Boyzone

During the latter half of the 1990s Boyzone emerged as Europe’s leading boy band. Five Irish vocalists assembled and financed by manager Louis Walsh adopted a pop approach modeled on Take That; the latter’s 1996 breakup opened a space that Boyzone readily occupied. Merging youthful appeal with refined songcraft—much of it shaped by the members themselves—the singers achieved striking results across the U.K., where sixteen of their first seventeen singles reached the Top Five. Six of those tracks ascended to number one, making Boyzone the first Irish act to occupy the summit of the British charts with such regularity. Stephen Gately further fueled headlines in 1999 by publicly coming out, rendering the group one of the few boy bands to feature an openly gay member. Although the quintet never matched that level of dominance in America, where *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys held sway, its European accomplishments stood virtually unmatched throughout its prime.

Louis Walsh, an ambitious music executive who, like Maurice Starr and Lou Pearlman, created, bankrolled, and guided the project from its inception, founded Boyzone in 1993. More than three hundred vocalists auditioned, among them future actor Colin Farrell, before the final lineup was selected: Mikey Graham, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy, and lead singer Ronan Keating. The five began by interpreting 1970s pop numbers, including the Detroit Spinners’ “Working My Way Back to You,” which climbed to number three on the Irish charts, and the Osmonds’ “Love Me for a Reason,” Boyzone’s first U.K. charting single. When original material became necessary, the group enlisted Ray Hedges, known for his work with Take That, to assist with songwriting.

Hedges contributed to the debut album Said and Done, released in 1995, which yielded five charting singles and later earned triple-platinum certification in the U.K. That success cleared the path for A Different Beast, issued in 1998 and featuring three further singles, two of them number-one hits. While similar acts dominated U.S. airwaves, Boyzone concentrated on audiences that had formed in Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Austria, and additional European territories. By the arrival of Where We Belong in 1998 the members had attained genuine stardom at home, selling over three million copies of the album in the U.K. and propelling it to the top of the charts in five countries.

As the decade concluded, Boyzone issued the popular compilation By Request and maintained an extensive touring schedule across the continent. Ronan Keating simultaneously launched his solo career with the June 1999 release of “When You Say Nothing at All,” the same month Stephen Gately announced he was gay. Amid continuing public interest the band performed a final show in January 2000 and disbanded, attributing the decision to internal tensions. Keating and Gately later pursued solo endeavors, while Duffy turned to acting.

Inspired by Take That’s 2006 reunion, Boyzone regrouped in 2008. A twenty-nine-city tour proved profitable, as did the compilation Back Again…No Matter What, which delivered another Top Five single with the new track “Love You Anyway.” Further studio recordings were underway when Stephen Gately died in October 2009 from an acute pulmonary edema. Proceeding as a quartet, the remaining members dedicated their 2010 album Brother to him and subsequently toured the U.K. and Ireland. In 2013 they celebrated their twentieth anniversary with performances at major venues including Dublin’s and London’s O2 Arenas and Birmingham’s NEC, then released their fifth studio album, BZ20, at year’s end. Produced with Brian Rawling, Paul Meehan, and Matt Furmidge, the collection of contemporary pop reached number six on the U.K. charts and number seven in Ireland.

The following year the four-piece extended their anniversary tour while returning to the studio for their sixth album, Dublin to Detroit. As its title indicated, the record interpreted classic Motown material by Smokey Robinson, the Four Tops, and the Supremes. An Asian and U.K. tour followed in 2015, after which each member pursued individual projects, including Ronan Keating’s tenth solo album. In 2018 the group returned, signing with Warner for a studio album and arena tour. Marketed as their final release, the aptly titled Thank You & Goodnight presented a modern sound and included songwriting contributions from Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, and Gary Barlow.