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Every
year just gets better and better for Boyzone, and the final 12 months
of the 20th Century were no exception. We have a monthly review
of 1999 so that you can re-live some of those magical moments...
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Boyzone were mostly...
Kicking off the new year with a very special one off concert
in Omagh, the Northern Ireland town battered by a horrific bomb
attack in '98. The shows were attended by 2000 Omagh residents,
and the boys met up with 150 young people who had been affected
by the bombing. Later in the month Ronan began filming for talent
packed TV show Get Your Act Together, his very first,
very own television show! Stephen was busy in front of the TV
cameras too, when he joined Denise Van Outen to co-present Dublin's
Childline concert, proudly introducing Ronan on stage to make
his debut public performance of When You Say Nothing At All...
Also worth a mention... The fact that during January,
BZ couldn't go very far without bumping into Cher! First of
all Ronan bumped into the No.1 singing diva at posh London department
store Harrods, where both the stars were in town to open
the shop's January sale. Then, after running into her at the
BBC's Lottery Show, their paths crossed yet again when Cher
appeared on the same bill as BZ at the MIDEM music festival
in Cannes, France! |
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Boyzone were mostly...
Causing a stir at the annual Brits music awards ceremony! The Boyz
donned Mafia style pinstripes suits to make a special performance
of When The Going Gets Tough, and were joined on stage at London's
Docklands Arena by special guest dancing boxers Barry McGuigan, Lennox
Lewis and Chris Eubank. A couple of weeks later, Shane made an unexpected
appearance in soul singing star Beverley Knight's video for her single
Made It Back! Unaware that the cameras were rolling, Shanno
was busy grooving about in the background with his mates - but you'll
need to keep your eyes peeled if you want to spot him, as he makes
only a very 'rapid' appearance!
The month when Mikey
said: "Most
of the members of the band are ageing well - they're getting more
handsome in their old age!"
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Boyzone were mostly...
Busy raising cash for top charity Comic Relief when they re-recorded
infamous Billy Ocean track When The Going Gets Tough. The
Boyz were joined in their vid by the likes of Graham Norton, Davina
McCall and Adam and Joe - and the song went on to become the best
selling Comic Relief single ever! March was also St. Patricks month,
and Mikey and Keith celebrated the all Irish day by stepping in
to co-present SM:TV Live and CD:UK along with Ant,
Dec and Cat! The cheeky pair got up to all sorts - including slapping
on dodgy leprechaun hats to Irish dance like their lives depended
on it!
Also
worth a mention... That this was the month that baby Jack Keating
arrived into the world - and he only had to wait a few months before
appearing on his first magazine cover!
The
month when Ronan said: "I'd
love to be Dougal out of Father Ted, because he's the funniest bloke
in the world!"
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Boyzone were mostly...
Making Chris Evans eat his mean words, when the band made their
very first musical appearance on his Friday night music chat show
TFI. All Mr.Evans' BZ naughtiness of the past was put to rest when
he welcomed the five boys onto his show with pride. This special
appearance was made even more historic by the fact that BZ were
joined on the show by a grand total of 23 band members - making
them the biggest band ever to appear on TFI! Meanwhile, Stephen
joined the ever growing list of BZ TV presenters when he stepped
in to help Gail Porter hosting an edition of Electric Circus. And
very well he did too!
The
month when Stephen said: "I
can only drive up and down in straight lines!"
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Boyzone were mostly...
The busiest Boyz in the world! You Needed Me hit the No.1 spot
a week later, and May was also the month that the Live By Request
tour hit the road - BZ's sell out arena tour which celebrated the
release of the band's greatest hits album. The show was jam packed
with top surprises, including a brand new a brand new '99 version
of BZ classic Love Me For A Reason, and Keith Duffy in Velcro
trousers, which were ripped off to reveal a pair of Irish flag boxer
shorts! By Request, an album featuring the grand total of 14
greatest BZ hits, was released at the end of the month. BZ celebrated
by throwing a huge day long party home in Dublin. And then, just before
they disappeared off to Europe for the second leg of their concert
tour, there was just enough time to squeeze in their own TV special
Boyzone - Just For You!
Also worth a mention...That this was the month in which the
Massive BZ Heads made their debut appearance They've been on TFI about
a hundred times since!
The month when Shane said:
"I'll just talk to people if I get on with them - whether they're
famous or not, it makes no difference to me" |
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Boyzone were mostly...
Driving through Europe aboard their tour bus, treating the Europeans
to their Live By Request tour, and playing sell out shows from
Paris to Copenhagen to Stockholm! Before that began, they had an appointment
in Modena, Italy, to join Pavarotti's War Child concert, sharing
the stage with the likes of Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Lionel
Richie!
