Ronan Keating thinks it was a “mistake” for Boyzone to carry on without the late Stephen Gateley.
The ‘Picture of You’ hitmakers formed in 1993 and enjoyed chart success before splitting in 1999 and reforming in 2007, and while time after the reunion saw the group experience what was “probably the best time in the band”, tragedy struck in 2009 when the singer died from a heart condition aged just 33.
And Ronan admitted he thinks the band – which also included Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham – should have called it a day for good then because things “never felt the same again”.
Speaking on the Magic radio special ‘When Harriet met Ronan – 30 years of Boyzone’ – which airs on Sunday (29.10.23) at 5.30pm – he said: “For me that was the end of the band all together and we probably should have just called it a day then, but we thought the right thing to do was to carry on in Stephen’s memory.
“For me a mistake. The band never felt the same again. It always felt like something was missing.”
The 46-year-old singer believes the group would have stayed together if Stephen hadn’t passed away, but thinks they’d have had more frequent breaks to embark on solo ventures.
He said: “I would say we wouldn’t have broken up, but I think we probably would have navigated things differently. We would have taken gaps, breaks, come back. Stephen and I enjoyed singing together I know that much so we would have done something. I think Boyzone would have continued.”
The ‘Life Is a Rollercoaster’ hitmaker admitted he and his bandmates still haven’t got over Stephen’s death but they are thankful they will always have their music to remember him by.
He reflected: “What makes me sad and hurt more than anything is he had so much living to do, and he had so much to enjoy.
“I remember something that stays with me more than anything is Stephen really loved Disney and he was really excited about seeing ‘The Princess and the Frog’ and he never got to see it. The movie came out a couple of weeks after he passed away and I couldn’t watch the movie. I still haven’t been able to watch it to this day…
“None of us have gotten over it but at least we have the songs.”