Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden made their names as boyband stars when they topped the charts as members of Boyzone and Westlife in the 1990s and noughties. Now, as the supergroup duo Boyzlife, they say they are finally making music their own way – and they’re loving it!
Keith, 47 – who’s dad to Jay, 26, and Mia, 21 – and Brian, 41, also believe they’re finally mastering the work/family life balance this time around, having spent months on end away from their families during the early stages of their careers.
Oh, and Brian – who is dad to Molly, 20, and Lilly, 19, with his ex Kerry Katona, and baby Ruby, 10 months, with fiancée Danielle Parkinson – claims he knew it was Mark Feehily disguised as Robobunny on The Masked Singer the whole time… Hmmm, sure you did! We caught up with the pair to find out more…
How would you describe your albumOld School?
Keith: The influences are all the big songs of the 80s that we loved growing up. When you hear them, they transport you back to the happy times. I don’t believe anyone is catering for the kids of today with that sound, so that’s what we’ve tried to achieve.
What are your favourite tracks?
Brian: Burn For You is my favourite.
Keith: All This Time. Brian had a solo career where he had No1 songs all over the world that he wrote. I didn’t do a lot of the
big hits that Boyzone had, so working with Brian now, I get much more out of what we do because I’m singing lead.
It was really difficult in the 90s being in Boyzone because we were so successful, but Shane [Lynch], myself and Mikey [Graham) probably would have been looked upon as not being there for our voices.
It was difficult when my mum and dad came to see us playing Wembley – I wasn’t up front as I was pushed to the back. I’m delighted I get to do what I do with Brian. My dad passed away last year, but he came to a few of our shows and he got to see me up front.
Is touring very different now from when you started out?
Brian: We enjoy it more now. We used to do concerts at night but all day we’d do radio interviews and things like that. But now,
all we pretty much do before
we get on stage is play golf.
Keith: In the 90s, I used to love getting on a plane and a long haul flight. You had a nice bottle of wine and all the latest movies. It was your downtime. Back then, we were run ragged. Now, our favourite part is getting on the stage, as we’re just doing what we love to do.
How does touring and family life work these days?
Keith: It’s tough for Brian as he’s got a brand new baby.
Brian: She’s still very young. We balance our life very well. We make sure our home life does come first. We still love what we do, but it will never trump the time we spend with our families. It’s not like we’re gone for six months any more.
How is Ruby doing, Brian?
Brian: She’s brilliant. She’s sleeping right through, waking up after me!
You’ve both got older kids. What do they make of your career?
Keith: When Jay was growing up, it wasn’t that cool to have his daddy in a boyband, but now we’re older, he comes on tour with us. He’s an actor, so he could be working for six months and have six months off. My daughter loves everything. Brian is like her uncle and she still gets starstruck when he enters the house.
Would you encourage any of them to go into music?
Brian: Molly is doing it and I know Lilly flirted with it.
Keith: Molly is very talented. As an actor, her comedy timing and her accents – she’s brilliant. Being good at accents means you’ve got a good ear, so she can sing.
Brian: It’s whatever they want to do or are passionate about.
Keith: Jay’s had years of anxiety over whether or not he made the right choice. He’s done lots of stuff but you’re constantly waiting on that big one to arrive. Now he’s landed it. A really big one.
Can you tell us anything about it?
Keith: I can’t! It’s the biggest streaming show in the world, so you can probably guess from that. Next year I think he’ll blow up in America.
Keith, do you still have fond memories of Corrie?
Keith: Absolutely. Corrie was amazing. I remember the first time I went into the Rovers and there was Mike Baldwin, Ken Barlow and Fred Elliott – all the real old characters. I was in Corrie at a great time, before all of the big streaming services so people watched terrestrial television. I’d never go back to doing it as a full-time job.
We have to ask aboutThe Masked Singer – Mark was on there…
Brian: He was brilliant. I knew it was him.
Keith: He should have won it. Mark’s voice is phenomenal. He can do things with his voice that men shouldn’t be able to do.
Brian: I’m not a fan of the show. I can see why Mark did it. He said it was a challenge and everyone else in his band had done something. The only one left is I’m A Celeb.
Brian, do you have an update on your wedding plans?
Brian: We planned to get married in South Africa this January,
but it went back into the red zone. We’ve put a hold on it until everything gets back to normal. It was getting a bit stressful so we said, “We have a baby at the moment so we’ll concentrate on her and then when things have settled down we’ll go for it.”
Boyzlife’s album Old School will be released on 6 May and you can preorder it now. For more exclusive interviews, sign up to our daily OK! newsletter.
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