Back in the (Boy) zone ... and loving it

Jun 8 2009 by Sam Wonfor, The Journal

They were welcomed back with thousands of open arms last year ... and they’re en route once again. Sam Wonfor talks to Boyzone’s Keith Duffy.

KEITH DUFFY is prompt – to a fault, in my opinion. It was one of those mornings when every entry in your diary carries the possibility of bumping the next thing back by 10 minutes.

Hence, I had my desk-door neighbour primed to answer the phone to the former Coronation Street star fifth of Boyzone, who was due to ring at 11am, and keep him talking until I could sprint from my 10.30am culture confab and get pen to paper.

Imagine my delight when the 10.30 meeting efficiently ended 10 minutes early. I had time to get a coffee, and even time to find my dicta ...

“Hello, is that Sam?” came the unmistakably Irish tones over the receiver at 10.55am. There goes another cold coffee then.

I can’t really complain (that much) though. As an interviewee, Keith is probably as easy as they come.

Unsurprising, given he has been a member of one of Ireland’s biggest ever music exports for the past 16 years (albeit that Boyzone was dormant between their bye bye performance in 2000 and their Take That-style return in 2008).

I wonder how many interviews he’s done? “Tousands upon tousands,” comes the accent-soaked reply. “I don’t mind them though.”

I could tell by the fact that he couldn’t wait until his allotted time to call. He must bloody love them.

Anyway, enough of the digressing. The reason for our call is the duo of dates the band have with the Metro Radio Arena this week. Starting tomorrow, the five piece – Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch join Keith – will play to a doubtless screaming crowd of predominantly ladies of a certain thirtyish age.