BOY'S OWN STORY
Success after slog round dingy clubs
-- 16th December, 2000
THIS weekend, as he prepares to meet up with fellow members of
Boyzone to discuss the legendary boyband's future, Ronan Keating
can reflect on the trappings of being one of Ireland's most successful
pop stars.
The blond singer owns luxury homes in his native Dublin and in
Surrey and, as the managerial driving force behind another pop
phenomenon, Westlife, has made the transition from wannabe boyband
hopeful to millionaire music mogul.
And with a beautiful wife, Yvonne - who is expecting their second
child - and young son Jack, he can count domestic bliss among his
many riches.
Not bad for the lad who was once chucked out of the school choir
and whose boy band slogged around some of the dingiest dance halls
in Ireland as they tried to make a name for themselves.
Not content with his reign at the top of the charts as Boyzone's
"talented one" - although he once faced the prospect of being dumped
in the band's early days - he dissolved the group last year to go
solo and mastermind Westlife's record-breaking run at the top of
the charts.
He shrewdly hedged his bets, keeping Boyzone on the back-burner and
refusing to confirm a split. But he needn't have worried.
As Westlife's co-manager, Ronan enjoys a 10 per cent share of their
income on top of the pounds 15 million he's earned from his own songs.
Ronan has remained a friend and business partner to Boyzone's manager
Louis Walsh. He's also stuck with his original record label, creating
a stability which has ensured life is far from being a financial
rollercoaster.
These days, Ronan seems perfectly relaxed as he balances his music
interests with TV presenting and fatherhood, though it's all a far
cry from the insecurity of Boyzone's early days when Ronan, Keith
Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately were penniless.
Thrown out of the school choir for not being able to sing, Ronan, the youngest of five
children, recalled: "The choir was dead boring. But I used to
do it because I learned about music. I wasn't very good at it. I was
taking the p*** the whole time. The teacher wasn't having any of it
and said 'Get out, you can't sing and you're a messer.'"
But things started looking up for young Ronan when he noticed an
ad placed by Walsh, who was looking a group to rival pop sensations
New Kids On The Block and Take That.
In 1993, 1500 young hopefuls turned up to auditions at the Ormond
Centre in Dublin. Walsh chose six, two of whom were later thrown out
to make way for Mikey.
A string of dodgy pub gigs followed and their first TV appearance, on
Gay Byrne's Late Late Show on Ireland's RTE channel, was a disaster.
Stephen repeatedly told Byrne he was a pianist, but his thick Irish
accent corrupted the word and the crowd rolled around in stitches.
And their amateurishly over-the-top dance routines were even more
hilarious.
"I'm glad we made some people laugh," Ronan said
sarcastically. "We cringe when we see it. I can laugh now because
I was successful, but if I hadn't been I'd cry. I would, I'd cry."
Boyzone travelled around the Emerald Isle in a second-hand Transit
van for months, dodging bottles and and other missiles as they
attempted to hone their talent.
Ronan said: "We played to near-empty halls and people flicked
cigarette butts at us.
We were a laughing stock in some quarters, but it was important
not to be put off. We reminded ourselves we were the ones on stage
and carried on singing. We used to call some gigs The Doorstep Tour
because often the stage was literally the size of a doorstep. We'd
travel only to discover the nightclub was the extension of somebody's
house."
Mikey recalled: "We played the backside of nowhere with 50 people
there. We went through it all. But we kept going and came out on top.
We danced on tables. We played places where the wind doesn't even
blow. But that's what you have to do. We realised that if we captured
10 fans, it was worth it."
While Take That were kings of the boy band circuit, Boyzone could
only look on with envy as Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald,
Jason Orange and Mark Owen enjoyed chart-topping status as household
names.
They dreamed up the perfect marketing ploy to appeal to their pre-teen
girl fans. All the band members claimed to be virgins, saving
themselves for when the right girl came along.
Each cited their mother as the only woman in his life, though later
a series of sex scandals would strain the group to breaking point.
