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News
bangkokpost.com
In his first concert in Bangkok in three years, Ronan Keating proved he had lost none of his talent, nor his
popularity.
In a superb 90-minute performance at the Royal Paragon Hall on Monday night, the Irish singer blew the capacity
audience away with a brilliant show, combining songs from his latest album - Bring You Home - with old favourites, including
one from the days of his former band, Boyzone.
It was a high energy performance that electrified the 5,000-strong audience, pre-dominantly young female fans,
who lost no time in showing their appreciation. "Sorry it's taken so long to get back," he told audience, who did not seem
to care. All the old songs were greeted with excited yells and even ageing men sang along with them. The energy on-stage was
contagious. There is no doubt that the clean-shaven, clean-living performer has a charisma that few other rock artists have
today.
Appropriately, he started his gig with Turn Me On ...; the refrain brought a rapturous response from the audience.
"Its great to be back," he assured them. He then alternated slower love songs with more racy rock numbers. His heartfelt rendition
of the old Cat Stevens number Father and Son was certainly one of the high points of the evening. He sang the song with an
infectious passion, and he has often said this song started his musical career.
"For as long as I live this will be my first song, the song that brought me into music ... something in the
words and melody seeped through and fuelled the fire that made me want to write and sing."
The performance also included old favourites - If Tomorrow Never Comes and Loving Each Day - with It's So
Easy to Love You, from his new album. For part of the evening Keating was joined by Janet Ramus, whose strong female voice
balanced Keating's, and they sang some powerful duets, especially their rendition of Last Thing on My Mind.
For Keating, the high point in the performance was Friends in Time, from his latest album, sung to a new racier
arrangement with a stronger rock beat than the album version.
"I love Friends in Time off the new album, and it's a great song to play live. It's a buzz; you just can't
help but get into it, to move to it. It's got a lovely feel to it, real acoustic guitar, it's great," Keating told the Bangkok
Post before the performance.
Keating ended his performance with one of the audience's favourites - Life Is a Rollercoaster - which brought
the audience to its feet cheering and singing along. As he sang: "You've really got me flying tonight," hundreds of fans rushed
to the front of stage, dancing and waving their hands in the air.
"People are going to enjoy themselves - or at least I hope so," Ronan predicted on the eve of the concert
and the performance on the night did not disappoint.
When he and his backing band, the Shands, left the stage, the audience began to howl for more. The hysteria
was almost palpable as the audience continued to demand an encore. Keating, although he was losing his voice, complied and
sang two of his most famous songs, capping a memorable performance with the all-time favourite, When You Say Nothing at All.
Keating has an extremely sensual appeal on-stage. And the largely female audience soaked up the atmosphere
and responded to the electrifying performance.
"Every Thai woman thinks Ronan is very sexy," said a 20-year-old fan, Rung. "I have listened to Ronan since
I was a teenager," she said.
Keating clearly created real empathy with his audience. "When I listen to Ronan sing his love songs I feel
he is singing them especially for me," said lifelong fan 31-year-old Ge Ge.
From the very start of his performance he involved the audience in the show, occasionally coming off-stage
to personally greet some of the fans in the front rows. The whole hall responded with enthusiasm.
"I love you Bangkok," Keating shouted to the crowd as he was leaving the stage for the last time, and from
the audience
reaction, Bangkok still loves him, too
sundaymirror
Sunday Mirror
4/3
HEADLINE: RONAN'S ARABIAN NIGHTS;
EXCLUSIVE BIRTHDAY BOY SPLASHES OUT ON
EUR7K SUITE
BYLINE: BY DEIRDRE O'DONOVAN
RONAN Keating celebrated his birthday in style last night - by
booking himself into a EUR7,000-A-NIGHT suite in Dubai.
The former Boyzone star has brought friends and family to the
Arabian resort of Madinat Jumeirah to celebrate his 30th birthday.
To mark the special occasion, he has treated himself
to a stay at one of the most luxurious hotel suites in the world.
Last night, a pal said Ronan worked hard and deserved
to treat himself.
"For the past couple of years, Ronan has taken the family to Dubai to celebrate his birthday," the
friend said.
"And this year, because it's a milestone birthday, they have booked the Royal Suite Villa. It costs EUR7,000
a night but that does include a 24-hour butler service and a private pool."
The seven-star hotel is a favourite with
the world's rich and famous because it offers complete privacy - and luxury.
Each residence has a large terrace, leading
out onto manicured gardens. And each of the suite's three bedrooms has every luxury anyone could ever want.
A Jacuzzi
and private pool, a lift, telephone and fax facilities, as well as a private dining room, bar and wine cabinet mean guests
never have to leave the luxury of their suite, if they so choose.
But Ronan did leave his 7,000 square foot villa last
night to attend a special private birthday party organised by wife Yvonne.
