I Am Ronan Keating...
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Ronan Keating shot to fame as one fifth of multi-platinum selling band Boyzone, who melted the hearts of teenage girls all across the world during the Nineties. With 6 number one singles under their belts, Boyzone disbanded in 2000, but the hits didn’t stop there for Ronan. Going solo, he’s chalked up another 3 number one singles and his latest album, “Songs For My Mother” went straight to the top of the charts back in March this year.
The album is dedicated to Ronan’s mother, Marie Keating, who died in 1998 after battling cancer, and is made up of the songs he remembers her listening to as he grew up. Ronan, Stephen, Mikey, Shane and Keith are all heading back out on the road again this summer, much to the delight of Boyzone fans everywhere, with a brand new album pencilled in for the end of this year. Lucie Cave met up with him to find out more.
Lucie heat: Who have been the most influential figures in your life
Ronan Keating: My mother, my parents, my brothers and sisters, definitely - they moulded me musically into who I am today, it’s all their fault! Musically, George Michael, U2, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens. Now in my life, it’s my wife and children. Everyday, they are involved with whatever decision I make. They are responsible for the moves I make, the songs I record, so right now in my life and for the rest of my life, my wife and children.
h: Do your children listen to music?
R: They do! All of a sudden I’m now cool because I’m in Boyzone again! They didn’t really get it the first time around because they were too young, but now my young ‘uns love it, they love the shows, they love the poptastic-ness of it all, the dancers, the colour, the fireworks, the gimmicks on stage. It’s a really fun show and my kids now think I’m cool, all of a sudden.
h: What music do they like?
R: My son is really into hip-hop and break-dancing and all that stuff. My eldest daughter is into Hannah Montana, High School Musical… and then my youngest is into everything. She loves Boyzone, when we get in the car she’s like, ‘Daddy, put Boyzone on, put Boyzone on’. That’s great!
h: She knows all the words?
R: She knows them better than I do, it’s frightening!
h: What would you like your legacy to them to be?
R: It’s funny, I remember that film High Fidelity with John Cusack, and he’s talking constantly about making the album for his children, the songs that he grew up listening to. And I didn’t realise it, but when I was making this album, ‘Songs for my Mother’, I was almost doing that because they were the songs that I grew up to. You know, they’re great songs that I grew up listening to, so I guess my legacy is my music, and I’m showing them what I grew up listening to. And they have all my albums to listen to, so I guess that’s my legacy.
h: You’re married to Yvonne. What was the first song you danced to at your blessing ceremony?
R: Our song is ‘Still the One’ by Shania Twain. It’s funny because when we got together, in this industry everyone went ‘yeah, sure, it’s not going to last, blah blah blah’… We’re 11 years married now and we’re still together, and the words to ‘Still the One’ are perfect. ‘Looks like we made it…’, you know. It’s just a great lyric.
h: You got married young…
R: 21
h: ... and obviously being married, you face various challenges, how do you dela with them?
R: I guess we stick together. You push on, you know life isn’t always a bed of roses, but you chose each other and you stick together and you push through it. You get married to be together not to be apart, and the more time you spend apart the easier it is to fall apart. We’ve been lucky in that we haven’t had any major issues. You’re a couple so you deal with the life issues and we have done that. We’re building a house at the moment and I have to say it’s probably the most stressful thing we’ve ever done in our relationship, ever. It’s really hard work and it’s an awful, awful situation. I really can’t wait till it’s all over!
h: You set up your own charity with your brothers and sisters, in honour of your mum, why did you decide to do that?
R: I guess when Mam died we were all a bit miffed, really, we were confused, we were angry, we were a lot of different things, and we didn’t want people to feel like we felt, because we were lost, and we just thought we could set this foundation up to help people and to educate them, so that they’d be in a better situation than we were in when they lost someone. That was the initial idea andit just grew, and now it's become an incredibly high profile charity in the UK and ireland. We've had over 100,000 people on board of our units in Ireland and the UK, just educating people how to check themselves, what to check for, and if they find anything, then what to do. It;s a very basic programme but it works.
h: And did you find it helped you with the grieving process?
