Interviews - Ronan Keating talks exclusively to Music Week

BY HAMISH CHAMP

In one of his most candid interviews to date, Ronan Keating talks openly about his new path and the team behind him, the impact of his mother's death and his desire to collaborate with George Michael and Bono, plus much more

What drives you, creatively and professionally?

"A passion for music and for songs and songwriting. And to get the opportunity to do this. That's why I joined the band, to record songs and sing. And do it on the world stage. That's all I've ever wanted to do, and it's the only thing I know how to do. I'm crap at everything else."

People speak of your admirable work ethic and approach, but do you ever lose it?

"This has been a tough year. My health has been at me. I had a bit of a scare recently when I collapsed in Vienna and then I had a massive infection where my whole face swelled up and I spent 10 days in hospital. The thing is, I've never been sick, maybe colds and flu and that sort of thing, but never heavily ill. And I've never been in hospital. It turns out my immune system was run down and my body was weak because I'd be working so hard. Lots of people get this thing and it doesn't affect them that much, but it hit me hard because I was run down. So it was a real scare for me. Maybe it was a sign to slow down, because I haven't stopped for 10 years."

You have talked about there having been changes in your life in the past year or so, that you were at a crossroads and might have packed it all in. Was it possible that you might have called it a day?

"No, what I meant was pack in the way I'm working now. I'm constantly touring and doing promotion. It was getting to me. But it was more the way everything was moving. It wasn't the business itself that was getting to me, so much as the way I was being guided by the people around me at the time. I just felt that I was on a production line, you know? Just churning out the same thing over and over, people expecting the same things.

I wanted new, fresh things. I didn't need new people around me, just a fresh start. I haven't changed anyone. Louis's moved on, I've moved away from Louis."

What have been your career highlights?

"Being here after 10 years. I can't believe people still want to hear my songs. There are loads of other highlights, awards and number ones and that's all fantastic and brilliant and I love it, but to have the opportunity to continue doing this and still have the support of my friends and family around me and the fans still wanting to hear the songs and come to the shows... I'm very lucky."

What have been the low points?

"Losing my mother when I was on the road was the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. When she got sick I dived into work even harder. I don't know how I would have got through it without the band. When she died I worked even harder. Then I cracked and hit a wall."

Who are your favourite recording artists and what are your musical influences?

"Growing up, I listened to people like George Michael, U2, and I listened to my brothers' and sisters' stuff, so a lot of Cat Stevens, Queen, Squeeze and then a lot of country stuff because of what my Mum and Dad listened to."

And who have been your industry influences?

"People who've championed my work have been Mark Plunkett, my manager, who was tour manager for Boyzone. He's always believed in me, he always pushed me, he's never let things fall away from me or ever been complacent about my career. Lucian Grainge, chairman and ceo of Universal UK, has guided me along the way. And all the writers and producers I've worked with. People like Steve Mac, who see through all the politics of this business and just get on with things."

Who would you like to record with and write for?

"I'd love to work with Bono or George Michael, but I'd be too embarrassed to go and ask them. I'm afraid they'd say no."

What are your interests outside music?

"Cars and motorcycles. Harley Davidsons. I've got a Heritage Springer, an 883 Sportster, a Fatboy and a V-Rod, which I'm offloading. It's not very loud and not really for me. I get out and about on them at the first sign of any sun. And rain. I'm not a fair-weather biker. The thing that gets me is the traffic."

You auditioned for Boyzone with the song Father & Son, and recently re-recorded the track with Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens). The significance of that journey is not lost on you, presumably.

"It was a lifetime ambition to work with Yusuf. I brought Father & Son to Boyzone and he's always been a hero of mine. Yusuf came down with his son to see us performing the song eight or nine years ago on Top Of The Pops and that was incredible. We stayed in touch over the years and it was only recently when we thought of the 10 Years Of Hits concept that I realised the perfect duet to do would be Father & Son. This song makes sense for me to do. In the studio he was a very peaceful, quiet man, decent and honest. He came in and he didn't really want to do the father thing and me do the son, but before I knew it there he was singing the father bit and I'm going This is brilliant.' It was a magic moment."

You have said that Stephen Gateley and the rest of Boyzone should get together without you. Is that the final nail in the coffin of your returning for a Boyzone reunion?

"We did hook up a couple of months ago and we had a get-together, but not musically. It was great to see the guys again and I'm talking to them all and that's wonderful. But it's not my time to get back with them. I wish the guys the best if they want to do it, but I'm not ready."

Do you now feel that you are entering a new phase of your music career?

"My kids have started school and I really want to focus on my family and on getting my next album absolutely right, for me. I feel that my last album, Turn It On, was my best album so far, but some people didn't and, from a sales point of view, it was my least successful. So I really just need to think about where I'm going and what I'm about. As a person as well as - and I hate saying this word - an artist. I'm a musician, a singer and a songwriter. I'm going to take next year out, I'm going to relax, I've built a studio here at my home in Dublin. I want to spend quality time with my family and write and make the best possible album, for my fans as well as for myself. The road I want to go down is Last Thing On My Mind and The Long Goodbye; those two songs are the kind of material I want to do more of. I hope I can do that, write 10 of those."