Ronan has already got his present from Yvonne
- a black Porsche Carrera 911 Sport worth a cool EUR150,000.
He said: "It was a very nice surprise. Yvonne always tries
to surprise me and every year I manage to find out.
"But I had no idea - she got me."
boyzone news
the sun.co.uk
november 10, 2006
GEORGE MICHAEL
has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently, but let’s reflect on what a wonderful pop craftsman he is.
He’s always had a winning combination of silky vocals, masterful lyricism and an innate sense of melody
and rhythm.
It’s 25 years since he formed Wham! with school pal Andrew Ridgeley, going on to huge solo success on
both sides of the Atlantic. Next week sees the release of his beautifully assembled career overview Twenty Five, available
in two and three-CD sets and as a DVD.
Here, we’re privileged to have his friend and huge star in his own right, RONAN KEATING,
describe his 25 favourite George songs specially for SFTW:
Everything She Wants
This is a perfect feel-good pop song. I grew up listening to Wham! and remember going to the shop to buy this.
It’s a cool, sexy tune and when you’re a kid these songs mean everything to you.
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
A great pop record. You just can’t help tapping your feet. The video was great too, with bad haircuts.
Today we all try to write timeless pop records like this.
Freedom
The great thing about Wham! songs is there is not too much depth — they’re just straight-down-the-line
pop. When I was younger, I used to sit in my room after school and listen to the music and this is another feel-good song.
Growing up, we all wanted to be in Wham! You just thought it must be great to be a pop star.
Faith
If I could write one song in my life this would be it. I went to the Linda McCartney tribute concert at the
Royal Albert Hall and George performed Faith. It was just unbelievable. Faith was not only a major song but also a cool video
— a real turning point. We all even started dressing like George in the leather biker jackets and ripped jeans. Very
influential.
Freedom 90
This was an incredible video and it just shows the power of George Michael. He was probably the only star
at that point who could pull in five world famous supermodels to appear in his video. Robbie Williams would kill to make such
an incredible, sexy video. This is a great pop record and it’s probably still played at every fashion show.
Outside
George loves to make great videos and this was one that everyone talked about. I don’t think people
are aware that George writes the scripts for his videos. This one also has a great comedy aspect. It’s exactly the kind
of thing Robbie Williams tries to do. George has a great sense of humour and knows how to take the mick out of himself. Outside
was a real in-your-face to any people who doubted him at this time. It was also the start of a new sound and new vocal approach.
Shoot The Dog
This was a great example of George standing up and saying what many people were thinking at the time. The
video was an animation and got a lot of Press attention. I’ve heard that George’s tour 25Live features a surprise
moment at the end 
Amazing
Pop at its best — with George playing around with his vocal ability. When you hear a George Michael
track you know it’s him. His voice is so distinctive it’s hard to believe he smokes — his vocals are so
pure.
Easier Affair
George has always been very in touch with what’s going on with the urban music scene. He’s able
to easily blend what’s hip and cool with a pop sensibility and he always manages to nail a great flow to his songs.
As
I would love to do a duet with Mary J Blige. This song is a meeting of two legends. He manages to blend cool,
credible and street to make a pop record and still remain George Michael. He has the ability to cross over to a variety of
different musical styles and seems to reinvent himself with every track he releases.
Freeek!
This isn’t my favourite song but there’s no denying the outstanding production or the amazing
video set in a techno world.
Spinning The Wheel
A great video with a 1920s theme. This song really shows off George’s amazing ability as a singer. There’s
a great tone in his voice and the song has an amazing energy — a great melody, tempo and vibe.
Careless Whisper
One of the all-time great songs. At the Boyzone auditions we all had to sing Careless Whisper, which is an
incredibly tough song to do. I asked if I could sing Father And Son by Cat Stevens and they let me. Careless Whisper was actually
released while he was still in Wham! in case his solo career didn’t work.
Last Christmas
The first record I ever bought. I remember buying it in town with my mum. I must have listened to it 1,000
times and learnt all the words. I used to sing it to relatives when they came round.
A Different Corner
Great lyrics. It’s about how your life can be dramatically changed according to decisions you make.
For example, you could turn a right corner instead of a left and meet the woman of your dreams.
Jesus To A Child
I’ll never forget this song. I was on tour with Boyzone at the time and George Michael had not released
any material for a long while. I heard that he was writing again and asked my record company to get a copy of Jesus To A Child
sent to me. I played it non-stop on the tour bus.
Praying For Time
I just bought this again two days ago. What a lyric, what a melody. The video was just words and I remember
thinking, ‘What a beautiful, simple idea.’
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
George and Elton John, two heavyweights, two amazing artists on stage together. Me and Stephen Gately from
the band used to sing this together on the tour bus.
