Ronan on Ryan Confidential - RTE, November 10th 2005 Thanks to Regina for typing out the transcript! Please do not use this transcript anywhere else without asking for permission - Thank you.
Anyway, I saw it from the bit where they were discussing the manic BZ years, from how it all began when they did the Smash Hits Roadshow and appeared on the front cover of the magazine. They screened archive footage from some of Boyzone/Ronan’s appearances on the Late Late Show and other RTE productions. There was one clip in particular which encapsulated the sheer madness of the time, where hundreds of teenage girls maintained a three hour vigil down at RTE to get a glimpse of the guys while they were doing a show there. Because the guys were trapped inside, the only way they could come out to “greet everyone” was through the roof! And amongst all the excitement, three girls had to be taken to hospital. Ronan spoke about how he and the other four lads enjoyed every moment of the Boyzone years, although being so far away from home was sometimes difficult. There were times when they sat down and thought they couldn’t do it anymore but the strength of BZ was down to the fact that they had no real plan as regards keeping it going for as long as possible. “We made it up as we went along,” he said. Ronan expressed his gratitude to Louis for the “massive opportunity” he gave them and then talked about how close they were for a very long time, usually ringing each other three or four times a day. “He gave me a massive opportunity and I repaid him tenfold,” he added. Gerry asked him how you could be so close to somebody and then have such a nasty falling out, to which Ronan replied, “He’s incredibly bitter. Bitter about me leaving, moving on”. When asked if BZ ended because Louis decided to or if he did, Ronan took full responsibility for the split. “If they want to blame me I’ll take the blame, I don’t mind,” he admitted. He went into some detail about how the five guys decided they had enough and wanted to do their own thing, one night in Amsterdam while at the peak of their career. When Ronan went off to do his own thing, some of the other guys started making nasty comments about him, leaving him hurt and upset. “It came to a time where the lads wanted to get back together but because of what happened, I said ‘no’”. “So the band didn’t get back together. It’s my fault.” And although the guys weren’t on speaking terms for a while, he revealed that there are times when he longs to be back with them again. “I would love to be back there where I was. But you can’t have your cake and eat it. I don’t sell out two or three nights at the Point anymore. I broke up the band and because of that, I don’t sell records,” he said. He also described how much he loves Ireland and he wouldn’t raise his kids anywhere else because “it’s the best country in the world”. He discussed the close relationship he had with his mum and how her death was a major turning point in his life. In the aftermath of her death, he didn’t speak to his father for a year or two. They had “major issues” which meant that they didn’t see eye to eye with their lives. “It was wrong of me to do what I did but I loved my mother so much…” “We fought physically and we beat each other up,” he admitted. But he regrets what happened between them, blaming it on himself, an “angry child” who had lost his mother. “No son should ever raise his hand to his father; it’s wrong.” Although he said that they have never confronted why it all happened, Ronan acknowledged that they’re closer now than they’ve ever been. “I called him up to say sorry,” he revealed. While Ronan admits that he has all he wants in the line of material possessions-houses, cars and taking dream holidays whenever he wishes- having “healthy children and a wonderful wife” is what makes him “the wealthiest man in the world”. In spite of all this, he does not intend to give up the day job! “It’s a brilliant life….I watch these reality TV shows and there’s 100,000 people who would jump into my shoes in the morning. I’m lucky. I know what I have,” he said. As the interview drew to a close, Gerry wondered how Ronan would describe where he has found himself, while using the analogy of a tour of duty in Iraq for a 17 year old boy from Illinois. “Where are you now? You’re back from Iraq?” Gerry asked. Ronan paused for a moment while reminiscing over his rollercoaster life. And then he summed it up. “I got a few bullet wounds but I survived.” |
What an incredibly insightful programme ‘Ryan Confidential’ was last night. I missed the first two or three minutes of it but I want to say a special ‘thank you’ to Julie and Janina for your texts. I would almost certainly not have seen any of it had it not been for your updates!