walsh was interviewed on The Graham Norton Show, when asked by Graham Norton whether there was going to be a re-launch of Boyzone he replied 'I think so'.
On 5 November 2007 Ronan Keating confirmed that Boyzone will reunite for a special appearance on the BBC's annual fundraiser, Children in Need, performing a medley of hits, although had not yet commented on the possibility of a new tour or album. This was seen on 16 November 2007 on BBC1 at 21:00. [5]
Back Again... No Matter What (2007-2009)
On 14 November it was reported that all five original members of Boyzone are to begin a UK tour in May, which will be their first in seven years. Ronan Keating, who left the Irish boy band to pursue a solo career, will join the group for the series of concerts.
On 16 November, all five members of Boyzone made a comeback appearance as part of Children In Need on BBC1 in the UK, with an Irish and UK tour in June 2008. The band sold 200,000 tickets for the tour within three hours and sold 20,000 tickets on the first day of them going on sale for their concert in the RDS Dublin. Ronan assured Boyzone fans that the group are taking their comeback tour plans "very seriously". The five-piece announced last week that they will be going on tour next summer 2008, and the boys are now visiting the gym on a daily basis to get fit. Ronan Keating told the Daily Star: "We've been taking it easy on the Guinness and been out for dinners and just a couple of drinks. We're taking the tour plans very seriously." "We're all on diets and we've been training in the gym every day. I'm probably the fittest now that I've ever been. I think we all look better now than before." "We each went to see Take That on tour at different times and started talking to each other again, but Take That were the icing on the cake that made us decide now was the time to reform. "We're very aware of how good Take That are, and know we have to be on a par with them. There won't be a flat, boring stage. We're all dancing again and learning different things we've never done before to rival their pole dancing and stuff."
"We've been talking about getting back together for some time now. I can't wait to be back on the road and all the guys feel the same", Keating said.
The 29-date tour, taking in cities such as, Cardiff, Newcastle, Liverpool, London at the O2 and Wembley, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham, Edinburgh Castle and the RDS in Dublin. The tour began on 25 May 2008 at Belfast's Odyssey arena and finished at Carlisle Bitts Park on August 23, 2008. The boys were very emotional during their first two gigs, especially Stephen.
On August 29, 2008 Boyzone played alongside other acts such as Sandi Thom and Scouting For Girls at an event in Blackpool to switch on the Blackpool Illuminations, an annual event in the town. The event received coverage on BBC Radio 2.
In 2009 the band joind Yvette Fielding in Edinburgh for a Ghost Hunting With... show for ITV
The band have recorded a new album to be released late 2009.
On September 3, 2008, the video for 'Love You Anyway' debuted on the digital music channel The Box. It features all 5 of the original members of Boyzone with Ronan Keating taking most of the lead vocal. The single had received its first play on August 20, 2008, live on Terry Wogan's Radio 2 Breakfast show. On 6 October 2008, 'Love You Anyway' entered the UK charts at number 5, making it their seventeenth consecutive top five single.
Tributes
The band has been commemorated by the London's Rock Circus by inviting them to place their hand prints on the "Walls of Hands" beside the likes of Eric Clapton and Michael Jackson.[citation needed] Also, wax figures of the boys were made beside U2 in Dublin.
Charity work
Boyzone were always active supporters of charity works. They appeared on the ChildLiners record The Gift of Christmas alongside acts such as Backstreet Boys, MN8, E.Y.C., Sean Maguire, Deuce, Ultimate Kaos, Sonia, Heaven 17, Peter Andre, Michelle Gayle and Dannii Minogue.
Discography
UK No. 1 Singles
References
External links
