RONAN IN PETRA MAGAZINE
-- 2nd June, 2002
Everybody knows his ear-catchers like LIAR and LED ..
And Ronan Keating's new single If Tomorrow Never Comes(from the latest
album
Destination) has the power to become a really big
summer hit. But did you know, that the 25 years old
Irish
mega-star has worked as a shoe-seller before his
career?And that he likes to go out to enjoy himself.
No? Then you
should read the following interview. But be careful ?
it could be that you'll look very differently to this
nice guy
who sings so cosy ballads...
PETRA: Have you actually been good on shoe-selling?
Keating: I was great. When people were trying shoes
and
said.? They are too small?, I answered ?Oh no, they?ll
become more wide?. One week later those people turned
up
again at the store and were complaining.?My feet ache
like
hell!?. But once weared I couldn't take the shoes
back.
Pretty mean, hm? However, I did learn something: When
I
look at shoes I can say a lot about the person who
wears
them.
PETRA: Then tell me what type of person I am.
Keating: Hmm, you are wearing sneakers, so you like it
easy. The label is very in at the moment, so you are
fashion-conscious and athletic. You know what you want
and
you go straight into the direction of your aim.
PETRA: Oh, that sounds pretty good. Show me your
shoes!
Keating: These are classical, black boots, but that
doesn't
count . I only wear them because they fit to my suit.
The
shoes which will say the most about me are my
biker-boots.
I love it to cruise around on my bike , in my heart
I'm a
real biker. And good boots are hard to find, that's
why I
wear them till they fall off of me.
PETRA: But I read about you that you buy new shoes as
soon
as the old ones get dirty...
Keating: I'm a real shoe-fanatic and I'm constantly
buying
new ones. I'll give the old ones to my friends and
acquaintances, I wouldn't know where else to put them.
PETRA: You are collecting cars and watches as well.
Doesn't
your wife becomes very annoyed?
Keating: No, she is very tolerate.
PETRA: And if she did say: "You are allowed to keep
one
watch , one car and one pair of boots, the rest will
have
to be put away!" What would you choose to hold on to?
Keating: I would keep my 61er-Chevy-Corvette and my
Tag
Heuer Monaco, that's the watch which Steve McQueen was
wearing in the movie"Le Mans" . And of course- my
biker-boots.
PETRA: You are a fan of Steve McQueen?
Keating: Absolutely, the man had style! I liked Frank
Sinatra as well. And I think George Michael today is
one of
the best dressed men.
PETRA: What do you think is sexy at a woman?
Keating: I like it, if you can see her bottom.
PETRA: You mean the naked bottom?
Keating: No, I think it's sexy if you'd be able to see
the
bottom under a tight jeans.
PETRA: By the way, do you go shopping with your wife
Yvonne?
Keating: Oh no! I hate it, to wait for her hours
without
end in front of the changing cabin. Like all the other
poor
men who will have to wait so long. It's better if she
goes
shopping on her own.
PETRA: You seem to be quite normal for somebody who
has
been in the limelight from age 16 ? Are you not
a
bit arrogant?
Keating: Surely, I had different phases, but that's
part of
getting older. But I try to treat people with respect.
And
to keep my feet on the ground.
PETRA: Have you ever recognised yourself with a
totally
arrogant popstars-behaviour?
Keating: Sure, there were moments, when I thought: "I
can't
believe what I actually said right now!" But that's
very
rare. Probavly that's because I'm Irish. In Dublin,
it's
all very relaxed, the people would never accept, if
anybody
tries to pretend something that's not true. You go
into a
pub and will meet Bono from U2 and you'll have a beer
with
him. The city's so small, you'll always bump into each
other.
PETRA: Are you still going out a lot?
Keating: I like it, to go out with my mates. Last
weekend
we have been out saturday and sunday and drank real
hard.
PETRA: Do you have a good hangover cure for the next
morning?
Keating: A crispy breakfast with eggs, bacon and
sausages.
PETRA: Other people try to avoid the hangover by
drinking
lots of water before going to bed...
Keating: Yes, I have tried that one as well, but most
of
the time I'm so drunk that I forget to drink water.
PETRA: Hard to believe, that you like to party so
often ?
because as a junior you have been close to a career as
athlete
.
Keating: I'm Irish, therefore parties are part of the
history. And the sports-career didn't work out because
I
decided to go into music.
PETRA: You belonged to the best Irish runners. That
will
surely help you today when you have to flee because of
the
paparazzis...
Keating: I still go jogging regularly and this morning
I
ran a round along the Alster(Hamburg).But I don't have
to
worry about the paparazzis, they let me my peace.
PETRA: And what about the fans?
Keating: They are very friendly. Only once I got
scared
when a girl showed me her arm: she had a tattoo with my
name
on it. At least it was written correctly.
PETRA: You have got a tatto yourself, on your upper
arm, it
means "Warrior". Do you see yourself as a warrior?
Keating: Well, to be honest, it went like this: I was
17
and with my mates on a night out in London. When we
woke up
the next day, we all had tattoos.
PETRA: Been lucky, some people after such a night are
not
only with a tatto but are married as well ...
Keating: (laughs) Yeah, but that would have been a bit
to
much at 17!
PETRA: You married early and founded a family. Other
men
will start at 30 to only think about it You are not
fearing
that you have lost out on some things?
Keating: No, I started with everything a little bit
earlier. I was 15 when I joined Boyzone. And all out
of a
sudden I was travelling all over the world with the
guys.
We had a lot of fun and haven't missed out on
anything!
When I met Yvonne I just knew: That's the woman I want
to
have children with. Why should I have waited longer?
PETRA: You and Yvonne knew each other back from
teenage
days...
Keating: Yes, we have been good friends for quiet a
while
before I fell in love with her, almost over night. It
was a
very magical and romantic moment. For a relationship
it's
great if friendship becomes love.
PETRA: In opposite of Robbie Williams, who has fastly
turned away from his boyband-image, you are still
labelled
as the nice guy from next door
Keating: I have got no problem with that at all.I want
to
become famous for my music and not with some
scandalous
articles. I do not throw TV's out of the window.
That's not
me.
PETRA: So there's nothing with sex, drugs & rock�n
roll?
Keating: I love rock music, especially all these new
punkrock-bands. But I know that I'm a pop artist. And
a
husband and father. I don't need this any more.
Source : Translated my Ines at [email protected]. Thanks to my pal Shardha Krishnan for sending me this interview.