Interview: Ronan Keating, singer

Published on Friday 19 February 2010 10:25

IS it the end for Boyzone? That's the concern for fans of the Irish pop pin-ups after lead singer Ronan Keating announced that he's packing his bags and heading for Hollywood with his family in tow.

The Dublin native, currently on a solo tour that brings him to the Usher Hall on Tuesday night, has been secretly screen-testing for movie roles in LA recently, and could now be set to land a part in eagerly-anticipated Lord Of The Rings prequel The Hobbit.

"We are going there in July, Yvonne and the kids," he said a couple of weeks back. "We'll get the kids enrolled in school there. It may be for six months or we could even give it a year. We'll see what happens. I've done a couple of castings... I've done an audition for The Hobbit.

"That starts shooting in New Zealand in July," added the 32-year-old, "so we'd be based there a while instead of LA if it happens."

Keating's decision to up sticks and head for the Hollywood Hills follows the sudden death of Boyzone bandmate and best friend Stephen Gately.

The band, which has sold over 20 million records, initially vowed to carry on, but both Keating and Keith Duffy have since said they would find it extremely tough to appear as Boyzone without Gately, who was found dead at the age of 33 in his Mallorca holiday villa last October. Still showing signs of grief when talking to the press at an Auckland hotel before a recent gig Down Under, Keating said the death of his pal came completely out of the blue. "It was a phone call, that's all we got," said the singer, who was in a Chicago restaurant having dinner with his sister when his mobile rang. "We had no idea, he was healthier than ever – it was devastating." Understand-ably, the future of Boyzone remains in the balance for now. But fans can expect at least one more release from their favourites, who will return in the summer with a new album called Brother.

Although it's not a tribute to Gately as such, Keating said that Boyzone's forthcoming album will be dedicated to him.

The singer described the record, on which some of the tracks that were recorded just before Gately's death include his vocals, as "totally different" to anything the group have released before. "It's pop rock," he said. "The song Gave It All Away has a reggae sound."

Keating is no stranger to loss after his mother Marie lost her battle with breast cancer in 1998 – and he'll be taking to the stage in Edinburgh to showcase tracks from recent solo album Songs For My Mother, as well as performing past hits such as When You Say Nothing At All and Life Is A Rollercoaster.

Songs For My Mother, which topped the charts in the UK last year, is a beautiful and evocative collection of songs that Keating remembers his mum listening to throughout his childhood. It consists of covers of his mum's favourite songs and one or two that remind the family of her – all the songs on the album were carefully selected by Keating.

As you'd expect, then, this is a record that's very close to his heart. "It is a personal album, of course, but at the same time I feel proud I can talk about her like this and be strong about it," he said when the album came out. "Talking about me mam again, 11 years after she passed away - you don't get a lot of opportunity to do that.

"There are songs on the album for everyone's mother, that's the idea. Songs are so varied that people will be able to find different things in the album that they can relate to."

Given that Keating will probably want to make a dedication to his late friend Gately as well, there likely won't be a dry eye in the house at the Usher Hall on Tuesday night.

Ronan Keating, Usher Hall, Lothian Road, Tuesday. 7.30pm, 0131 228 1155