| LATEST BOYZONE NEWS/RUMOURS ON TOP |
| 28th
August 1999
* The Sun-Herald – Ronan’s Country Boots(Australian) (thanx a lot to emily jackers17@hotmail.com for providing the information to all fans) Yesterday LA. Today Nashville. Tomorrow Taiwan. Boyzone’s RK is snaking his way to Australia for 48-hour media blitz in Sydney and Melbourne.The blitz is aimed at pumping up the sales of his band’s By Request and his first solo single WYSNAA from the hit movie Notting Hill.Meanwhile, there is a recently born son, Jack, to raise, a band management company to oversee, a forthcoming British arena tour with Boyzone and a solo album to be knocked into shape.The latter has seen Keating, 22, linking with a host of American song doctors in an attempt to write dozen creamy, adult contemporary, chart-blitzing pop hits. But Nashville?‘I wrote 6 songs while I was down there with a bunch of different country writers,’ Keating said.‘These people are very talented and the quality of these lyrics is the best I have ever written.’ Why? ‘Basically somebody like me always needs somebody to get a good lyric; I need someone to drag it out of me.‘People down in Nashville do it on a daily basis; it’s like a job to them, they just roll out the lyrics. They have a great mind for that type of stuff.’Having recorded material with Boyzone by chef sausage-factory-song such as Desmond Child (ATTITW) and Dianne Warren (INNNY), it is obvious Keating believes that power of love is the wind beneath his wings.Yet, as self-described paranoid chap, does he now sense these folk are sometimes on autopilot?‘Yeah, that can happen, but when you meet them they have like an A-list songs, a B-list of songs and a C-list,’ he said.‘Every now and then they turn out these songs that they see as A-list.‘When you hear them you really understand why; they are great quality.’Keating conceded he was partial to a stetson and cowboy boots. But do not expect to find Merle Haggard or Dolly Parton guesting on his solo opus.‘Some of the greatest pop songs have derived from country music songs,’Keating said.‘Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You was originally country, as was All-4-One’s I Swear , Boyzone’s ILTWYLM and my latest single was done by Alison Krauss.’Meanwhile, Boyzone’s popularity continues to soar.The band has enjoyed 14 consecutive Top 5 UK singles and equals The Beatles as the only band to have 4 consecutive albums debut at no. 1 on the UK charts.‘I don’t feel worthy in any way to stand near The Beatles,’ Keating said. ‘We are just a pop band who have been around 6 years and had a lot of fun and sold a lot of records.’Tickets for the upcoming Boyzone tour of the UK went on sale 6 months before the concerts, and many have already sold out, I including 3 of 5 at Wembley Arena. So, next stop the Holy Grail, Wembley Stadium?‘We’d love to do the stadium, but sadly December isn’t the cleverest time of the year to ply, it’d be a but cold,’ Keating said. ‘We did a stadium in Ireland last year but we’re definitely thinking of playing Wembley Stadium next (northern) summer.’Asked if it was strange Boyzone’s Stephen Gately chose the trashy British tabloid The Sun in which to come out recently after being notified the paper was being offered an ‘exclusive’ by a former band associate and it is clear Keating is loathe to bite the hand that feeds the machine.‘Well, it’s not that it’s sleazy paper,’ he said. ‘We have great friends in the tabloids. Basically it’s the tabloids that write about us pop stars and what we do and our everyday lives.’‘It was the perfect paper for him to say what he wanted to say.‘Luckily we have a good relationship with all the tabloids and that’s why they came to us and said, ‘Listen, this guy is trying to sell us a story, what do you want to do about it because we’re going to have to write it either way’.‘Luckily Stephen had a good friend on the paper and they sat down and they talked about it properly.‘At the end of the day it’s really come out in Stephen’s favour andwe’ve probably gained fans if anything.’Boyzone’s By Request is available through Universal. |
| 21st
August 1999
* Sunday People - article about Ronan (thanx a lot to Louise Haver louise.haver@lineone.net for providing the information to all fans) BOYZONE star RONAN KEATING may have had two weeks at the top of the charts with his debut single When You Say Nothing At All - but he clearly has plenty to talk about with model wife Yvonne. And as they wheel baby Jack along Londons Sloane Street it won't be pop they're chatting about. More about playing poppa! The 22-year-old Irish idol is to spend more time with his family and says: "Yvonne and I are planning a second baby. We've got a big house and we intend to fill it." Meanwhile, he's content to be knocked off the No1 spot - especially as it was WESTLIFE, the band he manages that did it with If I Let You Go. Ronan says: "You can't really complain when your own band beats you!" *
