If Ronan Keating knew he’d be facing three generations of music lovers at once in Hong Kong, he probably would have crawled back into bed.
But being the professional that he is, the hungover twenty six year old
Dubliner gamely matched wits with Molly, who at 12 made her journalistic debut.
HMV864 radio host Alyson was next. And finally, veteran journalist Scott
followed. It’s a formula that we hope to repeat again with more musicians in
the future.
On a day in which Keating knew he’d be performing before thousands of Hong
Kong fans at the Hong Kong Convention Center on his "Destination"
tour, he frankly spoke about his future ambitions, made surprising revelations
about his own career, got emotional about recent projects and told us "Who
da man". After downing what seemed like countless cups of coffee, Keating
said he thoroughly enjoyed himself. We did too….Here’s what transpired…
Molly: You say you love Hong Kong. What, in particular, do you love about it?
Ronan: I love cities. New York, Hong Kong and Paris are my favorite places to
really hang out in the world….and Sydney. I just like the buzz of cities and
Hong Kong has got it. At night it’s beautiful and during the day it’s wild.
I just like it. I like the people. I like the vibe. I like its pace. I like
cities. I don’t like going on holidays to beaches. I get bored. I like to keep
on the move. I’ve been here five or six times and I’ve seen most of Hong
Kong. I’ve gotten to know the whole idea of the Kowloon and Hong Kong side. I’m
only starting to figure that out now…but now I’m getting there!
Molly: I’ve been watching the new video "We’ve Got Tonight". Are
you a Bob Seger fan?
Ronan: Yeah. I like Bob Seger very much. I continue to listen to him. The Kenny
Rogers, Sheena Easton version was great too. It was a different twist on it. The
original version with Bob Seger was just fantastic. He’s got such a great
voice, such a distinctive sound, really.
Molly: Why did you choose to work with Lulu?
Ronan: What actually happened was that Lulu came to me and said she was working
on the duets album. She worked with Paul McCartney, Elton John, Westlife, a huge
list of people on the album. She asked me if I’d sing on it and I said
"Yeah, as long as you let me pick the song!" I picked it and it’s
one of my all time favorite love songs and the first opportunity I’ve had to
do a duet with a woman really. So I thought ‘Let’s do it.’
Molly: Is a guest vocalist going to sing with you tonight?
Ronan: No. My backing vocalist Janet Ramus, who has performed with me on the
whole tour, will do it. The odd time in different countries like Germany, I did
a different version of the duet. And, in Italy, I did a different version of the
duet with a girl there. There was supposed to be a duet out here in Asia with a
lady but it didn’t work out, sadly.
Molly: My school friends are jealous because I’m here. When you were at school
were you a swot or a rebel?
Ronan: Well, I wasn’t a rebel or a swot, but I had no time for school at all.
I was terrible. I was too busy listening to music. Sport was a way out too.
Today, I read a lot now. I regret not paying more attention to school,
definitely. But, I’ve definitely learned more on the road than I’ve ever
learned in school.
Personally, I’ve learned a lot more being streetwise, being on the road. But,
I definitely believe in an education. It’s very important. I have two children
myself, so it’s very important that they go through school and pay as much
attention as possible. I would have loved to have learned a language. French, I
didn’t pay attention for one minute! And now, I’m trying to learn French. I
mean, it’s stupid. Why didn’t I just learn at school for free? Now, I’m
paying someone to teach me. I wish I’d learned more about music when I was
younger. I wish I learned an instrument. I play the guitar now, but it’s self
taught. I wish I had piano lessons and guitar lessons when I was a kid. I would
have loved that….so I recommend it.
Scott: The wishes we have!
Ronan: I know, tell me about it! Regrets, more so!
Molly: Have you ever snuck into anything, like a concert, or movies?
Ronan: Yeah, I remember when I was a kid, one guy would pay to go into the
movies and then he’d open the exit door and we’d all run in. We used to do
that all the time. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we’d all pitch in and
one guy would go in when the movie starts and open the side door. Innocent
stuff.
Molly: Suede was in Hong Kong last month and Bret Anderson’s fly kept coming
undone. Has anything embarrassing ever happened to you at a concert?
Ronan: Many, many things. I’ve fallen offstage. I’ve forgotten the words. I
remember one time I was with Steven onstage and his trousers split all the way
up the middle! We’ve had some funny stories, some good laughs.
There’s always something, but nine times out of ten the audience doesn’t
actually notice these things. I’ve forgotten words to songs. Every two or
three nights on every tour I forget the words. But you just make something else
up.
Scott: Is that a moment of sheer panic?
Ronan: It’s a moment when you’re not thinking about what you’re doing.