Two band members had love children, despite Ireland's strict Catholic traditions, and
Stephen was forced to admit he was gay. There was also the secret
scandal of former Boyzone member Richard Rock, who had dealt heroin.
However,when Take That split in 1995, Boyzone saw their chance to become Britain's
No.1 boy band.
Walsh practically bit off the hand of the Polydor Records rep who
offered him pounds 100,000 for the first three Boyzone singles and an
album, a deal that is now regarded as the pop bargain of the
Nineties.
Soon, the lads were sweeping the pop awards and a string of Top 10
hits confirmed their position as the UK's favourite boy band.
Though strains in the band began to show, they kept their problems
to themselves and the fans remained loyal. While Ronan was getting
most of the attention, some members were hurt when Walsh later
described them as "passengers".
Mikey said: "When we started off, we all wanted the attention,
but it quickly became clear what the best formula for us was and,
sure, it might have been frustrating at times when people said I was
just standing there, just making up the numbers."
The toughest test came when Ronan's mum, Marie, died three years
ago after a long battle against cancer. Two weeks later his
grandmother, Annie Keating, passed away at her Dublin home. Ronan
suffered a nervous breakdown and took time out.He said: "My mum
didn't want me in a boy band because she was afraid of all the
drink and drugs. So I promised her I'd never go overboard. And
I won't, though I was terrified I might go off the rails when
she died.
Thank God, Yvonne helped me keep my feet on the ground. And my
family did. So I'm not going to do anything stupid now.
Even so, I always believed that when my Mam died, I wouldn't be able
to deal with it, that I'd crack up, be in a clinic, slapping my
head off a wall, strapped up in a strait- jacket. I honest to God
thought that's what'd happen to me. And there were times I did hit
the wall. But at least I'm not throwing 40 bottles of whiskey a night
into myself. Or drugs. I don't know what cocaine tastes like and I
don't care."
Ironically, it is Ronan's Midas touch which looks set to spell the
end of the road for the other Boyzone members. This weekend, the band
will meet in a bid to rake in millions from a series of farewell
stadium shows.
But with Ronan committed to a solo tour next May, Boyzone could
be approaching the Endzone.
Already, Mikey Graham has insisted he has turned his back on the
bland ballads which made Boyzone famous. He also criticised Ronan
for masterminding Westlife's career and insists boy bands are passe.
Mikey said: "It's been done already, you've had Take That, you've
had Boyzone, you've had Westlife. I wouldn't be interested in trying
to recreate that again. My solo career is more important to me now,
even if it means I have to make do with just a few hundred fans. I
don't care. I'm now getting to write my own songs and make the
kind of music which I enjoy."
Ian McLeish, of Worldpop website, believes there is no turning
back for Ronan.
He said: "Ronan is possibly trying to appeal to an older
market now. With Boyzone, he felt he was being made to sound too
young.
There was a feeling around the Boyzone camp that his image was
getting too mature for a young audience. He is a very level-headed lad who sounds 10 years older than he is.
"The first solo single was funkier than Boyzone and now he has
decided to have a bit of a laugh. He is enjoying shouting his mouth
off whereas, with Boyzone, everything was very controlled.
He is now trying to appeal to people of his own age. A lot of people
thought he was wise beyond his years in Boyzone, so it's unlikely
he'll go back."
Ian also applauds Ronan's common-sense approach to fame.
He said: "He was in one of the biggest boy bands in the world and
could have been living it up and partying, but was going to bed
early to be responsible.
Robbie Williams is the classic example of someone who wanted to
break away from the staid image of the boy band. But he has gone a bit
too far. Ronan is just being himself now."
Louis Walsh feels a transition to solo artist is perfectly natural.
He said: "It seems like any boy band, after a lifespan of five
years, want to branch out on their own. Boyzone are finished."
Ronan added, tellingly: "My life is so busy just now I hardly
know where I am from one day to the next. Yvonne and Jack are what
keep me sane and everything I do is based around getting back home
to them.
That's what's most important to me, not performing in a boy band.
It just doesn't give me the same kind of thrill."
Source : Pauline Walsh at [email protected]