RONAN IN LIME
-- September, 2000
'I want world domination!' exclaims Ronan Keating, a
hard-edged glint in his eye. The Boyzone anchor,
Westlife mentor and solo superstar won't settle for
anything les! In town recently to promote his
self-titled album and No.1 hit 'Life is a
rollercoaster', Pop's Chairman of The Board calls for
a meeting with Chelsia Toon (Lime's reporter) to
outline his plans for a chart takeover!
'Life is a rollercoaster' went straight to No.1 in the
UK. Unfortunately, it was disqualified from the charts!
What happened?
(Cooly) Two formats of the single were released in
the same week. The first had too many singles on it,
so it wasn't eligible for the charts. The second was
eligible, and i got the No.1 through that. I
actually sold 198,000 singles, but only charted for
98,000. The other 100,000 were discounted.
Cripes! Did you fire the fella who made the blunder?
(Smiles) Nah, but I wanted to kill him when I heard
about it! By the time I found out, I had a week to
promote the right single the best I could.
Your new album Ronan boasts songs written by Bryan
Adams, Gregg Alexander from The New Radicals and Barry
Gibb from the The Bee Gees. Which of the above do you
admire most?
I admire them all in different ways, but Barry Gibb
was an inspiration to me. It was an honour to work
with him! I'm over the moon about the album. I've
worked hard and i believe in it. It's a pop album
with an edge. Plus, it has great melodies!
Madonna has managed to reinvent herself with every new
album. Think we'll ever hear you rap or rock?
(Thoughtgully) Madonna does indeed reinvent herself
but she was never a pop-turned-rap artist. She's
twisted her sound slightly every time and through the
years it's changed so much. It's important to change
gradually and reinvent yourself slowly. You'll lose
all your fans if you go for a dramatic change!
Anyway, who knows? I believe I'm a rock artist down
the road!
We reckon you've never looked better! Is it the glow
of having it all?
(Pleased) Maybe. I don't know. I am very happy, but
I want more than this. I want the world! (Chartles)
Like world domination! I've got a long way to go. To
be established as a solo artist is very important to
me. I want to be here for 15 years, 20 years, maybe
even 30! Who knows?
Is snaring a Grammy one of your ultimate goals, then?
We all want Grammys! (Casually) But if it happens,
it happens. Boyzone have been waiting for a Brit
Award for the last seven years, but we never got one.
But I haven't lost any sleep over it.
Pop princess Louise is apparently dying to duet with
you. Are you as keen?
Yeah, I heard about it. Strange thing is, she is a
really good friend of mine and she hasn't told me yet!
She's great, I'll love to work with her. I'll love
to work with everyone from Elvis Presley to George
Michael!
You've said boybands will be a thing of the past.
Where does that leave Boyzone and Westlife?
What I said was ...... (Slightly annoyed) geez, people
always ...... (Sighs) Whether it's pop, indie or
rock, music goes in circles. There'll always be
boybands and young girls buying boyband records. I
just feel the phenomenon of boybands will fade away
for a while. I think Westlife, Boyzone and Backstreet
Boys will continue to be successful for as long as
their careers will let them.
Do you see yourself as a role model for boyband
members keen an pursing solo careers?
(Sagely) Well, it's up to them whether they believe
they have the talent, willpower, strength and
determination to do it. I love going solo. It's
wonderful only when the band is ready to make the
decision. Don't do it now if you excel in what you're
doing.
You said Boyzone are no longer passionate about their
music, but Steve Gately told us Boyzone will be
working on a new album next year. Is it gonna be the
band's last album?
We're definitely not breaking up. In the past year,
we felt we got stuck in a mold. We were answering the
same questions we were talking in the same way ......
we just needed something new. We wanted to break away
to reinvent ourselves and hopefully we'll get back
together with new ideas for Boyzone. It's healthy and
will do us good. No, it will not be the last album
for us. We'll do something again, I hope. (Laughs)
I hope so!
Is it true your record label wanted your teeth
straightened so you'll have a better shot at the US
market?
(Dismissively) Nah, it's all rubbish.
Teehee. Is that the whole tooth and nothing but the
teeth?
Haha! That's very funny. (Puts on a cartoonish
voice) You bet that's the whole tooth and nothing but
the tooth, man! It ain't the tooth at all! It's all
false teeth! Hur hur!
A fan recently rushed from her wedding to attend one
of your autograph sessions! You've probably seen it
all in your seven years of pop stardom, but does this
take the cake?
(Amused) What happened was she got married and while
the rest of the wedding party went to the reception,
she jumped intot the car and went to my signing
session! With her bridesmaids! I was totally
shocked! It's one of the best cases i've seen. It's
quite funny!
Congrats, your wife Yvonne's pregnant again! You must
be chuffed to bits .....
We're over the bloody moon! We're so excited. We're
expecting our baby in February and we can't wait! I
miss my son Jack and my wife terribly. I have a
computer with a web cam so we can see each other when
we chat! It's really cool!
If it's a girl, would you let her date someone like,
say, Shane from Boyzone?
(Chuckies) Shane's a good guy, actually. He's always
treated women with respect, so why not?
You live in a world of private jets, red carpet
entrances and the like. Do you sometimes feel you
don't like in a real world?
(Matter-of-factly) I live in the real world all the
time. Every now and then, I'd fly in a private jet or
I'd get a nice hotel room, but it doesn't always
happen. I work really hard and I sacrifice a lot!
But when was the last time you waited in line?
Erm ...... I waited in line to board the plane over
the weekend!
Who pays your electricity bills?
(Proudly) I do.
Do you know how much a pack of Jack's diapers cost?
I don't know how much they cost exactly, but I think
they're something like 3.5 pounds?
You've always had a squeaky-clean image but you claim
you're not a goody-goody as people think you are.
Somehow we're not convinced ......
I'm a human being. I live a life I wanna live. I do
what I wanna do. I don't think I have to live my life
by a certain way or rule.
So it's true you got mad on a flight when a passsenger
told Jack to keep quiet, then?
(Gets worked up) Yeah, that really sent me through
the roof. Big time! If it was a guy, I would've
smacked him in the jaw!
You recently joined the ranks of 'International Who's
Who' [a directory listing top celebs], alongside Ricky
Martin and actress Cate Blanchett. Is that the
highest compliment someone can pay you?
No, i was in a bar last night and a guy came up to me
and said,'Ro, i think your voice is fantastic and your
album is cool!' That's a greater compliment than
being in a darn magazine! I don't care about who's who!