Ronan
Yvonne Keating
Golden Couple
Jack Keating
Marie Keating
Boyzone
The Band
We
caught up with Ro to find out about being a Dad, and his planned conquest of
the US charts...
Hey, Ronan! You're a father for a second time!
Yes! We're all absolutely over the moon at her arrival, I've just put her
down to sleep - she's just a magic little girl. You think one child changes
your life, but two most definitely do, that's for sure! Everything you do is
a major operation, but it's brilliant. We're enjoying every minute of it
but, y'know, we're still learning. Having children is the biggest learning
process you'll ever go through.
Do you thing you've improved as a parent after having Jack?
I don't know if I have or not, it's weird. With Jack I was really
comfortable throwing him around. I saw him as a lot tougher, I guess,
because he was a boy and a lot bigger. But with Marie my approach to her has
been very different, she just seems so tiny and delicate - like a little
doll. I'm afraid a lot more than I was with Jack, but I'm getting there.
Did you plan to be releasing this single so close to the baby being born?
Well it was vaguely planned, but we were just taking each day as it came. I
could have changed the date of the single, but we've all been very relaxed
about everything. I planned to take time out to be with the family in
Ireland and I've definitely had some time to enjoy it before hitting the
promotional side of it all. We're all off to America in a couple of months,
'cos Life Is A Rollercoaster is being released there, and by that time we'll
be able to travel with the baby.
How's Jack coping with being a big brother?
Oh, he's coping well. When Yvonne and I first bought the baby home I think
he was a little bit jealous, he wasn't really sure what was going on. But
each day he's getting used to her being there and now he's absolutely
fantastic. He's really looking after her well. We're really pleased because
it can be hard for older kids, 'cos they can feel left out.
Tell us a bit about the new single...
It's called Lovin' Each Day, and it's co-written by Gregg Alexander, who
also co-wrote Life Is A Rollercoaster with me. It's another up-tempo track
that you'll be familiar with if you saw me on tour. It's a real fun summer
song, and it's actually my favorite song so far!
You wrote a song for the Notting Hill soundtrack. Have you got any plans to
write any more movie music?
I have, actually - there's talk of using Life Is A Rollercoaster as the
theme to the new Scooby Doo movie, which would be excellent. That's the
closest I've got to movies at the moment but there are definitely some ideas
for next year's films. I'd really like to do one again. It's such an honor
to do a movie track.
What do you think of the whole music industry at the moment?
I love music and I love what I do. Whatever anyone else wants to get up to
is fine by me. I'm at a stage in my career where everything is all very new
and fresh for me. I came from the whole boy band thing, and what I'm doing
now is far away from that scene, which I'm kind of glad about. I'm getting a
lot of respect for the stuff I'm doing now.
What do you think about the whole Popstars thing?
I feel like they've cheated a little bit, but what can you do? This is the
music industry. At the moment it's booming, which is what everyone wants.
Popstars has taken off in every country I've been to in the last six months,
and every band has been highly successful. The German Popstars band sold
more singles than any other act in the history of the German charts. You
just can't compete with that. It's like the blimmin' Christmas number ones,
what with The Tweenies and Bob The Builder! But you have to think that at
the end of the day, the success doesn't last long, so for the time being you
just have to bear it.
Westlife told TV HITS they hope to be a rock band in ten years' time. Do you
think they'll pull it off?
I'm sure individually they'd be great at it, but I don't know how easy it
would be to do as a group. It makes more sense for one of the lads to come
out of the band and try it on their own. For the whole groups to change that
dramatically would be very hard.
Are you still in contact with the boys?
Oh yeah, I met up with them only the other night. oh, what a night we had!
They were over here in Ireland on tour and myself and Yvonne went along to
the first show. Believe me, I'm still recovering! It was a very mad evening!
Did I give Bryan any tips on parenting? Nah, not really; we had a quick chat
about it, he's very excited. (laughing) We promised we'd lend him a bottle
warmer and a couple of baby-grows if he needs them!
Have you got any plans to manage any other bands in the future?
No! I'm a bit afraid to say it, but I didn't ever manage Westlife. I just
got them a record deal, organised the way the album looked and sounded, but
I was never part of the Business at all. I just helped them get up and
running and used my name to do it. After that it was up to them. They've
done so well and it really is all down to their own hard work, i just got
them on the road.
