Boyzone was one of the biggest bands of the 90s. The group dominated charts with hits like No Matter What, Love Me for a Reason, and Picture of You. Formed in 1993 by music manager Louis Walsh, the Irish group—Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham, and the late Stephen Gately—quickly rose to international fame.
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But nothing lasts forever and despite their immense success, the band split in 1999. Ronan Keating embarked on a solo career. They reunited in 2007 and again in 2018 but the tensions always lingered. A new documentary on the band, Boyzone: No Matter What will now finally expose the truth behind it all.
What was the reason for Boyzone's split?
Boyzone’s breakup wasn’t as simple as ‘taking a break’ or moving on to other projects. Behind the scenes, tension had been brewing for years. One of the key reasons for their split was Ronan Keating’s solo ambitions.
Keating, widely regarded as the group's frontman, had long been determined to carve out an independent career. Inspired by U2’s Bono, he was desperate to break into the global market as a respected solo artist. He saw Boyzone as a stepping stone rather than a permanent home and by 1999, he decided to leave the band behind. One former colleague of the group told MailOnline:
Ronan was very ambitious. He thought he was the stand-out one and that he was going to have successes the others were not.
Additionally, their long-time manager, Louis Walsh, played a controversial role in the band’s story. While he was instrumental in their success, there was growing frustration among the members about how they were managed. What’s more? He heavily favoured Keating over the others and jumped on the opportunity to manage his solo career, but they didn't have the best relationship.
Interestingly, Keating also resented Walsh and grew increasingly irritated with him, reports The Independent. He shared:
Things started falling into place and you realise, Louis is not a great manager. I gave him multiple opportunities to fix things. I have one shot at my career and he didn’t give a f***, it fell on deaf ears.
It is understood that the band never recovered from their bitter breakup. A source shared:
The scars are still there, the hurt ran very, very deep. They are still all so cross about it all. All of these years and there is so much bad blood ... they have moved on but forgiveness has been almost impossible.
Despite all the feuding, controversy, and resentment, the boys have come together, along with Louis Walsh, to give their fans an account of what really happened behind-the-scenes.
The new Boyzone documentary
Boyzone: No Matter What promises to give fans a never-before-seen look into the band’s journey. Through exclusive interviews with the band members and Louis Walsh, it will delve into the struggles and conflicts that shaped their story. The three-part documentary is set to premiere on Sky Documentaries and NOW on 2 February.
It looks like the documentary will be quite a juicy one as in the trailer, Keating takes aim at Walsh, accusing him of prioritising fame over the band’s well-being. Keating says:
He just got it wrong. He made the wrong choices. He didn’t know where the f**k I was!
Walsh, in turn, dismisses the band’s grievances, claiming:
They believed their own publicity. They forgot I wrote it.
While tensions clearly remain, the documentary also attempts to showcase a sense of closure. In one emotional moment, Ronan, Keith, Shane, and Mikey are seen sharing a pint together, symbolising an attempt at reconciliation.
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Sources used:
MailOnline: Truth about why the Boyzone fallout is STILL toxic
The Independent: Ronan Keating lashes out at ‘vicious’ Louis Walsh: ‘He made the wrong choices’