dotmusic-the official
No.1 UK music website
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| 15th
August 1999
* article about the forthcoming Boyzone film in The Daily Telelgraph (thanx a lot to Alex Kent akent@globalnet.co.uk for providing the information to all fans) BOYZONE TALE GIVES KEATING HIS FILM BREAK The Spice Girls had a moderate success with one. Now Boyzone, I can reveal, are laying plans to make thier first film. Ronan Keating and his pretty band of Dublin-based Celtpoppers have dreams of becoming Irish heroes on screen as well as on disc. Startlingly for thier girlie fans, the vehicle is not a candyflossconfection but a serious-minded £6.3 million story set on the Western Front during the First World War. 'The Whistling Boys' is about two Irish brothers who join the British Army under age and become stretcher bearers at Ypres, experiencing the horrors of war as well as a fair amount of anti-Irish prejudice.Keating would play one of the brothers. There may be smaller parts for other band members. The brothers are all but joined at the hip and the film's title refers to how, as boys, they would whistle to each other through the mist when they got lost on the moors - a device to come in handy in the smoke of battle on the Western Front.The band, recently No 1 in both the sing;e and album charts, apparantly have a fallow period next year after thier current world tour finishes and are said to be thrilled at the film project, to be made by an independant English company now raising the money and shot in Ireland or the Isle of Man.There is more than a littlepathos behind the story. 'The Whistling Boys' has been written as a tribute to his own brother by an extraordinary half-Irish, half-English man, Geoffrey Sundquist. Sundquist, a marketing executive from Epsom, Surrey, is a shining example of the motto that you only get out of life what you put into it. Six years ago, his younger brother, whom he adored, threw himself under a train. Gerry Sundquist had been a glamorous sports car-driving actor and boyfriend of Natassja Kinski before he became a heroin addict. Geoffrey Sunquist, who had never attempted anything that could pass as art or literature since leaving school, was moved to write a 5,000 word story abot Father Christmas. It was snapped up by ITV, turned into a £1 million animated film, 'Father Christmas and The Missing Reindeer', with David Jason doing the voice-over.It was sold to 55 other countries, and for this Christmas, Sundquist has written another,'Father Christmas Loses His Address Book', with the voice of Rik Mayall. He is also on the verge of signing a deal with an unnamed TV station for a 100-part children's mini-cartoon series based on a dog he has invented called 'Gulp'. 'The Whistling Brothers' is his first screenplay and an even bigger tribute to his brother. *
article in a magazine(HIT
Sensations) of the States
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| 7th
August 1999
* interview of Ronan at radio station (Invicta FM in Kent) (thanx a lot to Clare and Alex W and R thebzcrew@hotmail.com for the information) Jon (DJ): My guest here tonight is Ronan Keating!!! Ronan: Hello, how are ya?? J: Fine, you? R: Yeah, good thanks! J: I know you were here some months ago just before Christmas... R: That’s right, indeed we were... J: And that time Yvonne was heavily pregnant... R: She was indeed, very very heavily pregnant! J: You were looking forward to a great Christmas... R: Yeah, we had a good Christmas! J: Lots has gone on since then, Boyzone of course had more hits, the album’s been out...but I guess the most important thing was the arrival of little Jack... R: Indeed it was, it was magical, thank God, and he’s healthy and strong, a big man! J: How are you getting on with the sleepless nights? R: I’m grand - we have a nanny so it’s not too bad, y’know, she’s looking after things during the night, and it means Yvonne and myself get a good night’s sleep so I can work during the day... J: So is he uttering those gurgly baby sounds yet? R: Oh yeah, he’s found his voice now and he’s screaming and shouting..... J: Has he got round to the “dada” and “mama” yet? R: Oh no, not yet... J: Bet that’ll bring a tear to your eye! R: Oh