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MUSIC: Boyzone, MEN Arena, Fri 6th and Sat 7th June

David Sue
4/ 6/2008

BACK in 1993, an aspiring Irish pop manager by the name of Louis Walsh held open auditions to launch a pop band in Dublin.

The objective of the exercise was simple: to create Ireland’s answer to Take That and, hopefully, imitate the huge success of the Manchester boyband.

Fifteen years later, Boyzone, true to form, are once again trying to emulate Take That – by reforming and trying to rewrite history.

Boyzone know very well how to play the fame game.

The five-piece were an all-conquering pop force in the Nineties, clocking up four number one albums and 16 top 10 singles. Boyzone may have lacked Take That’s individual personalities and cheeky humour, but they excelled at saccharine pop covers that appealed to teens and their parents alike, from Love Me for a Reason to When the Going Gets Tough.

The formula was repeated for Westlife (also a Louis Walsh creation) when Boyzone split in 2000. Whilst Take That’s reunion seemed almost inevitable, Boyzone’s reformation was more surprising.

Rumours of ill feeling between members were rife, and lead singer Ronan Keating became a hugely successful solo artist (not forgetting Keith Duffy’s memorable acting stint on Corrie).

The danger for Boyzone is that Take That set incredibly high standards.

Ageing boybands need to do more than perform their hits and rake in the dosh – can Boyzone really ‘do a Take That’ and bring out new material to better their past efforts?