R: Yes, it helped us, and I guess it also helps us carry on our mum’s name, you know. I fell very proud that we can do that with our mum, with her name.
h: And you also raised money climbing Kilimanjaro?
R: Yes, that was incredible. I loved it, I really really enjoyed the whole experience. But it was hard. Some of us got very sick, headaches, nosebleeds, it was very severe. Physically I didn’t find it tough, but mentally I did. I found it a mental challenge.
h: In what way?
R: Well you can’t breathe, you’ve got less oxygen there. You’re looking at your team-mates, who are getting violently sick, you panic. You’ve got to have a strong mental attitude to get up that mountain.
h: And how do you keep yourself going?
R: You think about why you’re on the mountain, you think about who you’re raising money for, you think about the people at home. You don’t want to let people down, you don’t want to let your team-mates down, you don’t want to let the charity down, so all of those different things are constantly working through in your brain.
h: You came from quite a working class background… was it big shock to your parents when you had first number one hit?
R: Yeah, it was a massive shock for them. My mother thought I was joining a religious cult when I said I was joining a pop band. There was no chart success at the beginning, and very little press, but she had no idea what it was, and when we first went off to the UK and joined the Smash Hits Tour, which was incredible, and we travelled around the in a bus with Shampoo and the Mad Stuntmen and Sean McGuire - that’s when people at home started to recognise Boyzone and take us seriously. And then before you know it, we were number two at Christmas with Love Me For A Reason and it all kicked off. It was an amazing time.
h: Did your Mum have a favourite Boyzone track?
R: Words, I’d say.
h: Have you got any strong musical associations with your childhood?
R: Yeah. Music was very important in our household. My brothers and sisters were older than me, still are, and they had a huge collection of records. Everything from Squeeze to the Police, Cat Stevens to Tammy Wynette, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. I listened to all of that. Alan Parsons Project, real mad stuff, loved it all. And I guess the sound from the household...I clearly remember my sister playing Culture Club all the time. Karma Chameleon.
h: Did you find it difficult to keep grounded at the height of your fame?
R: I think I’ve always kept grounded, I think I’ve always kept my feet on the ground, my mam made me keep my feet on the ground, and my family and my brothers and sisters and my wife and my children. Along this whole road I’ve been lucky enough to have great people around me who have kept me sane.
h: Is there a song that reminds you of fame?
R: No Matter What by Boyzone, because I sang that with Pavarotti. That for me was Boyzone’s greatest moment. It was unbelievable, being in Modena, Pavarotti and friends, everyone – Lionel Richie, Bryan Adams, there’s all these people on the list… and Boyzone. And that was pretty special for us, and No Matter What was a huge record for Boyzone. I just remember clearly that was a magical time.
h: What sparked the reconciliation?
R: 8 years sparked it, I guess. Time is an amazing healer. We saw Take That live in Dublin, saw how successful it was and how much fun it was. I missed the guys in my life - it's funny, I didn't think I missed them until I saw them again, and I really missed them. And it's been a breath of fresh air, I've loved every moment of it, the energy's great, the atmosphere's great, we're back on the road again, we're touring, we're in rehearsals at the moment, it's great to be in London with the guys and hanging out, I feel like a kid again you know. I'm really enjoying it.
h: Are you enjoying it more now?
R: I’m absolutely enjoying it more now. I was only a kid, 17, 18, 19, it was overwhelming… now I’m taking it in my stride. I’m standing back from it and looking at it and enjoying it. And it’s a wonderful experience, it’s great to work with the guys, they’re proper professionals. We’re enjoying it and not taking ourselves too seriously. We were battling with being in a boy band when we were kids, because we wanted to be cool, we wanted to be Oasis not Boyzone. Now we’re very happy being Boyzone and that’s cool.
h: Have the dynamics changed?
R: No, we get who we are now, we’re not jockeying for position. I guess the dynamics have changed in that sense but it’s simpler now, it’s easier, we’re just taking everything in our stride and pushing our best assets to the front and enjoying it.
Don’t miss the full Ronan Keating This Is Who I Am interview on Tuesday 2nd June at 8pm on heat Radio with Lucie Cave.
To download Ronan's interview right click and 'Save Target/Link As'
