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

8th June 2009

http://www.journallive.co.uk/culture-newcastle/music-in-newcastle/2009/06/08/back-in-the-boy-zone-and-loving-it-61634-23812645/

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.

“We’re putting in another load of different songs and we’re having to get back into shape,” he says before adding, “although Ronan is extremely fit already,” referring to his bandmate’s then-recent climb of Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief.

Formed in 1993, Boyzone sold 15 million records and hit the number one spot six times. The back catalogue throws up song titles bound to get you humming: Love Me For A Reason, Father and Son, No Matter What and Words. Told you.

Apparently the boys didn’t need much convincing to tour again. “We really enjoyed ourselves. We had a great time and the five of us got on like a house on fire. We couldn’t believe we were getting away with it again,” says Keith. And it wasn’t just about the performances. “We really appreciated each other’s company too. We all know much more about each other than anyone else will ever know. It’s a special thing to have those kinds of friendships.

“After we broke up communication broke down and there was bad some feeling. We needed to have that time away, be with our families and grow into the people we were going to be.
“We were together for around six years, and then we had eight years off,” laughs the 34-year-old.

Not that Keith was sitting around waiting for the reunion hotline to ring. Since his role in the Street, he has enjoyed a steady stream of roles in Irish shows, including six seasons of medical drama The Clinic.

There were a few raised eyebrows when he joined the Corrie cast in 2003 – but he soon silenced any doubters. Playing barman Ciaran McCarthy, he ended up staying until 2005. He would have stayed longer, but the commute became a problem. “It was difficult and I was missing out on so much at home. So many milestones with the kids.”

Keith’s now nine-year-old daughter Mia was diagnosed with autism when she was younger and Keith and his wife Lisa have been tireless campaigners to get support and the right education for youngsters and families dealing with autism.

“Mia’s doing great. We have had a mini miracle with her. She’s gone from a little girl who was extremely autistic, living in her own world, to being in her second year of mainstream school.” Fair to assume Mia thinks her dad is pretty cool ... and 13-year-old son Jordan does too.

“It’s great ‘cause we all take the kids on tour with us now and everyone makes such a big deal of them. And I don’t hear Jordan complaining when he gets the attention from the girls. He’s just starting to get interested in all that.”