Gig review: Boyzone, Edinburgh Castle

DECLARING here that they’d be taking the audience right back to their chart beginnings in 1994, “when some of you weren’t even born”, Irish crooning quartet Boyzone slip comfortably into the ‘manband’ territory so ably staked out by Take That for boybands whose recording careers have unexpectedly outlived their own boyishness.

Suave and slick, Boyzone gave their audience what they came for. Picture: Steven Scott Taylor

Boyzone

Edinburgh Castle

Star rating: ***

Suave, suited-up and laying on the pre-scripted charm, Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham gave the majority female audience what they appeared to be here for in terms of a nostalgic thrill and a chance to appraise their former teen pin-ups as they approach middle age.

There was no question that they were preaching to the converted, and there was no hint of surprise in these faithfully rendered takes on the originals. A trio of covers, including Tracy Chapman’s Baby Can I Hold You, Bread’s Everything I Own and Anne Murray’s You Needed Me passed by in the same comfortable haze with which their own Picture of You and No Matter What were delivered. Even on terms which state the crowd will offer up undying devotion, a bit of variety and excitement might be hoped for.Fortunately for any neutrals who may have lurked, it arrived later in the show, first with a medley of the Four Tops’ Reach Out I’ll Be There and the Supremes’ You Can’t Hurry Love, then their own richer and more enjoyable recent tracks If We Try and Love Will Save the Day, and Keatings’ own Life is a Rollercoaster. There was also some real humanity in their tribute to late member Stephen Gately (“sometimes we think we’ve got it, then we walk on stage and we don’t got it”), whose brother and nephew were in attendance, and Keating’s own gleeful admission that he loves Edinburgh so much he’ll be getting married here next month.

Seen on 25.07.2015