| Since the release of their first single 'Love Me For A Reason' in 1994. Boyzone have firmly established themselves as one of the best selling pop acts around. The bands continued success has been documented on this page so, keep an eye out for further developments as they happen. |
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'Love Me For A Reason' - December 1994 The first single released by Boyzone. The opening chapter.
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'Key To My Life' - Release Date: May 1995 The second single released by Boyzone reaching Number 3 in the UK Charts.
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'So
Good' - Release Date: 31st July 1995
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'Said And Done' - Release Date: 21st August 1995 After the release of their third single, So Good, Boyzone released their first album, Said And Done on the 21st August 1995, which went straight into the album charts at No.1. It is tempting to write 'long awaited first album', but incredibly, their recording career in the UK was launched just eight months before with Love Me For A Reason reaching No.2 in the singles charts at Christmas 1994. This was followed by Key To My Life which got to No.3 in May 1995. Not bad for five young men from Dublin who developed the biggest teen following ever seen in Ireland, which spread to the UK dramatically in 1995. Said And Done contains 11 original songs, written by the band, their producer Ray Hedges, and arranger Martin Brannigan. The album also contains two covers, including a beautiful version of the Cat Stevens song Father and Son, sung by Ronan.
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'Father And Son' - Release Date: 13th November 1995 Following a sell out UK tour and No.1 debut album, Boyzone released their fourth single Father And Son. Originally written by Cat Stevens, this is a beautiful and spine tingling rendition of the record which enthralled fans during the Boyzone tour. The song is a very special one for the Boyz as it was sung by Ronan at his first audition for Boyzone. He recalls hearing the record from an early age at home and so it has great sensational value for him.
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'Coming Home Now' - Release Date: 26th February 1996 Coming Home Now was Boyzone's fifth and final single taken from their album Said And Done, and was their third self-penned release. Since the release of their first single Love Me For A Reason in November 1994. Boyzone have firmly established themselves as one of the best selling pop acts around.
Their huge catalogue of success up to date included:
When Coming Home Now was released, their fourth single Father And Son was still at No.2 in the singles chart, and Said And Done was at No.5 in the album chart...
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'Words' - Release Date: 7th October 1996 Boyzone released Words on the 7th October, a 90's version of the Bee Gees No.8 hit from 1968, produced by Phil Harding and Ian Cunrow.
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'A Different Beat' - Release Date: 28th October 1996 Boyzone released their eagerly awaited second album on the 28th October 1996. A Different Beat was recorded in England with producer Ray Hedges, and also in New York with Rick Wake who has produced Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. The title track. A Different Beat, was written by the Boyz and showcased on their Summer 1996 Tour. The majority of the tracks on the album are originals and self penned by all of Boyzone. The following are the exceptions: Melting Pot was a hit for Sixties stars Blue Mink and features soul diva Madeline Bell, who is also on vocals with Ronan and the Boyz. Rick Wake produced the cover versions of Don't Stop Looking For Love and Stephen's solo, the Michael Jackson hit Ben. The debut single release from the album was Words, a cover of the Bee Gees' hit from 1968, produced by Phil Harding and Ian Cunrow. Phil Coulter, who wrote and produced hits for the Bay City Rollers, produced the final cover version on the album, She Moved Through The Fair.
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'A Different Beat' - Release Date: December 1996 single
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'Isn't It A Wonder' - Release Date: 10th March 1997 Following the success of the No.1 single A Different Beat, Isn't It A Wonder was the third single to be released from the No.1 album A Different Beat, which had already gone Triple Platinum, selling over a million copies. This was another dreamy ballad, written by and featuring Ronan on lead vocals.
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'Picture Of You' - Release Date: 21st July 1997 Straight off the back off the back of the sell-out success of their Different Beat European Tour, Boyzone released Picture Of You. The Boyz hit the mark yet again with a perfect slice of summertime pop, with a single which also featured their Eurovision Song Contest smash Let The Message Run Free. The track, co-written by Elliot Kennedy, who contributed to the first Spice Girls album, featured on the soundtrack of the Mr. Bean movie, released during August of 1997.
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'Baby Can I Hold You / Shooting Star' - Release Date: 24th November 1997 Baby Can I Hold You is a cover version originally sung by Tracy Chapman. Shooting Star features on the Disney soundtrack for the animation Hercules. Stephen sings vocals on the track, and by doing so, realised his life long ambition to sing for a Disney movie.