The month when Stephen said:"
I don't think I could be vegetarian - not a very good one anyway!" |
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Boyzone were mostly...
Taking a break while Ronan launched his very first solo single!
The band did have one more task to complete before putting their
feet up however... The band flew to LA after the European to make
a special star appearance in US daytime soap General Hospital.
The boys took cameo roles which took cameo roles which took them
into the soap's equivalent of the Queen Vic, Luke's Bar,
to perform No Matter What. Just a few days later, Boyzone
were on stage in front of over 100,000 people for Party in the
Park, before disappearing on their hols the next day. Ronan
stayed behind to release When You Say Nothing At All and
went straight into the charts at No.1 before making special solo
appearances at London's outdoor Fleadh concert (where he
also performed with Brian Kennedy), and at the Wicked Women
concert in aid of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity,
where he also performed an exclusive duet with Emma Spice!
Also worth a mention...The soaking that Ronan got, while
in the 'sun drenched' location of Biarritz for a magazine photo
shoot. Ro was being snapped on the beach when the tide caught everyone
by surprise and left poor Mr Keating with very damp feet!
The
month when Ronan said: "It's
a very difficult time for a band in our position, a band performing
pop music - a so called boy band - to have an older audience come
to our shows and enjoy them..."
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Boyzone were mostly...
Getting on with their respective individual projects. Shanno was
busy racing around rally circuits and surprising everyone on the
racing scene with his big rally driving talent. Keith was back home
in Dublin following the success of his debut TV presenting role
- filling in for Dr. Fox on the Pepsi Chart Show - when he
stepped into the shows of well known Irish mogul Dave Fanning on
his weekly TV shows. Duster also nabbed himself a very exclusive
television interview with none other than Robbie Williams backstage
at Rob's outdoor concert at Dublin's Slane Castle. Stephen and Mikey
meanwhile, were both in the studio working on material for their
solo albums - and Ronan was whisking across South East Asia on a
whistle-stop promotional tour!
The
month when Mikey said: "I
do a good impression of Luciano Pavarotti - although I don't look
much like him!"
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Boyzone were mostly...
Carrying on with doing there own thing! Stephen co-presented at
the Disney Channel Kids Awards - picking up an award for
Best Male Group on behalf of the rest of the Boyz' while
he was there! Later in the month Steo joined the likes of Jane
Horrocks and Rik Mayall for the official launch party
of the brand new animated ITV re-make of Watership Down,
when he made his very first live public performance of Bright
Eyes. While all that was going on this side of the globe, Ronan
was on the other side of the world in Australia, cuddling Koalas
during a tour to promote When You Say Nothing At All...
Also worth a mention... The Irish release of Ronan's duet
with Brian Kennedy, These Days, which crashed into the Irish
singles chart at No.5!
The
month when Stephen said: "Releasing
a solo single is going to be weird, its going to be really weird!
I don't know what to expect - I'm just going to do my best!"
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Boyzone were mostly...
In Prague to shoot a video for Everyday I Love You! This
was the first time the boyz had been out of the country to shoot
a video since Isn't It A Wonder was filmed the Australian
sunshine. This time, the climate wasn't quite so tropical - the
very opposite in fact! But BZ braved the cold and the results were
gorgeous, of course. A week later Stephen was back in London to
take part in the Abbamania TV special, making a special solo
performance of classic ABBA tune Chiquitita. Ronan was also
on stage by himself - at Wembley Stadium introducing George Michael
on stage at huge charity concert NetAid, no less!
The
month when Keith said: "All
the lads in Boyzone are quite clever..."
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Boyzone were mostly...
Releasing their 17th (count them!) single Everyday I Love You,
and notching up yet another top chart hit! But that wasn't the only
reason for BZ celebrations in November... The Boyz also scooped
not one, but two MTV awards (one for By Request being
Best Album)! And they probably also managed to make history
with their elaborate thank you speeches...And November was the month
that the brand new BZ tour took to the road, playing to sell out
venues right across the UK - before heading over to Ireland in time
for the new millennium...
The
month when Keith said: "I
sing to Jack to help him sleep sometimes - although he just laughs
at me most of the time!"
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Boyzone
were mostly...
Still
aboard their tour bus keeping the UK entertained with their new
live show, entertaining the sell-out venues in Sheffield Arena,
Newcastle Arena, Wembley Arena, Glasgow SECC, Manchester ENA. The
show moved to Dublin in January and started a fantastic millennium.
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