Post by Helen on Oct 10, 2004 19:15:51 GMT
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'I've never found it hard being dad'
Oct 4 2004
Ronan Keating has got it made. Currently celebrating a decade of hits, both solo and with Boyzone, the singer seems to have achieved the impossible of combining a successful music career with a happy, stable family life.
While fellow former boyband member Brian McFadden has found it a struggle to balance these two aspects of his life, Ronan has had no such problems with his wife Yvonne and their two children Jack, five, and three-year-old Marie.
"I've never found it hard," says the 27-year-old. "You take one day at a time really. But I've never done anything else, so I don't know what it's like being a dad when you're doing another job. I just get on with it.
"Yvonne understands the job I have to do and she lets me do it. I get home as much as I can. I spend most of my time commuting between London and Dublin. I get back and I'm there in the morning for the kids. We spend a lot of time together."
Ronan married Yvonne, a model, in 1998. Without a even a whiff of scandal surrounding the couple during their entire time together, they seem to have that rare thing in showbiz - a solid and happy marriage.
"It's only hard if you want it to be," says Ronan. "It's not for me. We got married to be together and we are and it works for us. We're very happy and very normal.
"You never know what's around the corner but I'm very lucky to have Yvonne. We're very good together, a very good match and we hope to be together for the rest of our lives."
So close are the family in fact, that Ronan often flies them out to visit when he's on tour. They'll be joining him once again when he goes on the road in the UK in December.
"They'll be with me as much as possible," he says. "Jack's in school now so it's a bit more difficult. But when he has holidays and at weekends they join me."
They'll be helping Ronan celebrate as well, for this tour, as well as his forthcoming greatest hits collection, marks the singer's 10th anniversary in the business.
The tour was postponed from September ("a big apology to everybody for that") due to recording commitments and Ronan's recovery from the infection that struck him down in July. He ended up in hospital after a boil on his face got out of control and caused him to collapse.
The infection was caused by the everyday bacteria staphylococcus, which everyone carries on their skin, getting in to broken pore. His face ballooned so much he lost his sight.
"I'm feeling much better now," he says. "I'm still a little tired. I was on so many different drips and drugs and it affected me quite badly. But I'm getting over it."
Ronan began his music career at school as part of a band who did Bryan Adams and Nirvana covers. He saw an advert for auditions to join a boyband and joined a number of others, including a pre-fame Colin Farrell, hopeful for a place.
Recent claims by former Boyzone manager Louis Walsh that it was down to Ronan that Colin never made the final line-up - he apparently warned Louis that Colin `would cause trouble' - are rubbished by the singer.
"What a load of waffle," he says, shaking his head. "I was just a 16-year-old who'd auditioned for Boyzone. I didn't even know who Colin was. How could I stop him from joining?"
Under Louis' guidance Boyzone went on to notch up seven No 1s, and sold 15 million albums worldwide. That popularity still lingers today.
When the band's record label released a compilation of Boyzone's ballads last year it went in at No 6, despite having no promotion from the band members themselves.
But while the other members of Boyzone look set to get back together for a reunion tour next year, it won't involve Ronan. In 1999 the band took what was supposed to be a year off to do their own thing before regrouping.
In that time Ronan's solo career took off. As well as setting Westlife on the path to greatness by briefly co-managing them with Louis, he released three successful solo albums and had three No 1 singles.
Boyzone was put on the back-burner before being forgotten about completely, much to the chagrin of the other band members.
However, earlier this year, the band kissed and made up when they all turned up to support bandmate Shane Lynch on the reality show The Games. It sparked more talk of a reunion, but Ronan has since been reticent about the idea.
"I wish the guys the best of luck," he says. "But I'm not ready for it so I'm not going to put pressure on myself. It's nice that there's still a want for them, for sure, but I'm not up for it."
Even less friendly is Ronan's relationship with Louis Walsh. Louis has recently made a hobby of slating his former charge in the press. As well as divulging the Colin Farrell `revelation', he's said he thinks Ronan's songs are "crap".
"Yeah, we don't get on," sighs Ronan. "He's said these silly things about Colin Farrell just to try and get back at me really. It's child's stuff,silly stuff. I'm not interested in it."
Ronan happily admits that he's enjoyed his solo career much more than his time in Boyzone. "Far more, definitely," he says. "I've had the freedom and space to make the kind of music I want to make."
And the greatest hits collection certainly doesn't mark the end of that career, despite Ronan's current foray into acting with a role in forthcoming Irish gangster flick Guns, Money And Homecooking.
He begins filming later this year, during his already busy schedule, though he doesn't seem sure about whether it's going to come off.
"I'm excited about it but I don't know if I'm going to be any good really,"he says. "I'm going to see how it goes before I think about continuing with it. I don't want to make a fool of myself."
On top of this, he's already thinking about his next album and intends to take a year off to make "the right album for the fans".
It will also leave the doting dad with plenty of time for his young family. But although the singer and his wife seem to have got the balance right between work and home life, they have no plans to extend the family any further.
"We're blessed with two healthy children and we feel very lucky," says Ronan. "We don't want to risk having any more, especially in this day and age. The stories you hear, it's scary.
