QUICK QUOTESRonan on the time Boyzone was just starting out......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. Ronan on the first time he ever signed an autograph... ...It was the day after Boyzone's first appearance on the Late Late Show. I walked down O'Connol Street (Dublin's main street) thinking I was the coolest bloke... I had a big smile on me head - a really don't you know who I am attitude going. I was wearing the same hat I wore on the show . It was very funny. I'll never forget that. I think that was probably the first time I signed an autograph. Ronan on his public image... ...Journalists make me out to be some kind of angel, but I have a crazy side and bet I could drink most people under the table! I'd even throw TV's out of a hotel window if they weren't so heavy! Ronan on himself... ...I've just been voted Top Male Idol but when I look in the mirror, I don't see a heart-throb -- just plain old Ro from Dublin Ronan on life after fame... ...My hair has changed and I wear nice clothes, plus I've got a bit of money saved up in the bank, but I like to think I am still a good person and not big-headed. Besides, if I ever get a swollen ego, my mum will give me a hard clip around the ear. Ronan on love... ...Love is the most abused word in the world and is too often used for the wrong reasons. Ronan on Boyzone's first concert tour of Ireland and the UK... ...We don't just go on stage and sing. Our show is like a seduction scene, it's bit like picking up a girl at a party -- you don't just crash in, you chat them uo, flirt a little, dance like crazy and finish up witha real boogie. We have a fantastic stage set which is like a backstreet scene. We go through four costume changes, do a lot of dance routines and give absolutely everything. We could cut corners but that would be cheating our fans. Ronan on how he fought with a bully after moving to a new school ( Dunshaughlin College ) when his parents moved from Dublin... ...I smacked him in the mouth and pushed him in a ditch and hit him a couple of more times. Ronan on his brother Gary's guitar, bought when Ro was 10 and Gary 14 years old... ...When Gary bought his guitar I couldn't keep my hands off it. He had an amp and I loved to make a noise. They were my earliest days in music and the first song he taught me to sing was Stand By Me. Ronan on his mother... ...She was my best friend and as time goes by it's not getting any easier to be without her. I keep my head up and work away and that's what keeps me going. I still feel she is close to me, every step of the way. Every move I make she's with me. I still talk to her and go down to the grave a lot to spend time with her. I was graced with her presence fro 21 years of my life and anyone who met her, who had the honour to meet her, would say she was a wonderful woman. Words cannot express what she was to me, her warmth, her caring, her love, her laughter, her joy, her tears, her smiles - everything she did. I can't even begin to say I miss her terribly. I hope I can take from her and move on. Give back some of what she gave to me through helping others. That's very important - I think that's why we're here, really. To enjoy our lives the best we can and pass the message on. If I can be to people just a little bit of what she was to me, in some way I will feel that my life has been worthwhile. Ronan on his first girlfriend Rebecca... ..We didn't kiss or anything. We were just two young friends having a laugh, but we saw each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. I think we were about 10. Ronan on his first kiss... ..I remember when it happened. I was 13 and she knew exactly what she was doing but I didn't have a clue and it scared the life out of me !!! |