Ronan Interview

What's your earliest Boyzone tour memory?

The tour when Shane had a broken ankle I remember well. Before that it was our first Irish tour. It was the biggest ever - we did 33 gigs in a month. We travelled around Ireland in a bus and it was a great crack!

What is your favorite track to perform live?

It's always good fun to perform the new stuff, the latest singles.

Which has been the most memorable show you've played so far?

Personally for me, the show I did recently with the Bee Gees at the RDS in Dublin. But as a band, the Hyde Park gig was cool, performing to 100,000 people!

What are your five most essential items of tour luggage?

Mobile phone. Wash bag. Credit cards. Golf clubs. My wife!!

If you could choose anywhere, at which venue would you most like to perform a Boyzone show?

One of the big stadiums in Ireland. Croke Park, somewhere like that.

What are you most looking forward to about the "Where We Belong" Tour?

Performing all the new songs.

What is the last thing you do before you go on stage?

We all hug each other before we go on - that's if we are not arguing with one another!!

What was the first "live" concert you ever attended?

Extreme (80s rock combo) at the Point Depot.

What's the best thing about touring?

Just giving back to the fans what they give us by buying our records. Looking at the faces when we're singing and then singing the words back to us. That's a special feeling.

What is the worst thing about touring?

If we do too many shows in a row, I lose my voice.

Tell us a comedy tour story...

It involves Keith Duffy during "Together". We were doing the dance routine and we had to jump from side to side, and then we were supposed to turn and look at each other's backs. But for some reason we all turned round and Keith was facing us and one of his legs was hanging off the stage. I couldn't finish the song. It was hilarious!

Do you still get nervous?

Yeah for the first two or three shows. You don't know what's going to happen. But as soon as you get to know the show like the back of your hand, it just comes naturally.

Have you ever spotted anyone or anything in the audience that's made you stop singing?

There was one girl on a tour we did. We were singing "Oh Carol" and this poor girl in the front, she must have been 12 or 13, and she had no rhythm whatsoever. She couldn't follow the beat we fell about laughing. Worse still the girl knew we were laughing at her. God love her.

How do you feel when a tour is over?

Kind of sad because it's so much fun touring. We'd like to go on to other countries with it, carry on. But you feel tired too - it does wear you out.

Magazine Articles