New! Magazine interview

26th January 2010

http://www.new-magazine.co.uk/posts/view/17194/Boyzone-star-Keith-Duffy-I-still-can-t-believe-Stephen-Gately-is-dead-/

The past four months have not been easy for Coronation Street actor and Boyzone singer Keith Duffy.

The death of Keith Duffy's Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately at just 33 shook the world last October.

And for Keith, who had been friends with Stephen for 17 years, the loss is still very hard to come to terms with.

Stephen died from heart failure, while on holiday in Mallorca with his partner Andy Cowles.

His death was devastating for Keith and his bandmates, Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch, and the band will release their new single – featuring Stephen on lead vocals – as a tribute to him.

Meanwhile Keith, 35, is about to return to Coronation Street as Ciaran McCarthy. He joined the show in 2002 and stayed for two years, before returning to Ireland to spend time with his family.

The singer now divides his time between a flat in Manchester and the home in Dublin he shares with wife Lisa, their son Jordan, 13, and their daughter Mia, nine.

Here Keith talks about how he is coping without Stephen, and how Corrie is helping him slowly move forward…

How have you coped since Stephen’s tragic death?
It was a massive loss and there are times when I still can’t believe it happened. Stephen was the glue between us in Boyzone and when he passed, a lot of my confidence went. But apart from how sad I feel, I feel sorry for Stephen. He was so young and had his whole life ahead of him, and he was absolutely robbed.

How did you hear the news?
I was on the way to a night club when Ronan rang me. Everyone came back to mine and there were dozens of people just walking around my house all night, sipping whisky to keep us sedated. Mikey and Shane came round, but the three of us couldn’t stick it, so we went to Dublin airport at 4.30am to catch the first flight to Gatwick to fly to Mallorca.

That must have been a very sad journey…
Usually when we’re all at the airport together, we get people coming up to us, but there were TV screens all around the airport. It was all over the news and nobody said a word to us because everyone knew what had happened. Mikey got some Irish breakfasts and Shane got six bottles of beer, and nobody would charge us for anything. We were doing our best to keep it together, but when that happened, we were in bits with tears streaming down our faces.

Has Corrie helped to take your mind off your grief?
It’s really helped. I’m busy filming and learning my lines, which gives me something else to focus on.

What is your character up to?
Peter Barlow and Leanne Battersby have read rave reviews about a restaurant, and visit in order to pick up some ideas for the wine bar they plan to open. They bump into Ciaran and he ends up returning to Coronation Street with them. It’s not long before he’s eyeing up the ladies!

He is a bit of a Romeo…
He was originally meant to be a bad guy, attempting to seduce Peter’s then girlfriend Shelley. But the way I played it was more charming and it worked, so this time, he’s even more of a charmer.

Do your kids watch Corrie?
There was a scene where I was snogging Shelley’s ma. I’d asked Lisa to make sure my son didn’t see it. But he went round to his grandma’s house and as soon as the show finished, my phone rang. It was Jordan, saying “What the hell do you think you’re doing kissing that granny? I’m going to tell Mum!”

Does Lisa watch it?
No, she doesn’t like seeing me with different women.

You have a single Gave It All Away out in March featuring Stephen on vocals. How does that feel?
It’s annihilating but beautiful. On our original recording, Ronan sang lead vocals on the first verse, which begins, “I want to learn to live before I die”. After Stephen died, we found the original sessions, so it is Stephen singing that line.

How did the song originate?
Mika wrote the song and the band recorded it two years ago, but due to a publishing dispute, it was never released. After Stephen died, Ronan bumped into Mika. The song wasn’t mentioned, but two days later, we got a call saying that we had the song. Stephen sang it all the time and he was raging that we never got to release it, so I’ve no doubt in my mind that he was up there pulling strings. I believe he’s all around us, looking after us.

You are also finishing off the album you began last year…
We felt Stephen wouldn’t have wanted us to stop, and basically, if it never sells a copy, it doesn’t matter – it’s our dedication to Stephen.

Will Boyzone tour again?
The rest of the lads want to, but right now, I couldn’t do it without Stephen.

Would you ever go solo?
I don’t believe my voice would be strong enough for a solo album. Ronan has had a great solo career, but he has no interest in doing anything without the rest of us at the moment. A bit of that is down to Stephen passing, but he’s also seen how much more fun we have when we are together.

You are obviously close…
We have been friends since the age of 17 and I could not fall out with any of them, because our relationship is beyond anything I could do to upset them. It’s the closest bond anyone could have – there’s nobody in the world closer than we are.

Mia has autism. Has her condition changed you?
One good thing that has come out of it is that it has given me more self-belief. I wasn’t very academic at school and the only time I spoke in public was on stage with the band, but Mia’s situation means I do a lot of fund-raising and public speaking on autism. She’s made me grow up and be responsible.