Pigsback.com Interview with Ronan Keating

Pigsback.com interview - Chat Show: the Personality Pages

October 19th 2005 with Gemma De Ville

Please do not use this transcript anywhere else without asking for permission - Thank you.

Part One:

Hello and welcome to Chat Show, well today on the show I've come down to Central London to find an ex Boy band member who over his successful career has sold over 17 million albums; he's so far escaped the clutches of Chat Show but today we've got him firmly in our grip, yes it's Ronan Keating.

Gemma: Hi Ronan how you doing?

Ronan: How's it going are ya well?

G: Not bad thank you very much

R: That was a serious introduction thanks for that

G: That's quite alright; tell me how's the wife and kids are they alright?

R: They're great yeah we had a new girl 5 weeks ago, Ali

G: Congratulations

R: Yeah it's been all hands on deck, haven't had much sleep but things are going great

G: You're bit of a domestic God really aren't you?

R: Domestic God! (Laughs) I've been called all sorts but never a domestic God

G: Well we'll get onto that in a moment, but first of all I want to take you back to your Boyzone days now come on was it true you can be honest now; a bit of time has passed did you have a Take That dartboard?

R: A dartboard? No not really a dartboard I mean it was a total cool when they break up, it was a total result when they broke up, our record sales doubled over night quite literally, so that was quite nice yeah. No I mean we actually knew the guys quite well while they were out there doing it and afterwards and I became quite good friends with Gary Barlow who was the lead singer and I knew Robbie very well so nah we never had any bad feelings; I mean we were envious but we never had bad feelings.

G: Sure, Now you have actually been called the Gary Barlow of Boyzone, going off of course and doing your own thing solo and everything, and obviously you managed Westlife for a while didn't you?; are you still involved with the band or…?

R: No I'm not I'm not, I wouldn't use the word manage really I put the band together in the early days, I picked the band, I picked the tracks on the first album, I call it more artistic development if I must rather than manager I wasn't a manager in any way I wouldn't know how to manage I wouldn't have a clue

G: You wouldn't want to sort of manage a band?

R: No I wouldn't know where to start; but I mean picking the songs helping them out production wise and whatever yeah definitely

G: You know I do remember coz I went to a Smash Hits show on the road and you were there and you were like introducing Westlife and you were like these are my boys and they're really good and all the rest of it

R: And they won as well didn't they?

G: They did

R: They did yeah, it was good

G: Now Louis Walsh of course you know Louis he used to manage Boyzone didn't he?

R: Err I think he did yeah I think so yeah

G: You think so? You don't remember (laughs)

R: I think he did yeah (laughs)

G: That long ago in the murky distant past; what do you think of the X Factor?

R: I saw one of maybe the first shows I didn't see I haven't seen any of the recent ones I always have to say I always find the most entertaining part of the show is the first 2 or 3 weeks when you see all of the people coming on that actually can't sing and it's quite entertaining and I think everybody loves that; I mean it's like You've been framed I mean people love to see other people messing up.

G: Have you seen the Chico guy that's on, the Sharon Osbourne guy what do you think of him?

R: I haven't seen lately I dunno, is he someone Sharon's picked is it?

G: Yeah well he's an ex stripper I think she just likes him for his body

R: Well Sharon's actually a laugh I like Simon too and I think he's very funny; as for the other members on the show…. (Pulls a shocked expression)

G: Ooh controversial, right well we'll leave it there for part one but do join us in part 2 we're going to be chatting to Ronan a little bit more about his solo career do join me then.

Part two:

Gemma: Welcome back to part 2 I’m chatting today to Ronan Keating, Now Ronan you started off your solo career in 2000 didn’t you? And I mean you’d been in Boyzone for 6 years was it?

Ronan: Ah yeah I guess it’s 12 years doing now, so I guess 6 solo and 6 for Boyzone it’s been a blast; I mean I‘ve been very very lucky to still be here I had 6 brilliant years in Boyzone, we made it up as we went along to be honest and the solo stuff’s been a real buzz. And it’s great to have that freedom and control to do what I want to do.

G: Is life still a rollercoaster?

R: Of course (smiles)

G: ‘Scuse the pun; now when you first started out in your solo career I remember you saying the press were sort of aging you and I remember you coming out and saying I’m only 21 everyone’s acting like I’m 30, did that annoy you?

R: It didn’t annoy me I guess it was probably my own fault more than anything else, I’ve always kind of been older than my years in a way, even when I was younger. I guess my brothers and sister left for America when I was young I was the only one left at home and because of that I had to err… I became very independent very quickly and that can sometimes be seen as maturity but it wasn’t it was having to fend for yourself almost in a way. And being in a band the early days of Boyzone I kind of tour managed the band in way, I booked our flights and booked our cars for the lads, being the youngest member in the band it was quite weird but kind of puts an older head on your shoulders and I guess I’ve always been a bit of an older spirit

G: Aww that’s fair enough I mean you’ve had your rock and roll days of throwing things out windows

R: Well yeah except everything’s got too big now you can’t throw those plasma screens out of the window

G: I know, they’re attached to the wall

R: Too many times you can’t get them off the wall

G: its rubbish isn’t it? Terrible; well you’re doing lots of others things now apart from music especially today launching www.pigsback.com

R: Yep all these pigs floating around

G: They’re great aren’t they? We’re gonna get onto that in a moment but I want to ask you about your golfing

R: Me golfing yeah I love golf I mean I know it’s a strange sport for a lot of people to imagine people like me I guess….or maybe they don’t imagine people like me maybe it’s not strange for them; I don’t know but it’s one of my favourite sports I love to play golf of all things if I could do anything with my free time more anything else it’s play golf. It’s not very rock and roll

G: Ooh I don’t know, you had a pretty good line-up in the celebrity golf thing and you won!

