Boyzone life and biography

Boyzone are an Irish boy band. They were originally composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. Boyzone are one of the most successful bands in the UK and Ireland. In total, the group have 19 top 5 singles on the Irish Singles Chart, 18 top 10 hits on the UK charts, nine #1 Irish Singles Chart hit singles and six #1 UK hit singles and five #1 albums, with approximately 20 million records sold by 2010 in British Isles and worldwide.

Each of their albums, Said and Done, A Different Beat, and Where We Belong, debuted at the top of the British charts, a feat equaled only by the Beatles and Oasis. They also released eleven top-five singles, sang backup on Irish rock group U2's single "Sweetest Thing," and appeared in the video. Though the group found success in its native Ireland, as well as England, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, and South America, they have yet to conquer North America.

Boyzone was formed in 1993 when theatrical manager Louis Walsh advertised for young male singers and dancers in a Dublin newspaper, hoping to form an Irish group like 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys, or Britain's Take That. More than 300 young men tried out before Walsh selected Ronan Keating as lead vocalist, rounding out the group with Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch, Mark Walton, and Richie Rock. The group performed a slapped-together dance routine to the song "Burn Baby Burn" on the Irish Late Late Show just one day later. It was abysmal, according to critics. Mark Walton left the group soon after, and Richie Rock was kicked out for being unreliable; Mikey Graham was added to form the final lineup.

The group's first singles were covers of 1970s pop songs--numbers first performed when the boys were babies. Their first single, a remake of the Spinners' "Working My Way Back to You," made it to number three on the Irish charts, and their second, a cover of the Osmonds' "Love Me for a Reason," made it to number two. These two hits gained the group a raging, mostly preteen, female fan base even before the British release of their debut album, Said and Done, in 1995. (The album wasn't released in the United States until 2001.) Said and Done, which debuted at number one on the British charts, featured original songs by Ray Hedges of the group Take That, and three singles, "Key to My Life," "So Good," and "Love Me For a Reason," that made it into the top five on the British charts. The group remade "Father and Son" (the cover that won Keating the Boyzone audition), and it went to number three. The group's first major British tour had to be altered to accommodate both Graham, who'd fallen off a horse and hurt his back, and Lynch, who'd broken his ankle chasing a baseball.

Both Graham's and Duffy's girlfriends both had babies in 1996, prompting rumors that the group would split. Boyzone's sophomore album, A Different Beat, was released in the United Kingdom later that year and was every bit as successful as its debut. It entered the British charts at number one, and sold two million copies worldwide. This wave of success crashed for Keating in early 1998 when he lost his mother to breast cancer, followed by the deaths of his grandmother and a 16-year-old cousin. But after the single "All That I Need" hit number one on the British charts in April of 1998, Keating turned the tide and married Irish model Yvonne Connelly. Lynch and Duffy also married during this time. Gately announced he was gay, which alienated some of the group's fans, but he was met with resounding applause at a concert following the announcement. The group's third release, Where We Belong, came out in England in May of 1998 and was their third consecutive album to debut at number one on the British charts, a feat they shared with only the Beatles and Oasis.

The group's remake of Billy Ocean's hit "When the Going Gets Tough" for Comic Relief in 1998 became the charity's biggest-selling single ever. After becoming the leading boy band in Europe, Boyzone set its sights on America. They crossed the Atlantic and performed promotional concerts in New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Nashville in November of 1998. "When we began, we were the only five people to believe in us," Graham recalled in Rolling Stone online, "but we stuck to our guns and we worked hard and now everyone kind of takes their hats off to us. You can bet your bottom dollar that Boyzone will be the next biggest thing in the States." His optimism, unfortunately, was not rewarded.

Keating stood out as Boyzone's charismatic leader. He was born Ronan Patrick John Keating on March 3, 1977, in Dublin, Ireland, the last of four children of Gerry, a bar owner, and Marie Keating, a hairdresser. He was raised in a working-class household, and was just 14 when he auditioned the Cat Stevens song "Father and Son" for Louis Walsh. After six years in the group, Keating set out on his own. His first solo single, "When You Say Nothing at All," made it to number one on the British charts, followed by his second solo single, "Life Is a Rollercoaster," a few months later. He released Ronan in 2000 and Destination in 2002.

The other Boyzone members struck out on their own during the band's downtime, as well. Gately appeared as the voice of a rabbit in the animated television version of the novel Watership Down, and sang the show's theme song, a remake of Art Garfunkel's "Bright Eyes," which made it to the top ten. He also released a top-ten solo album, New Beginning, in 2000. Graham's solo single, "You're My Girl," was released the same week, but only made it to number 13 on the charts. A solo album, Meet Me Halfway, followed. Duffy and Lynch released a remake of lip-synching pop duo Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True." Duffy has also played guitar and percussion on several recordings by the Irish group the Corrs.

By this time, after six years together and amid growing tensions behind the scenes, the group members decided to take some time off from Boyzone to pursue solo projects. Boyzone performed together for the last time in Ireland at the point depot during nine dates running from 3 January - 8 January & 10–12 January 2000.

Boyzone eventually made a comeback in 2007, originally with the intention of just touring. They were put together in 1993 by Louis Walsh, who is also known for managing Johnny Logan and Westlife. Before even recording any material, they made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. The band has released four studio albums and seven compilation albums to date. Gately died on 10 October 2009 of natural causes while on his holiday in Majorca.

The four surviving Boyzone members were originally going to release the new album in mid-2010 with a summer tour following the album but the album was released in March 2010 which was earlier then planned. The album was released as a tribute to Gately which included two new songs that were sung by Gately before his death. One song was written by singer-songwriter Mika who has also claimed that the new song he wrote for Boyzone is the last one which will feature Stephen Gately's vocals, released as their fourth studio album on 8 March 2010. The track written by Mika became the lead single from the new album, titled "Gave It All Away". Boyzone loved this track and wished to release this song as their comeback single. The song received its first airplay on 17 January 2010.

Keating has announced that Boyzone are recording and will release a new album towards Christmas 2011 to early 2012. On 1 September 2011, in a interview given to Jamie Theakston on his magic radio show he said that there will be a possible Boyzone "project" in December and a boyzone album within the next 12 months. Lynch has said in an interview on ITV1 show Loose Women that Boyzone will be releasing a new album and be touring in 2013 which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band forming.

Studio albums:
1994: Said and Done
1996: A Different Beat
1998: Where We Belong
2010: Brother

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