WHEN LOUIS WALSH’s new boyband made their disastrous debut on Irish TV in 1993, the host lambasted them for having “no talent whatsoever” as the audience howled with laughter at their under-rehearsed dance moves.
Few would have predicted that, 25 years on, Boyzone would have become one of the biggest forces in Irish music, with record sales of over 25million.
But as I revealed in this column back in April, the band – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham – are splitting permanently following the release of their new album and going on the road for one final tour.
And in this week’s episode of The Dan Wootton Interview podcast – available to subscribe to for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts – they give an emotional farewell interview, reflecting on a quarter of century in pop and the death of their bandmate Stephen Gateley.
All four members admit to harbouring serious reservations about calling it quits, but are also convinced it’s the right decision.
Ronan tells me: “A quarter of a century for a boyband to be going is a long time. We want to go gracefully and do it our way.
“So we’re taking control and taking the reins and saying this is what we want to do – go out on a high.
”It’s going to be incredible, heart breaking, but we will have each other. It just feels right.”
Shane adds: “We’re happy to say right that’s enough for us. It’s hard enough to get us together for this album let alone another one in the future.
“We all had doubts but we all know it’s the right decision. That last show is going to be horrible, absolutely horrible. It’s going to hurt, but we have to do it.”
Keith says: “We didn’t want to milk it for everything it’s worth, we didn’t want to take the life out. We want to go out with a bit of dignity and pride.”
Mikey agrees, saying: “Let’s go out in style, rather than hang around for way too long and playing to shows that are half sold out.
“We want to go out with a bang. Some hang around until it gets embarrassing and we wouldn’t like to do that.”
The exact location of that last ever performance hasn’t been decided yet as dates continue to be added on their final world tour, but Ronan says: “It would be nice to finish doing a gig in Dublin. It would be lovely. Dublin or London.”
This ending is a far cry from the division in the group when they initially split in 2000, when Ronan quit the band.
Looking back at that decision, Ronan says: “I was on a certain train moving very, very fast and I didn’t want to get off.
“I was enjoying what I had as a solo artist so yes I didn’t come back to the band, it was my decision from that break to become a break-up. I had absolutely no doubt.”
Let’s go out in style, rather than hang around for way too long and playing to shows that are half sold out
The members did not speak again as a band until 2004, when they immediately started hatching plans for a reunion after meeting up for the first time.
Ronan: “It was the love that was in the room, it was a very special feeling that I can’t explain and it was something that the five of us shared together.
“We all wanted to rebuild those bridges.”
But just two years after eventually reuniting in 2007, Stephen was dead, leaving the band grief-stricken.
I will never forget speaking to Louis and Shane late on that fateful Saturday night as they struggled to comprehend the loss of their beloved Steo.
Mikey says: “That night was just very, very strange. That’s all I can say.
"It’s a blur. We were completely numb.
“We were all really just in a complete dream like sense.
“He had the equivalent of a state funeral in Ireland.. That’s a legacy and a massive eye-opener to what he contributed to his friends, family, local area and country.”
Even today, Ronan can’t speak about the loss of his best pal without his eyes welling up with tears.
Mikey speaks for the band as he says: “It’s nine years later. It has been painful, emotional, all of those various things that happen to a person when they lose a loved one.
“But you know, as they say, time is a healer. It’s a healer of the scar tissue, but the scar is always there.
“When we’re together every time, there’s always a sense of Stephen’s spirit.”
That’s why it’s especially poignant Stephen’s vocals feature on a beautiful new song called Dream on their final album Thank You & Goodnight, which is released in November.
Keith says: “The emotional time in the studio really was when we came across the song with Stephen, that was handed to us nearly 17 years later.”
Mikey adds: “It really was like he was back in the room with us.
“This song never surfaced before, you know, so at a time when we were also deciding to finish the band, in the most ironic fashion, that Stephen came forth.
“He was like, ‘Well, if you’re breaking up you’re not doing it without me.’ It kind of completes the circle to have Stephen singing a great song on the album.”
The band are proud of Stephen’s legacy as the first member of a major pop group to come out.
But Shane has some harsh words for former X Factor judge Louis, who he believes tried to keep Stephen in the closet.
He says: “Louis Walsh himself spent most of his time creating and spinning stories about Stephen going out with Posh Spice and any girl that came on the scene – ‘Oh, that’s Stephen’s new girlfriend, we’ll have that in the press in the morning.’
“He spent his life trying to convince people Stephen was straight, he spent his life trying to tell us not to have girlfriends.
“Stephen was miserable, his life was just not enjoyable for him and then the change in his personality when he realised he was getting support from his family, from close friends, and then the world.
“And Stephen, now he gradually got camper the more people were understanding of him, he got camper and camper and he was at the happiest time of his life when unfortunately he passed.
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“So he went out on top. He went out a happy, happy man.
“The white roses in front of the cars on the way to the church, I was devastated, but I was so proud for him because I knew he’d be looking down going, ‘oh my God’, because all he wanted was acceptance.”
The strange phenomenon of boyband fame has left scars on the four living members, even though they are all happily married and proud dads.
Shane says: “I still battled with making sense of the world, from standing on stage in front of thousands of people and coming home and picking up dog s***.
“And I still battle with alcohol, I still battle with being sober and being drunk and should I have a glass of wine before I go on stage or should I be sober.”
Mikey adds: “It’s a real mind-bender, especially when you’re younger. We used alcohol a lot.
“I thankfully achieved a way out of that, but fame comes with its poisons.”
How were they all able to get through the tough times when so many other popstars go off the rails completely?
Keith has a very clear idea, saying: “Our Irish mammies, they kept us very grounded so there might have been a time where we were flying too high, but as soon as we got back home to Dublin, we were grounded quite quickly.”
Ronan adds: “We’re a boyband. We started 25 years ago. I was 16 years of age. Nobody knew what was going to happen.
“We had no idea what was in store for us. We worked very, very hard and we created something very special.
“Some of us believed that it was going to last, some of us didn’t believe that it was going to last.
“But to say we’d still be here 25 years later and be through what we had been through, the loss of Stephen, the ups and downs, our story has been unbelievable.”
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