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'All That I Need' - Release Date: 20th April 1998 The famous five were back with All That I Need, a dreamy ballad with Ronan on lead vocals. All That I Need was taken from the album Where We Belong, released the following May. At the time of the release Stephen and Ronan were in Japan on a hectic promotional tour attending premiers of the Bean movie to promote the single Picture Of You. Shane was on honeymoon with his new wife Easther, and Keith and Mikey continued promotional work back home in Dublin.
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'Where We Belong' - Release Date 25th May 1998 Boyzone released their third album on May 25th. Since the release of their previous album. A Different Beat, which went straight into the album charts at No.1 Boyzone had been more than busy. There was endless sell-out tours. Three No.2 singles, a No.1 single with A Different Beat, and a whirlwind promotional schedule which took them to every different corner of the world. Meanwhile, Boyzone had all come of age. Youngest band member Ronan turned 21 in this year and celebrated by throwing a huge bash in Dublin, marrying the following month. Shane married earlier this year also and both Keith and Mikey experienced parenthood with their two year old toddlers. Stephen had realised a life long dream when he met Michael Jackson the year before.
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'No Matter What' - Release Date 3rd August 1998 Boyzone teamed up with musical maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber on No Matter What, the second single taken from the Whistle Down The Wind artist album - the first ever stand alone album created from a stage musical. Stephen Gately took lead vocals on the track - a gorgeous ballad that could melt the hardest hearts. No Matter What sits alongside tunes by the likes of Meatloaf, Tina Arena, Sounds Of Blackness, The Everly Brothers, Boy George and Tom Jones, and looked set to become the last dance request at every party and wedding this side of the millennium. Jim 'Bat Out Of Hell' Steinman and Lloyd Webber penned No Matter What specifically for Boyzone, proving once and for all that their appeal lies more with their dulcet tones than there sexy bones. Gately commented: "I've always been a major fan of musicals. I love their magic - the stage, the characters, and the costumes. The whole atmosphere just warms me up as soon as I walk into a theatre. I also think musicals have become more credible and appeal to a younger audience - like the recent production of Grease and Chicago." "We got involved with Whistle Down The Wind when the Really Useful Group contacted me after Andrew heard about my love of musicals and I jumped at the chance. I immediately loved the song. We performed No Matter What at the Royal Albert Hall for Andrew's 50th Birthday. It was a real to work with him - look at all the fantastic musicals he's done. He's very talented." Few could have predicted the mercurial rise and rise of Boyzone from 'boy band' to 'proper band' in the space of only a couple of years. But then again, leopards don't generally change their spots. These leopards did...
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'I Love The Way You Love Me' - Release Date: 23rd November 1998 I Love The Way You Love Me was released on November 23rd and was the fifth single from Boyzone's album Where We Belong. The video for the volcanic ballad erupted from the heart of Boyzone's sell-out UK Tour, with the cameras taking a sneaky look behind the scenes and taking a front row seat at one of the shows. Boyzone are the first Irish group to have four number ones in the UK, leaving U2 behind with three. However, Boyzone proved they are the Sweetest Thing by making a guest appearance in U2's video for the song. This year had seen Ronan sing Words with the Bee Gees at their concert in Dublin, No Matter What stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks in the UK, as well hitting many No.1 slots across Europe. Boyzone's third album Where We Belong went double platinum and reached the No.1 spot on two separate occasions. Ronan beat Brad Pitt and Leornado Di Caprio in Cosmopolitan magazine's Top 100 Men, the band won a Disney Award for Best Male Band, completed a sell out tour, won an Ivor Novello award for Picture Of You. Plus there were three fabulous Boyzone weddings for Ronan and Yvonne, Shane and Easther, and Keith and Lisa!
