Boyzone biography
Boyzone are an Irish boy band. They were originally composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. Boyzone have had 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Irish charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12 of their 20 singles in the UK being in the UK Top 2. Boyzone are one of the most successful bands in the UK and Ireland. In total, the group have 19 top 5 singles on the Irish Singles Chart, 18 top 10 hits on the UK charts, nine #1 Irish Singles Chart hit singles and six #1 UK hit singles and five #1 albums, with approximately 20 million records sold by 2010 worldwide. The number is confirmed by Gately's book The Tree of Seasons.
Boyzone eventually made a comeback in 2007, originally with the intention of just touring. They were put together in 1993 by Louis Walsh, who is also known for managing Johnny Logan and Westlife. Before even recording any material, they made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. The band has released four studio albums and seven compilation albums to date. Gately died on 10 October 2009 of natural causes while on his holiday in Majorca.
In 1993 an advertisement appeared in many Irish newspapers calling for auditions to form a new Irish "boy band" group. The advertisements were sent out by theatrical manager Walsh who was looking to make an "Irish Take That" following on from their success. The auditions were held in The Ormond Center, in Dublin, in November 1993. More than 300 people replied to the advertisement. At the auditions the applicants were asked to sing the song "Careless Whisper" by George Michael. Each audition would be taped and watched again to judge the applicant's performance. Out of the 300, 50 were selected for a second audition. Richard Rock (son of Dickie Rock) was invited for a second audition. For the second audition the applicants where asked to sing two songs, including one of their own choice with a backing tape. Mikey Graham sang "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf. Keith Duffy sang "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred. Ronan Keating sang "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens (a cover version of which the band would later release). Stephen Gately sang Hello by Lionel Richie. Out of this 50, 10 were selected for a third audition. In the end, Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy, Rock, Shane Lynch and Mark Walton were chosen.
Graham originally was rejected but would later join after the departure of Richard Rock. Ronan Keating initially faced a lot of opposition from his parents and teachers. He was planning to move to New York to study in college on a sports scholarship and pursue his dream to win an Olympic medal for athletics. In the end Ronan decided to give up his education and go along with Boyzone. Duffy's parents were against their son throwing away a solid and promising career and joining the band. Louis Walsh set about trying to get a deal with a good record company but it would take many rejection letters before the boys would be signed. In 1994 Lynch and Duffy were involved in a nearly fatal car crash; both survived without serious injuries. Walsh was reportedly furious, and drew up contracts for all the boys to sign, leading to their activities being restricted. With some of the original lineup fading away and others being brought into the group, it took some time before Boyzone settled down into its most recognisable five-member line-up of Shane Lynch, Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy. Richard Rock, one of the original members, left citing musical differences with Ronan Keating.
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