Keith Duffy of Boyzlife on getting back on tour: We know most of our fans so it’s a much more intimate show
Irish singers Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy talk about how the music industry has evolved over their careers ahead of going on tour.
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Your support makes all the difference.“If you would have told me 30 years ago when I started in this business that I’d still be in a boyband when I was nearly 50 I would have said ‘Nooo'”, admits 49-year-old Irish singer Keith Duffy.
“But I’m looking forward to getting back on the road again. We love what we do and the fact that we still have an audience to play to and people still want to see us – we’re very grateful.”
Duffy, who rose to fame in the Irish boyband Boyzone in the 1990s, has been performing alongside fellow Irish star Brian McFadden of Westlife in recent years.
They first came together for what was meant to be a one-off tour in 2016 which saw them perform hits from both of the Irish groups. It was here that the “supergroup” Boyzlife was born.
The duo went on to release their debut album, titled Strings Attached, in 2020, and followed it up in 2022 with their second record Old School.
Their dulcet vocals and Irish charm continue to draw in fans, with many supporting them since the early days of their careers.
“Most of our fans have been following us for 25-30 years,” Duffy says over a video call.
“If we have new fans, it’s because it’s their children or their grandchildren.”
The singers have continued to adapt as the music industry has evolved during their careers, but they admit they have found the move from physical records to streaming and downloads a challenge.
“The music business has all changed now, and the kids are so clever with online stuff,” Duffy adds.
“But the most valuable marketing tool still to this day is radio. For those guys to play us old farts… it’s very difficult to get on the radio.
“So we have to rely on the nostalgia of our music.”
And there may be no better time for them to lean into listeners longing for the past as there has been a surge in reunions in the last few years. From Girls Aloud and the Sugababes to Blink-182 and Blur, they have all been “getting the band back together” in the hope of recapturing the allure of the 90s and 00s.
Duffy and McFadden are hoping to create their own nostalgic moments on their upcoming UK tour, which will see them celebrating the hits from Boyzone and Westlife that made them. The 14-date tour is set to kick off in January in Poole, Dorset, before moving to cities including Birmingham, London, Glasgow, and York until March.
Along the way, they will be performing at theatre halls and venues which have a special connection to them as they were where Boyzone played when they first got on the road in 1994.
“The special thing, about playing these theatres, you can see the eyeballs of everybody in the audience”, Duffy reveals
“After 30 years in the business, we know most of our fans, we’ve seen them all before, so it’s a much more intimate, personable show that we do.”
For each tour they have added a musical medley section, having previously blended tracks from various boy bands like the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Take That. This time round, McFadden, 44, says they are keen to take on a girl group medley featuring everyone from the Spice Girls to The Supremes.
Ahead of the tour and as they play festival dates across the summer, including at Rewind and The Weekend festival, the singers have been trying to get themselves in shape, or at least have considered it.
We know most of our fans, we've seen them all before, so it's a much more intimate, personable show that we do.
“We talk about it,” says McFadden with a laugh. “‘For six weeks now we’ll have no drink and we’ll get in great shape’ and then the tour has already started and we’re like ‘Oh, what happened to that?”
Duffy, however, is quick to not be painted with the same brush. “I go to the gym all the time and I do up my game when the tours coming up,” he counters.
“Seven years ago, I was sitting in the gym at eight in the morning waiting for him to turn up. Seven years later, I’m still waiting for him to turn up.”
While they continue to adjust to how the technological revolution has changed the industry, they welcome how it has made life surrounding touring much less stressful. Gone are the days of the singers having to travel across the country to do photoshoots and interviews, as they can mostly now take place remotely.
“I think that’s the one difference between now and then, is that we’ve freed up so much more time that we can actually just enjoy being on tour,” McFadden says.
“It doesn’t feel like work like it used to.”
Alongside preparing for the tour, the pair have continued to write and promise that there will be new music from Boyzlife later this year.
And if they haven’t got enough to keep them occupied, the pair have followed in the footsteps of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who took over ownership of Wrexham football club in 2021, by buying into Chorley FC.
The team currently plays in the National League North, but the singers have set their sights on getting the club promoted next season. The Lancashire-based town also drew them as it reminded them of the area they grew up in within Dublin while Duffy currently resides in Manchester and McFadden is based in Rochdale.
“The thing that I have noticed is how quickly you get emotionally invested in something like this, it’s been driving me mad,” McFadden admits.
“I’ll be sitting there watching the games, and they’ll go 1-0 down and I’ll feel like I’m going to absolutely die.
“And you get so emotionally connected and invested with a club so quickly, I couldn’t believe it.
“I didn’t even know who Chorley (FC) were at this time last year, and now I’m nearly crying every time somebody scores against them.
“I can’t believe we voluntarily got involved in this to bring this kind of stress. But hopefully, if we get promoted next year it’ll be worth it because the joys are always going to outweigh the cons.”
Tickets are available for Boyzlife’s upcoming 2025 tour and their festival appearances are available.