R: We had a great time and we won I know, when it came down to the wire, there were 4 points in it and Damien and myself brought it home on the 18th I mean it’s the closest I’ll ever get to the Ryder Cup

G: Would you ever give it all up for golf? Coz I heard James Nesbitt say that you know actually you know, what am I doing? I shouldn’t be an actor I should be a golfer he had a moment of inspiration

R: Yeah we had a great time I mean the bond between us all was just brilliant; the European team

G: Who was rubbish? Come on

R: Ah well the Americans took it very seriously, I mean we all had a bit of a craic. We were the latest in the bar every night, we were the earliest up and around the driving range so we were pretty hard core I have to say, Europe flew the flag they wanna take it to America next year and we’ll take them on, on their own soil! (points to camera)

G: Excellent bring it on!

R: Bring it on

G: Right that’s all for part 2 but bring it on for part 3 join us then

Part 3:

G: Welcome back to part 3 I’m here today with Ronan Keating now Ronan (gasp) tell me about this little pig now sitting on my shoulder or not (falls off)

R: Pigsback.com

G: What is it?

R: I was very excited to get involved with Pigsback.com with the website and with the launch in the UK, it launched in Ireland and it’s a website basically that people can go on and become a member and you can earn Piggy Points; they‘re very very cool Piggy Points you can get everything from a case of wine to free flights

G: Like Tesco points but more exciting?

R: Basically yeah but it’s a lot more fun you can get concert tickets to my shows and to so many other rock and roll shows around the world and all sorts of prizes and lots of things and you can even donate your Piggy Points when you collect them to different charities around the world, in Ireland and wotnot and it’s erm. Ya know I’ve been on it for a while I’m a big cinema goer that’s really how I got into it and also being a friend of the families and being related to the Dwyers, Michael Dwyer it’s his brainchild and he came up with the idea; so it’s all kind of been tied in there it’s a nice little knit family. And it’s incredibly entertaining and incredibly exciting for an Irish website to open up in the UK and we like to think it’ll open up worldwide eventually ya know, it will it’ll go from strength to strength; I mean it is obviously it can be accessed worldwide but to launch now in the UK is a big deal, everyone kind of relates all of these big websites with the US ya know, we won’t mention them the enemy, we won’t mention them. But it’s a big deal and I’m very excited for the family and very excited for the company pigsback.com I think it’s gonna be a huge deal; I’m sure people are very aware of Pigsback they’ve seen the pink pigs everywhere from train stations to airports.

G: And I have to say they’re cute

R: Wonderful look these are the stress pigs, you’ve probably been handed these already, look at you squeezing that; careful (smiles) be careful poor little pig. No but err it’s very exciting I’m very excited to be involved and it’s a big launch tonight and we’ll see where it goes and I’m sure it’ll go from strength to strength

G: Well I can’t wait for the party later I have to say, it looks brilliant there’s lots of pink everywhere my favourite colour so it’s brilliant. Now before we go very quickly it’s the cheesy dips. Have a cheesy dip, it’s just a cheesy question read it out and give me your answer.

R: What makes you laugh?: My children I have to say make me laugh, yeah absolutely

G: Excellent, well Ronan thank you so much for chatting to me today and good luck with the launch tonight

R: Cheers thanks a lot God bless

Pigsback.com: The Launch Party Night - Chat Show: the Personality Pages

The special guest of the evening at the Pigsback launch was Irish singer Ronan Keating who stood up to say a few words

Ronan: Thank you, it’s a very exciting website Pigsback there might be some of yers in here tonight there maybe, who haven’t actually been online yet, I’m a member. I really am a member alright (laughs) yeah ya are Ronan ya are (laughs) no I really am a member alright, yep I am a member. I’ve loads of Piggy Points I get me wine on Pigsback.com every Christmas yep I do (A heckler shouts “stand up!”)

Stand up? Very funny (grinning) we like it! Why don’t you come up here and stand up; I got mates and they’re all here. I go to the movies and get all me Blockbuster movies and all that; honestly listen to yers all laughing I do! I’m telling ya bigtimecharlie that’s me login name you’ll see me on there in the chatroom, I am indeed. But anyway listen guys have a fantastic night it’s a great honour to be here and I’m really delighted to see this fantastic turn out for the Pigsback launch. Have a great night drink loads it’s all on Michael he’s buying; he’s buying all the drinks tonight

Dennis Taylor (UK snooker player) talking about Ronan:

Gemma: So Pigsback.com are you both members?

Dennis: We will be now; Ronan is fantastic it’s been going in Ireland now for what 4 or 5 years? And Ronan is just one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and the work him and his family do for charity is incredible. I go over and I play in his charity golf day where they raise fortunes and it’s just great to be involved and he’s just full of life he’s a great person to be around.