"I worry about my kids constantly. It just happens as soon as you become a parent. I don't want any more worries, there's a lot going on."
jectid=14717122&method=full&siteid=50082
'I've never found it hard being dad'
Oct 4 2004
Ronan Keating has got it made. Currently celebrating a decade of hits, both solo and with Boyzone, the singer seems to have achieved the impossible of combining a successful music career with a happy, stable family life.
While fellow former boyband member Brian McFadden has found it a struggle to balance these two aspects of his life, Ronan has had no such problems with his wife Yvonne and their two children Jack, five, and three-year-old Marie.
"I've never found it hard," says the 27-year-old. "You take one day at a time really. But I've never done anything else, so I don't know what it's like being a dad when you're doing another job. I just get on with it.
"Yvonne understands the job I have to do and she lets me do it. I get home as much as I can. I spend most of my time commuting between London and Dublin. I get back and I'm there in the morning for the kids. We spend a lot of time together."
Ronan married Yvonne, a model, in 1998. Without a even a whiff of scandal surrounding the couple during their entire time together, they seem to have that rare thing in showbiz - a solid and happy marriage.
"It's only hard if you want it to be," says Ronan. "It's not for me. We got married to be together and we are and it works for us. We're very happy and very normal.
"You never know what's around the corner but I'm very lucky to have Yvonne. We're very good together, a very good match and we hope to be together for the rest of our lives."
So close are the family in fact, that Ronan often flies them out to visit when he's on tour. They'll be joining him once again when he goes on the road in the UK in December.
"They'll be with me as much as possible," he says. "Jack's in school now so it's a bit more difficult. But when he has holidays and at weekends they join me."
They'll be helping Ronan celebrate as well, for this tour, as well as his forthcoming greatest hits collection, marks the singer's 10th anniversary in the business.
The tour was postponed from September ("a big apology to everybody for that") due to recording commitments and Ronan's recovery from the infection that struck him down in July. He ended up in hospital after a boil on his face got out of control and caused him to collapse.
The infection was caused by the everyday bacteria staphylococcus, which everyone carries on their skin, getting in to broken pore. His face ballooned so much he lost his sight.
"I'm feeling much better now," he says. "I'm still a little tired. I was on so many different drips and drugs and it affected me quite badly. But I'm getting over it."
Ronan began his music career at school as part of a band who did Bryan Adams and Nirvana covers. He saw an advert for auditions to join a boyband and joined a number of others, including a pre-fame Colin Farrell, hopeful for a place.
Recent claims by former Boyzone manager Louis Walsh that it was down to Ronan that Colin never made the final line-up - he apparently warned Louis that Colin `would cause trouble' - are rubbished by the singer.
"What a load of waffle," he says, shaking his head. "I was just a 16-year-old who'd auditioned for Boyzone. I didn't even know who Colin was. How could I stop him from joining?"
Under Louis' guidance Boyzone went on to notch up seven No 1s, and sold 15 million albums worldwide. That popularity still lingers today.
When the band's record label released a compilation of Boyzone's ballads last year it went in at No 6, despite having no promotion from the band members themselves.
But while the other members of Boyzone look set to get back together for a reunion tour next year, it won't involve Ronan. In 1999 the band took what was supposed to be a year off to do their own thing before regrouping.
In that time Ronan's solo career took off. As well as setting Westlife on the path to greatness by briefly co-managing them with Louis, he released three successful solo albums and had three No 1 singles.
Boyzone was put on the back-burner before being forgotten about completely, much to the chagrin of the other band members.
However, earlier this year, the band kissed and made up when they all turned up to support bandmate Shane Lynch on the reality show The Games. It sparked more talk of a reunion, but Ronan has since been reticent about the idea.
"I wish the guys the best of luck," he says. "But I'm not ready for it so I'm not going to put pressure on myself. It's nice that there's still a want for them, for sure, but I'm not up for it."
Even less friendly is Ronan's relationship with Louis Walsh. Louis has recently made a hobby of slating his former charge in the press. As well as divulging the Colin Farrell `revelation', he's said he thinks Ronan's songs are "crap".
"Yeah, we don't get on," sighs Ronan. "He's said these silly things about Colin Farrell just to try and get back at me really. It's child's stuff,silly stuff. I'm not interested in it."
Ronan happily admits that he's enjoyed his solo career much more than his time in Boyzone. "Far more, definitely," he says. "I've had the freedom and space to make the kind of music I want to make."
And the greatest hits collection certainly doesn't mark the end of that career, despite Ronan's current foray into acting with a role in forthcoming Irish gangster flick Guns, Money And Homecooking.
He begins filming later this year, during his already busy schedule, though he doesn't seem sure about whether it's going to come off.
"I'm excited about it but I don't know if I'm going to be any good really,"he says. "I'm going to see how it goes before I think about continuing with it. I don't want to make a fool of myself."
On top of this, he's already thinking about his next album and intends to take a year off to make "the right album for the fans".
It will also leave the doting dad with plenty of time for his young family. But although the singer and his wife seem to have got the balance right between work and home life, they have no plans to extend the family any further.
"We're blessed with two healthy children and we feel very lucky," says Ronan. "We don't want to risk having any more, especially in this day and age. The stories you hear, it's scary.
"I worry about my kids constantly. It just happens as soon as you become a parent. I don't want any more worries, there's a lot going on."
