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NEWS day after day
July 17
CHER'S DAUGHTER SUPPORTS STEVE BOYZONE!
Cher's lesbian daughter Chastity Bono supports Steve Boyzone no
matter
what. After Steve came out for his sexuality, he's hiding from
the press.
He even skipped a few Boyzone concert (it was only the one in
Germany with
Michael Jackson is it? An) to calm down after the mess he
created.
Chastity, her story was sold to the papers, gives advice: 'He
must not hide
from press now. Now that heavy load is from his shoulders, he
should live
life to the full. He must be afraid of nothing.....'
July 24
BOYZONE STILL POPULAR AFTER STEVE'S COMING OUT. 'WE ARE SO HAPPY
FOR HIM.'
The fact Stephen Gately is gay doesn't affect Boyzone's
popularity. A few
weeks ago Boyzone gave a absolutely brilliant concert in Ahoy'
Rotterdam
(yes it really was! An) and Steve got a mega huge applause when
he sung his
solo song. Just before the gig we talked to Shane and Mikey, who
didn't
refuse to talk about Steve's coming out.....
HK: So boys, what happened on the Boyzone front the past few
months?
Shane: We've been touring constantly. I think we've seen all of
Europe now.
HK: Do you feel nervous before a show like tonight?
Shane: Hmmm, it is of course one of the bigger concerts. We've
performed in
Ahoy' four, five times but this is the first time we're the main
act. But
really nevrous, no. And the show: We're doing it for about 7
weeks now so
that won't be the point either. We do our best to entertain the
crowd.
HK: How is the tour going so far?
Shane: Pretty good. We come on places we've seen a lot of times,
but we
visit new places too. Hungary for example. It's not a very rich
country and
there were a few problems with the tickets. Finally about 4000
people came
up I think and that made the atmosphere pretty close.
HK: Do you see the 'By request' album as the end of a chapter?
Shane: I see the album as the end of three albums and mainly:
hard work.
The past 6 years have been important for us, but we want some
time for
ourselves now. Everyone in Boyzone has a relationship, a home,
hobbies.
After this tour we'll pay some more attention to that. We want to
enjoy the
things we could buy after so many years of hard work.
Mikey (finally): After this tour we hope we can get our lives
back in our
own hands. Everyone will be doing his own stuff for a couple of
months.
HK: But we thought you were working on your new cd?
Shane: Yes, we've finished a few songs already, but an album will
be there
somewhere next year.
HK: And all your solo projects.....
Shane: That's true. Ronan solo, Steve's doing soundtracks, Keith
is
presenting and I'm racing. From July till October I have a race
every week.
In Belgium, France, Ireland, England and maybe Holland. So that
has all to
be done before Boyzone starts again.
HK: Mikey, what are your plans?
Mikey: I'll be releasing a solo album too, but it's hard to say
what kind
of music it is. It's totally me. To give you an idea: It's a bit
in the
style of the classics, everyone knows them, 'Stairway to heaven'
by Led
Zeppelin for example, or 'When a man loves a woman' by
Percy Sledge.
But the album will also be released somewhere next year.
HK: Boyzone is there for a pretty few years now, are there any
colleagues
you have a special bond with?
Shane: There are colleagues you meet time after time, so that
bond comes
automatically, whether it's good or not. We get on well with The
Corrs, and
U2 of course.....
Mikey: The video of 'The sweetest thing' where you can see us
with Bono is
a good example of good co-operation. It was a great day and the
video is
very nice. Anyway, when we are in the same hotel as U2, we always
have a
chat. We're not close friends, but we get on well.
HK: About Steve's coming out. why didn't he tell it earlier?
Mikey: Why should he?! Whether you're straight, gay or bie,
no-one has to
do with that. Things you do with your partner, you always do them
behind
closed doors. It's nobody's business. But Steve is so happy with
Eloy, so
we're very happy for him. It's his own life isn't it?
Shane: Fact is, it is still nobody's business, but at a time
there were so
many rumours about Stephen's love-life that he decided to tell
his own
story. That's the only reason for his coming out.
HK: Btw, do you know Eloy?
Shane: We met him yes. Just like I see Mikey's girlfriend or
Keith's wife.
We say 'Hi' and that's it. What Steve and Eloy are doing together
I don't
know, and if I knew I wouldn't tell you. It's private life.
August 7
RONAN TAKES A DISTANCE FROM CHURCH
Ronan Keating is brought up as a good Catholic, but he is
doubting the
justice or the church more and more. Ronan says: 'The church is
so corrupt.
