Ronan Keating on boyband fame in the 90s: ‘Our duty of care meant nothing’
Ronan Keating says the members of Boyzone were “unprotected” and in “a dangerous space” when they were propelled to fame over 30 years ago.
Speaking at the worldwide premiere of Boyzone: No Matter What, the 47-year-old singer told Sky News: “We just played along with it all. I was 16, 17, 18 years of age. I was a child.”
Boyzone in 1995. Pic: AP
Now a father of five, Keating goes on: “But as you get older and your children get older… you realise what we went through as kids and how unprotected we were and what a dangerous space it was.”
In 1993, five working-class lads from Dublin, Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham were plucked from obscurity by talent manager Louis Walsh and moulded into stars.
Breaking into the UK charts the following year, they had conquered the world by the mid-1990s.
Six number one hits and five number one albums followed, with 25 million records sold across the world.
A master of promotion, former X Factor judge Walsh worked hard to keep the boys’ names in the papers, but that exposure came at a cost.
In October, the death of ex-One Direction star Liam Payne after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires had drew a sharp focus on the duty of care offered to those thrust into the spotlight at a young age.
But Keating says back then it was different: “Our duty of care would not have been anything. It would never have been taken into account.”
Keating performing his first solo hit When You Say Nothing At All in 2000. Pic: Reuters
Despite that, he says the band owe Walsh a lot: “We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for what Louis did for Boyzone, what he put on the line for us.
“He has apologised and said sorry for the words that he said, the things he’s done. Somewhat. It’s tough, it’s hard, and at times my relationship with Louis – well, it’s non-existent. But I am very grateful for the opportunity he gave Boyzone and me in the beginning.”
Shane Lynch too, is forgiving when it comes to past tabloid press intrusion into his private life.
Lynch, 48, tells Sky News: “A story’s a story. A paper’s a paper. People like to hear bad stuff about you. That’s what gets them going, makes their own life feel better.
“Sometimes we were subjected to that little bit more than others. But that said, as Louis Walsh says, ‘You made the front paper!'”
Two years into the band. Pic: Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
So why now – three decades after they first met, and following two splits – have the band felt the need to tell their story?
Keating says: “I think with any story you need a start, a middle and an end. And I think we’ve after 30 years, we’ve finally got that.”
Of course, one key element of Boyzone is missing, with the death of Stephen Gately back in 2009 (a result of an undiagnosed heart condition) meaning the five will never again take to the stage.
Band members carried Stephen Gately’s coffin at his funeral in 2009. Pic: AP
Despite his loss, the remaining members see the three-part documentary as a form of tribute to their lost member, describing it as a way to celebrate and work with him again.
In tribute, Keith Duffy, 50, dressed for the event with Gately very much in mind, telling Sky News: “This shirt is for Steo. He loved a bit of print. He loved a bit of sequins. I found the perfect shirt and red was his favourite colour. I am representing Stephen tonight.”
Mikey Graham, who contributed to the documentary, did not attend the red carpet.
Speaking from Miami where he was on holiday, Louis Walsh declined comment.
Boyzone: No Matter What is available on Sky and streaming service Now from Sunday 2 February.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail ahead of his sentencing on prostitution-related charges.
Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip-hop mogul had failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also cited admissions of previous violence made during his trial.
Combs, 55, has been in prison since his arrest in September last year.
During a two-month trial, jurors heard allegations that he had coerced former girlfriends, including singer and model Cassie Ventura, into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers, while he watched and filmed them.
Diddy fell to his knees after the verdict was delivered last month. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.
The rapper’s legal team hailed this a “victory” and immediately applied for bail ahead of sentencing, citing his acquittal on the top charges.
After this was denied, they submitted another application last week. Judge Subramanian has now rejected the request again.
In denying the motion for bail, the judge found Combs had failed to show sufficient evidence to counter arguments he is a flight risk, writing in a court filing: “Increasing the amount of the bond or devising additional conditions doesn’t change the calculus given the circumstances and heavy burden of proof that Combs bears.”
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He also found that an argument by the music star’s legal team that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is being held, did not warrant release.
“The public outcry concerning these conditions has come from all corners,” the judge wrote. “But as Combs acknowledges, MDC staff has been able to keep him safe and attend to his needs, even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate.”
As well as Combs’s bail application, his legal team has also filed a motion calling for him to be acquitted or given a new trial on the prostitution-related charges only.
The judge has not yet responded to this application.
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How the Diddy trial unfolded
How long could Diddy be jailed for?
Combs is due to be sentenced on 3 October and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Discussions on sentencing guidelines which followed the jury’s verdict suggest it is unlikely he will be jailed for this long, with an estimate of around two to five years, taking into account time already served.
However, it is ultimately up to Judge Arun Subramanian to decide the rapper’s punishment.
On Friday, Donald Trump was asked during an interview about a potential pardon for Combs following speculation about the issue.
The president said it was unlikely, adding that the rapper was “very hostile” during his presidential campaign.
Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture – a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.
As well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.
Donald Trump has waded into the debate surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.
The American Eagle ad, which features the 27-year-old actress, who starred in the HBO series Euphoria and White Lotus, has the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.
It has sparked a debate in the US over race and Western beauty standards.
One of the Sydney Sweeney jeans ads. Pic: AP
In a Truth Social post, the US president described it as the “hottest ad out there”.
Hailing Sweeney as a “registered Republican”, he said the jeans are “flying off the shelves”, adding: “Go get ’em Sydney!”
Most of the criticism of the ad has centred on videos using the word “genes” instead of “jeans”, with one in which Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”
Critics argued the play on words potentially promotes eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.
But others have defended the ad, saying the critics are reading too much into its message.
The video appeared on American Eagle’s Facebook page and other social media channels, but is not part of the ad campaign.
In a statement on Instagram on Friday, American Eagle Outfitters said the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Stocks in American Eagle Outfitters jumped by 23.3% after Mr Trump’s intervention.
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In his Truth Social post, which he reposted three times to fix various typos, Mr Trump compared the ad with “woke” ones “on the other side of the ledger” – as he criticised other companies, as well as hitting out at Taylor Swift.
“The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be,” he wrote.
Sky News has contacted Sweeney’s agent for comment.
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