Boyzlife Keith Duffy gives supporting words to local school and musicians
Keith Duffy – Boyzlife interview
Hi Keith, thank you for ringing me back. I’m Jude from Saddleworth Life. Have you ever been to Saddleworth?
The name rings a bell, but I can’t really remember to be honest. (just outside Manchester?) Then I’ve definitely been to Saddleworth because I lived in Manchester on and off for 10 yrs.
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You’ve just announced a tour with Brian Mc Fadden of Westlife, and you’re from Boyzone, with the duo being called Boyzlife. Westlife and Boyzone are both very successful bands enjoying world-wide sales of both number one singles and albums. Brian McFadden left Westlife to pursue a solo career and spend more time with his family. What brought you two together?
Myself and Brian met when Westlife used to open Boyzone shows back in 1998, they used to be our support band. Believe it or not we only grew u about 4km from each other ironically so we’ve an awful lot in common. Over the years we’ve hung out and been friends. Recently about 2 yrs ago, I’d written a show for myself, a sort of autobiographical show that I was going to go out on the road with, kinda singing Boyzone songs and talking about my life in the business and so forth.
Then myself and Brian went out for a few pints of Guinness, as we do, after his performance, and he said ‘what are you up to at the moment?’ and I said ‘I’m about to go out on the road with this autobiographical show’ and he said ‘that sounds amazing! I’d love to do something like that.’ I then said ‘why don’t you do it with me? We’d have much more fun the two of us out on the road. On stage we could have some banter and some fun, we could do Boyzone and Westlife songs and it’d make for a much better show.’
We’re going out in October, our 4th time out. We don’t do as much of the autobiographical stuff now, it’s more music based now, we’ve about 20 no1s between the two bands.
What’s it like touring with Brian? Does he have any interesting habits?
It’s like anything, none of us are perfect, we all have our funny ways. Any relationship, whether it’s a marriage or a friendship, it’s all about compromise. When you’re younger you can have a short fuse if you’re living with people in your pocket for a long time. When you get older you have to have compromise. Brian would have a routine of things that have to be done before he goes on stage and so do I. Some of those things aren’t conducive to me, and some of the things I do aren’t conducive to Brian. Me and Brian are great mates and we bring the best out in each other. Does he have bad habits? YES! So, do I, so let’s move on…. (laughs)
Are you looking forward to playing at any particular venue on your coming tour?
Well Manchester is an important place for us to play! I live in Rochdale now and that’s on the outskirts of Manchester. I lived in Manchester for 10yrs whilst I did Coronation Street but both of us have a huge family in Manchester. I lived in Salford, Didsbury, Knutsford for a while and lived in lots of different places and met a lot of people. Manchester is a very social event for us. It’s like a second home for me.
You’ve said you’re singing hits from Boyzone and Westlife, but are there any songs from Boyzlife on the tour?
We haven’t recorded any songs of our own yet. We’re planning to get into the studio next May, would you believe? We’ve put aside some time to record our debut album. We never dreamed of that, and have already put aside some songs to go on it. It’s very exciting.
You’re a very busy guy singing with Boyzone in January/February, Boyzlife this October and we know you do a spot of acting too. How do you juggle it all?
Yes, Boyzone is great, we’re 25 yrs. together this year so we’re celebrating that with an album ‘Thankyou and Goodnight’ with the first song from it on the radio now called ‘Because’ which is a song we did with Ed Sheeran. We played Hyde Park last weekend which was amazing. 25 yrs later to get the kind of love we got off the audience is unbelievable. Have 50K people singing your songs back at you is amazing.
We know you are an Ambassador for autism…
Yes, I have a daughter who is 18. For the last 16yrs I’ve been campaigning and fund raising for families and children that are affected by autism.
There is a local school that is looking for a new venue as their landlord is selling the building they are in. They’ve been asking for help from local businesses to find a new home to prevent the children from being split up. Do you have any words of wisdom for them?
I just think it’s very sad that a landlord is selling the building from underneath them. I know business is business but there has to be another way for the landlord to make money rather than uprooting these guys. Can he find someone that could buy the place and continue to lease the place to the school? It’s so important that we educate our children with autism and we give them the appropriate intervention at the right stage in their lives – it’s life changing for them. These children are caste aside and not given the opportunity that they need there never going to reach their full potential. We need to be providing more and not taking it away. The community are going to have to come together and help out with the situation, they really are!
Our purely online magazine site aims to support local up and coming bands and musicians. We’ve recently supported Cotton Clouds Festival, which gave some a venue to showcase their music. Do you have any advice to give these passionate musicians in handling the music industry?
The music industry is not what it was. When we set off 25 yrs ago, we didn’t have social media and the internet wasn’t as big as it is now. Back then you’d make a record, put it on a CD, put it in the shops and people would go in and buy it. There was one actual chart. Nowadays there are so many charts, there’s no major chart any more. It’s difficult for musicians to get a good foundation if they have a quiet time. Unfortunately, everyone needs a backup plan, a plan B, however passionate you are. Never let your passion die and always follow your dreams…
Many thanks to Keith Duffy for his time and words of support and wisdom. They are much appreciated!
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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