Every day you read another story in the paper about a priest who
did
something really bad. Really, it's making me sick.'
August 14
RONAN TO BECOME FILMSTAR?
The past eight months Ronan Keating's been very sneaky. Well,
that's
nothing new on the Boyzone front, but Mr. Keating was busy with
something
really weird. He wrote a filmscript and the film is due to be
released in
2001. Mr. Keating himself will not play a part in the movie. He
says:
'First of all I want my solo career to start well. Finally I want
to
combine music and producing movies.'
August 14
RONAN SEES HIS SOLO CAREER NOT AS A TOSS-UP, BUT AS A SERIOUS
STEP. 'I'VE
LEARNED TO LIVE TWO LIVES!'
This year you can catch Boyzone again in a lot of Europese
charts. They
play sold-out gigsand every misic mag had them on te cover. But
it is also
a year for the personalities. Steve's coming out, Shane's little
car
crashes and the start of Ronan's solo career. 'We have to!'
thinks the new
father. 'Nobody may be bored with us!'
'I understand there are a lot of questions about the band' starts
Ronan
Keating who's solo single is just finished. His first solo album
will be in
the shops March 2000. The band will go on, no matter what!
Ronan:'Being in
the popbiz means you're in a spiral. Is a band or a singer gone,
there'll
be a new generation to take over. The only remedy is to keep
people
surprised and try new things.
HK: Is Boyzone that ill then?
Ronan: Yes and no..... We are questioning at the moment and we
take a lot
of risico's. You saw it with Take That. As a group they were
immense
populars, but now there's only Robbie. That can happen to us too.
But we
grow older and the market's changing. It's not just the kids
anymore, other people are intersted in us too.
We must find out what's good for us before we start to
irritate people. And before we just
work for the money.
HK: Before you started in Boyzone, did you ever have the idea of
a solo
album?
When I started with Boyzone I realised I was on the right spot
there. I
wanted nothing else but make music, sing, perform and write
songs. Of
course I realised Boyzone wouldn't last forever. At a time
everyone will go
his own way. But the popbiz is not a world where everything goes
to plan.
It's too unsure for that.
HK: Who would Ronan Keating be if he was not so lucky?
Ronan Keating would be someone who, like his brothers, not would
sing, but
work hard in a few bars in New York. I would be a barkeeper.
Maybe a
singing (laughs)!
HK: Do you see Boyzone as a game?
Every single you release is a gamble. How we love every single,
the people
out there must love it too. 'You're as good as your last single'
people
say, and that's right. It sounds scary, but it makes you work
even harder.
You also must not let fame get to your head, that does your head
in. I
learned that all myself and I'm trying to let Westlife realisa
that too.
It's sure it's not a game. It's more than that. It's another
world you live
in.
HK: What about journalists asking you the same question over and
over, like
what are you wearing in bed and what's your fave colour?
There are days I can take it, but sometimes I think: I'm going to
scream!
Those questions are asked a thousand times and I think I have to
try to
andswer them. That's the routine I tried to make clear a few secs
ago. It
is important to look for new ambitions. Present a big gala,
release a solo
album, stuff like that.
HK: A while ago, when you had real problems in your private life,
there
were rumours you wanted to stop singing. True or not?
True. I've thought about it. But I changed my mind soon, I got
married,
became father and I realised that in fact I'm the happiest man on
this
planet. When you have problems in your privat life, you've got to
slow down
work, I learned that quickly. Never give up, just take a little
more time
to get things right. Now I'v elearned to live two lives: a
private life and
a showbiz life.
HK: What's your main ambition at the moment?
Conquer America. That is still our biggest ambition. Our album
sells very
well over thereand if we lay our cards right we'll become a hit
over there.
But we have to spent there a lot of time, and we ready to do
that. I just
want the possibility to home when my wife needs me! And no, I'm
not a dull
familyman, you can write that down
August 21
RONAN KEATING H0T-TEMPERED
You thought it was nice to be a superstar? That everything is
sorted out
for you? NOT! Ask Ronan Keating, when he went to Los Angeles this
month.
The people of his record company knew it was f*cking hot over
there, but
forgot that someone invented air-co. So Ronan got a limousine
without airco
and they told him that, when he got too warm, he should open the
window in
a old-fashioned way. Ronan swore out loud and called nmaes at
everyone, but
there was nothing he could do about it. Well, that's life when
you have to
sing your single 'When you say nothing at all' so many times.....
you're
living it!