yeah, can’t wait! J: So, you’ve got a new single out from the film Notting Hill, are you nervous about it? R: Oh yeah man, I’m really nervous about it, I’m dreading it, I’m dreading to find out where it’s gonna be, dreading it! J: ‘Cos it’s not only got to follow the success of BZ’s hits, it’s also got to follow the success of the Four Weddings movie... R: That’s it, everyone’s been saying like “your song’s like the Wet Wet Wet song and that was around for fourteen weeks at number one y’know, howdo you live up to that? J: We’ll see on Sunday I guess....I’m sure it’s gonna do well! ............Plays No Matter What and Westlife’s new song...... J: Two great songs there, No Matter What - Boyzone, and the new one from Westlife... R: That’s right, If I Let You Go... J: How d’you get time to look after these guys and do your own stuff as well? R: You just find time y’know, I’d love to do more, but sadly I can’t give as much as I’d like to but I’m on the phone nearly every day to the lads and things are going well, we’re shaping up for the single and things are looking good... J: D’you have to change hats sometimes, when you’re mucking around and having a laugh with BZ on tour and whatever.... R: Yeah I did do yeah, when I was out with the Boyz on tour you kinda do, but now I’m going my own thing I kinda take that very seriously, not saying that I didn’t take BZ seriously, but when you’re with a bunch of lads,you kinda take the mick, but it’s bit easier now that I’m doing this thing on my own, yeah...I wanna be more of a friend to them though, I want them to be able to pick up the phone and say “Ro, listen - what’s going on...”, and it’s more artistic development I get involved in - the music,the way they look, stuff like that.... J: Yeah, and it looks like the single will be a high entry in the charts when it’s released...So, let’s get into some of the questions the listeners have sent in.... R: Great! J: What do you do to relax - Do you have the time?!? R: Yeah, I like to just go home to be honest, Yvonne and meself go to the movies, go out for a bite to eat, or just walk the dogs or take Jack for a walk y’know, anything, whatever it may be, I just love doing the simple things in life at home, going down to get the groceries, or horseriding, whatever it may be.... J: What do you enjoy most- performing live, recording in the studio, presenting TV shows... R: I love recording in the studio, it’s a favourite part of what I do,but giving it back live is just a bigger buzz y’know, the arena tours and the stadium tours are just fantastic! J: What makes you laugh?? R: At the minute Jack - when Jack smiles or laughs at me he just makes me giggle, the stuff he’s getting up to at the minute, he’s just finding new things every day, and his little face just makes me laugh... J: I guess when he’s about two when he starts putting toast in thevideo recorder... R: Well, that’s when things’ll start to go pear-shaped! J: What’s the most exciting country you’ve been to? R: Erm, I’ve been around the world, I like Asia - it’s a very exciting and different place to where we were born and raised you know, I just like travelling and witnessing cultures, I like America a lot actually,America’s a lot of fun, a very exciting place. J: How’s BZ’s career going in America at the moment? R: Well No Matter What has just gone Number 35 in the Billboard charts and climbing, so it looks like it’s gonna be a hit record over there, I guess it’s gonna happen for us just when we decided to take a break! J: Have you got a follow up to your new single? R: Well I’m recording my album next month in America and in the UK August/September, so hopefully I will have a follow up for February, and an album for March! J: And let’s reassure the listeners here, that this is not the end for BZ... R: No, we’re very much together, we’re on tour in the UK and Ireland in December, the movie will be out hopefully for March/April next year and the fourth studio album for the summer! J: Do you eat Junk food or are you a health freak, now I heard in the press yesterday that involved with beans these days R: No, I’m definitely a junk food freak, I like a bit of McDonald’s every now and then y’know, you can’t not, y’know, it’s so good, I like a bit of junk food! J: So Ronan, thanks for popping down.... R: No thank you very much, its good to be back... J: It’s nice to see you... R: Yeah, you too! J: And good luck with the single, we know it’s gonna go number one....no doubt about that! R: Oh, please God, thank you!! J: And thanks for popping in to see us!! R: Thank you, God bless. Seeya! |