Boyzone
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Boyzone |
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| Boyzone | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland  |
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| Genre(s) | Pop | |
| Years active | 1993–2000 | |
| Label(s) | Universal | |
Boyzone was a popular Irish boy band of the 1990s. They had major success in the UK and Ireland and differing levels of success in parts of Europe and Asia with six #1 hit singles in the UK. By 2007 they had sold over 15 million records.
Boyzone was put together in 1993
by Louis
Walsh who is also known for managing Johnny
Logan and Westlife.
Before even recording any material they made a now infamous appearance
on RTÉ's
Contents
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Boyzone was formed by manager Louis Walsh who advertised an audition for boys to form a vocal group. More than a hundred auditionees tried out including a then unknown chancer named Colin Farrell. The band, initially a six piece outfit who made their first appearance (only a day after being formed) on Ireland's top-rated Late Late Show dancing to a backing track, eventually comprised Ronan Keating (who would in time become the group's lead vocalist), Mikey Graham, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch, and Keith Duffy. The band played through 1993 and in the early parts of 1994 to anyone who would listen, traveling all over Ireland in an old transit van, playing in nightclubs whilst hoping for a record deal.
After months of agony, Polygram signed them up and released the cover version of the 1966 Four Seasons hit "Working My Way Back To You", featuring Mikey Graham and Stephen Gately on lead vocals, something which was not repeated. It reached No. 3 in the Irish Charts. The boys became stars overnight after being surrounded by mobs of screaming girls everywhere.
Future singles featured Stephen Gately and Ronan Keating together or Ronan Keating alone assuming lead vocals. This led to a light hearted campaign by some fans to "Let Mikey Sing".
The song "Love Me For A Reason", cover of the 1974 Osmonds hit, came next. It also gave them a Smash Hits Award for "Best New Group".
They released "Said and Done", their first album in 1995, reaching the top in both UK and Ireland. London's Rock Circus invited them to place their handprints on the "Walls of Hands" besides the likes of Eric Clapton and Michael Jackson.
The group released the album "A Different Beat" in 1996, which contained their first UK number one single, "Words" further number one, "A Different Beat" and the single "Isn't it a Wonder".
After the release of the album "Where We Belong" in 1998, the boyz finally
gained the respect they deserved. This contained the singles "All that
I Need", "Baby Can I Hold You" "No Matter What" "I Love The Way You
Love Me" and "Picture of You". Ronan received the "Ivor
Novello" award for "Picture of You" as featured in the film Mr Bean. Wax
figures of the boyz were made beside U2 in Dublin. "
In 1999, their greatest hits compilation "By Request" was released and another sell-out tour. At this time, due to the threat of a tabloid expose, Stephen told the world that he was gay. The fans supported him and his boyfriend Eloy de Jong. The boyz splintered and took off to pursue individual careers, hoping to reap huge success.
The group performed together for the last time in January 2000 after which their lead singer Ronan Keating has pursued a solo career.
In the seven years that they were together (1993 - 2000), Boyzone rose to the top echelon of Ireland's pop music. Dubbed "most promising band of the year" by British magazine, Smash Hits in 1995, the group more than fulfilled the modest expectations that followed their Late, Late Show performance. Their first twelve singles reached the top 5 and they became the first Irish act to have 4 number one hits in the United Kingdom. Their 1998 tour of Ireland shattered all sales records when 35, 000 tickets were sold out in 4 hours.
| Album information |
|---|
Said
and Done
|
|
Where
We Belong
|
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The Singles
Collection 1994-1999
|
Ballads - The
Love Song Collection
|
Key To My Life:
Collection
|
Boyzone opened the door for fellow Irish boy band, Westlife.
Since Boyzone split in 2000, Ronan Keating has made a career from
going solo and has released 5 albums; Stephen
Gately has pursued a career in stage acting and particularly West End
musicals, starring in the Andrew Lloyd Webber's "
In 2003,
rumours of a Boyzone reunion began to circulate. Following the success
of fellow Universal artists Take That's reunion and
subsequent sell-out tour in 2006, these rumours came to a head and in
early 2007 there were news reports that all 5 members and their
manager,
In February 2007, more details of the reunion were announced.
On March
8, 2007,
former Boyzone manager Louis Walsh was sacked from the ITV show
On April 8, 2007, several UK newspapers widely reported that the rumored reunion was cancelled due to the lack of financial investment. The papers stated that no recording company or investors were willing to back the act to guarantee a comeback success experienced by Take That.
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