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'When The Going Gets Tough (The Tough Get Going)' - Release Date: 1st March 1999 Boyzone were chosen to record the 1999 Comic Relief song, following in the footsteps of such acts as Bananarama and the Spice Girls. The song was their version of Billy Ocean's 80's hit When The Going Gets Tough, and was released on March 1st to coincide with Comic Relief's TV campaign. The song made famous as the theme tune to adventure film Romancing The Stone with Michael Douglas, Danny De Vito and Kathleen Turner, was given a new lease of life by Boyzone. This was the first recorded material the band released in this year, not featured on the No.1 album Where We Belong. The album had been a permanent feature in the UK Top 20 album chart since it's release in May 1998, when it hit the No.1 spot on two separate occasions, and was still sitting pretty in the Top 10 when this single was released. In keeping with the comedy theme, video director Kevin Godley created a fun filled atmosphere for both the band and celebrity guests on set. The video saw Shane transformed into a Formula One driver, Keith finding his rhythm on the drums, Ronan taking a swing at becoming a golfer, Stephen becoming a DJ and Mikey taking on a new role as the one and only 'Bond, James Bond'! Even Billy Ocean himself popped along to the set, for a cup of tea and a chat with the band. The When The Going Gets Tough video starred a host of familiar faces, including Jo Brand, Ulrika Johnson, Emmerdale's Dingle Family, Davina McCall, Phil Jupitus, Irish boxer Steve Collins, Mel Smith, Harry Hill, Mystic Meg and snooker player Jimmy White, all of whom gave up their time for Comic Relief! Keith said, "we felt honoured to be asked to do the Comic Relief song, so we thought it only fair to make the video a bit special - and it certainly was!"
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'You Needed Me' - Release Date: 10th May 1999 Following the success of their previous No.1 hit When The Going Gets Tough, Boyzone released You Needed Me on May 10th. You Needed Me was the first single to be taken from the groups' long awaited Greatest Hits album, released at the end of May in this year. You Needed Me originally enjoyed chart success with Canadian Born singer Anne Murray, for which she won a Grammy Award in 1978. Boyzone added their own inevitable touch and style to the track making it very much their own. Produced by Steve Mac, who worked with the Boyz on their previous two singles, the track features a lush string arrangement, which slowly builds throughout the song. The video was shot on the Boys' home turf in Dublin and was directed by Kevin Godley, the man responsible for Boyzone's star studded Comic Relief video and U2's Sweetest Thing Video, which also included Boyzone.
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When You Say Nothing At All - Release Date:26th July 1999 July 26th 199 saw the long awaited release of Ronan Keating's debut single When You Say Nothing At All, produced by Steve Lipsom. Taken from the soundtrack of the British film Notting Hill, this track played as important role in the movie as leading man Hugh Grant. Asked to record the track for Notting Hill, Ronan was only too happy to oblige, and managed to take some time out from his hectic Boyzone commitments, to record the romantic ballad. " The song is beautiful and I wanted to add a bit of a Celtic feel to it. I was thrilled to be asked to record a song for the film", says Ronan. Written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz (a partnership which enjoyed more than 20 number one singles in the Billboard country charts), the song was originally a hit for country star Keith Whitley in 1988 and later was to win a Grammy award in 1995 for Alison Krauss (with her band Union Station). The song was very well received when Ronan previewed it during Boyzone's By Request Tour. It has not only become a favourite with the fans but has attracted attention from some high profile names including Notting Hill star Julia Roberts. The Hollywood star could not wait to congratulate Ronan on the song when the pair recently met for the London premiere of the film. The video for When You Say Nothing At All, was directed by Kevin Godley, and was filmed, not surprisingly, in Notting Hill. The video centres round the park bench which was the venue for one of the most romantic and memorable moments in the film. The song also appears on Boyzone's greatest hits album By Request, which became the one of the biggest selling albums of 1999 just one week after release, selling more in it's first week than the rest of the Top 20 added together. The album also enabled the boys to become the only band since The Beatles to debut at No.1 with their first 4 albums!
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'Everyday I love You' - Release Date: November 1999 Continuing on from the massive success of their fourth album 'By Request' and the No.1 single 'You Needed Me'. What better way to kick start their winter tour than another Number 1 hit. So far the international press have been determined to predict that the boyz are splitting... Surely after winning two European MTV Awards and the countless number of times the boyz have denied these rumours the title of the track is a message to all you devoted and trustworthy fans out there...more info
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'By Request' - Release Date: May 1999 A Greatest Hits album, a compilation of songs chosen by the band. The album already contains the successful single 'You Needed Me' which went straight in the Number One position in the UK Charts. The album was launched at the end of their UK Tour with a huge open air concert in Dublin on the 30th May. The album also includes Ronan's first solo song, which is being used in the soundtrack of the film 'Notting Hill'. more info
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Limited Edition the singles collection 1994 - 1999 - Release Date: December 1999
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