Fired up

Ronan Keating lights up

By Tatat Bunnag
Photographs are courtesy of BEC Tero

Irish pop sensation and former Boyzone member Ronan Keating will be performing at Bangkok’s Impact Arena on July 10 as part of his Ronan Keating Fires Live world tour.

During the tour, Ronan will be promoting Fires, his first solo album in five years. With Fires, Ronan and acclaimed producer Gregg Alexander offer up a batch of the kind of upbeat pop songs that the singer’s fans love.

Student Weekly recently had a chat with Ronan on the phone to ask him about his new album, his latest tour and his plans to reunite with Boyzone.

Student Weekly: You’ve performed in Thailand quite a few times over the years. Have you noticed any changes over time?

Ronan: It feels different every time. Thailand has a lot of charm, and Bangkok is such an energetic city. There are so many things going on there. Each time I visit, I get to see a new generation of fans. It’s definitely an exciting feeling.

Student Weekly: Why did it take you five years to release a new album?

Ronan: It took me a while to think about what I really wanted to do with my music and what I wanted my album to sound like. In the end, I found that I wanted to get back to basics and just make a great pop record.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us a bit about the album?

Ronan:Fires is an optimistic and positive pop record. The whole album is about letting go of the past and moving forward. I hope to give people a sense of hope through pop music.

Student Weekly: How did you come to work with producer Gregg Alexander on the new album?

Ronan:Gregg and I worked together on my first record 13 years ago. He’s a good friend of mine and I respect his opinions and his creative talent. I was also a fan of his old band, New Radicals. It was really fun working together again. When you want to rediscover the magic that you created in the past, sometimes you need to work with old friends.

Student Weekly: Do you ever get tired of touring and performing after being in the music business for 20 years?

Ronan:Not really. I love touring and being on the road. For me, performing onstage for my fans is the most important thing. It brings me a lot of pleasure.

Student Weekly: What do you like to do when you have free time on tour?

Ronan:I like to exercise by going to the gym or playing sports. I love playing golf the most. I’ve been playing it for 20 tears and plan to play it forever. I just love it!

Student Weekly: If Boyzone reunite, is there any chance you will perform in Thailand?

Ronan:Boyzone will reunite for a tour later this year to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We felt that we should get back together one more time and celebrate with our fans. We’re excited about recording new material and touring again. It would be amazing if we could perform in Thailand. We’ll have to see what happens.

 

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