This Is Not Real Love
This is George’s new record and it’s beautiful. He duets with former Sugababe Mutya Buena —
a lovely collaboration. There’s great adversity in the two tones of their voices — it works so well.
Older
I didn’t know George at this time but I can imagine he was going through a difficult time as it’s
a dark record. It’s about waking up and realising you’re not the kid you used to be and feeling differently about
what you’re doing.
Father Figure
I used to listen to this over and over again. The video, featuring a girl in the back of a New York cab with
George driving, was very sexy.
Roxanne
This is a song by Sting which George covered for Songs From The Last Century. I always loved Sting’s
version of this but I love George’s, too.
My Baby Just Cares For Me
A beautiful classic which was sung by Nina Simone. George’s voice really shines.
My Mother Had A Brother
George explained the scenario behind this song to me. When you speak to him you get so much — what he
was thinking about, what he was aiming to get across.
Please Send Me Someone (Anselmo’s Song)
A beautiful, heartfelt song of someone whose heart is broken. We all saw George’s documentary A Different
Story where he talks about his love for Anselmo. This song highlights his ability as a storyteller
expressen.se
Ronan song 3 songs live in sweden yeasterday
Iris,all over again and Rollecoster
aftonbladet.se
ronan
ronan
ronan
Den 6. august:
Ronan Keating innvier EM i friidrett i Göteborg
Den 6. august innvies EM i friidrett og kveldens hovedartist blir Ronan Keating. Innvielsen
finner sted i tilknytning til Göteborgs paradegate Avenyn, og det er første gangen en EM-innvielse skjer utenfor selve stadion.
Temaet for kvelden er ”Sverige møter Europa”.
mikey and Ronan
Breast friends" getuigen VRT Nieuws, 8 timer gammel
"Breast friends" (boezemvrienden). Sterren als Jerry Hall, Rosanna
Arquette en Ronan Keating getuigen hoe ze ooit vrouwen met borstkanker hebben geholpen. Bezig met laden...
ronan perfume
15/5-2006
expressen.se
Men Ronan vågar inte göra en Robbie
LONDON. Take That är tillbaka efter tio år och fansen jublar. Är det dags för pojkbandet Boyzone att göra detsamma?
Expressen
träffade ex-medlemmen som sätter sig på tvären - Ronan Keating
Okej, det är inte hela Take That som är ute och turnerar. Robbie Williams saknas,
men han har lovat göra några inhopp.
Boyzone har inte spelat tillsammans sedan 1999. Dags för dem att haka på?
- Nej,
det kommer inte att hända, säger Ronan Keating när Expressen träffar honom i London.
Har
inte förlåtit än
- Jag har bra kontakt med de andra killarna i bandet och pratar regelbundet med dem. Men det finns
andra personer i anslutning till bandet som jag inte vill arbeta med.
Det handlar framför allt om bandets manager Louis
Walsh. De två rök ihop rejält för några år sedan och Ronan Keating har inte förlåtit honom.
Samtidigt är det förstås lockande
att sälja idén om en Boyzone turné så här i kölvattnet på Take Thats återuppståndelse. Ronan Keating medger att han är förvånad
över hur många biljetter bandet sålt.
- Det är jätteskoj att de är tillbaka och jag ska försöka se dem någon gång. Det
var det bästa pojkbandet live.
- Och jag förstår ju att det snackas om Boyzone nu. Men det vore ju väldigt generande om
vi återförenades och inte sålde några biljetter.
femalefirst
Ronan Keating says Boyzone will never reform like Take That have.
The singer left the Irish boy band in 1999 to pursue a solo career and insists he has no interest in reuniting
with his old bandmates.
He said: "Why are people so f**king interested? What Take That have done is great, but East 17 got back together
and they couldn’t even sell out a small show in London."
14/5-2006
take five minuts
-
Keating Wants To Act 
ContactMusic - May 10 10:25 AM Irish pop crooner RONAN
KEATING is ready to give up music to launch his acting career. After stints in boyband BOYZONE and a successful solo career,
- iPod fever: no-one is immune
Belfast Telegraph - May 08 1:27 AM Pope Benedict XVI and
Irish singer Ronan Keating are two of a host of celebrities and world leaders to reveal they are not immune to the
allure of owning an iPod.
more news
Ronan news
Pop star Ronan Keating launches the UK's only mobile cancer awareness unit. Get more information
He's achieved over 10 years of success in the music industry, but Ronan Keating's personal greatest achievement
was walking the length of Ireland - twice - in 2003 and 2005 to raise money for the Marie Keating Foundation, the cancer charity
founded in his mother's name and Cancer Research UK.
The proceeds from Ronan's walk helped to fund mobile cancer awareness units around Ireland, and Cancer Research
UK is now launching the same initiative in the UK.
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