When it happens it’s really because of the tiredness kicking in. You just
totally forget about what you are doing. And all of the sudden you’re like ‘Ohhhhhhhh’(laughs)
and you try to remember something. Then you just look at somebody else and they
will shout the words to ya.
Molly: Do you have a pre concert routine?
Ronan: Before the show I’ll get there about an hour before, there’s usually
a "meet and greet". Then I just start warming up. I just start
singing. I drink some honey and lemon and warm up my voice. Lots and lots of
singing. I do the scales. I do all that kind of stuff just before the show and
then you get ready. I go in with the band and we sit around together and sing a
song or two together just to get a vibe between us all. That’s it. Then we go
onstage. There’s nothing too weird, ya know?
Molly: Apart from your own, what are the best concerts you’ve ever been to?
Ronan: Bon Jovi for me is probably THE show. Oh no, U2. U2 in Madison Square
Garden on the "Elevation" tour. It was just unbelievable. Best show I’ve
ever seen in my life. But Bon Jovi in Dublin was amazing too. I love rock n’
roll. Pop shows are quite boring, to be honest. I’m allowed to say that now
(chuckles).
Molly: At the end of this Asian tour, you’re going to Britain to do a huge
tour there. Do you get sick of going out on the road?
Ronan: Being on tour is the best part of doing what I do. Definitely. It’s
freedom. You’ve got creative control yourself. You don’t have a record
company…I mean, there’s no problem with record company people but they do
put their nose in and try and, you know….
But when I’m on stage I’ve got an hour and a half to do what I want to do
with the band. It’s magic. It’s incredible. And you look out and see the
faces of the people singing back to you. It’s magic. You can’t beat that.
Molly: Ever since you’ve been coming to Hong Kong, is it different from all
the other audiences in other cities?
Ronan: Yeah. Nine times out of then the shows are the same, but you do get some
cities where people are very reserved, like in Manila. I thought it would be
wild, but everybody just sat down and looked at me! I said, ‘Get up out of
your seats!’ But they just sat there. I was thinking ‘Get out of here!’
Scott: Is it really hard when it’s like that?
Ronan: It’s really difficult. They’re the hard shows. It’s really
difficult when an audience is just sitting there looking at you. Most of the
time, everyone is standing on their seats, so it’s a good laugh!
Molly: Did you every have the idea of doing a different kind of music?
Ronan: Slowly but surely I’m moving towards rock n’ roll. That’s really
where my heart lies. I say rock n’ roll but I mean, guitar driven songs. I
write a lot of the songs myself now and I’m playing them so that’s really
where my songs are going. Kind of a David Gray, Bryan Adamsey feel about them.
Scott: You said you were writing with Bryan Adams recently…
Ronan: Yeah, Bryan and I are writing for the album. I’m writing with a bunch
of guys. I’m writing with Ricky Ross from Deacon Blue and Bryan some in my
band: Carolyn and James. Yeah, so I’m just writing with everyone.
Scott: That must be a treat. Bryan approaches songs as craft and you must be
learning so much from him.
Ronan: Ah, he’s fantastic. He’s brilliant. We were down in Cape Town(South
Africa) over New Year’s Eve and he was doing a couple of shows and I was on
holiday with my family. So he called me up and said ‘I heard you were in town.’
And I said ‘Heard you were in town too.’ And it was like ‘Come on down to
the show.’ I got there and Bryan’s promoter said ‘Bryan’s been learning
to play "The Way You Make Me Feel" all day, so will you sing it with
him onstage?’ I said, ‘Yeah, of course I will.’ So, the encore, the last
song, he calls me up and in front of ten thousand people in Cape Town. It was
just wild. It was brilliant! The place went crazy. We had such a blast. He’s a
good friend, a great guy.
Molly: Many musicians are going into acting. Have you ever thought of going into…
Ronan: Yeah! I’m actually going out to LA this year. I’ve been offered three
or four scripts this year and I turned a few of them down. But I’m going out
to do a screen test for a movie in June, so we’ll see what happens with that.
It might not happen, but it might.
Scott: Do you want it to happen?
Ronan: I’d like to try. I’d like to get it out of my system. I might be crap
at it. I might be good. I don’t know, but I’d like to get it out of my
system.
Scott: You say you wrote scripts as well.
Ronan: Yeah. I wrote a couple of movie scripts. I never really did anything with
them but I’ve hooked up with a new guy. Well…everybody knows who he is…a
guy called Kevin Spacey(laughs…everybody laughs), a little actor! So he’s
helping me out by developing some of the stuff that I’ve done, so we’ll see.
He started with a new website called Trigger Street dot com. He’s helping me
out there so we’ll see what happens.
Scott: That’s a bit of help.
Ronan: Yeah, a little, slightly! He’s kind of known so….
Scott: Can you pass this on to people? Yeah, I’ll see what I can do…
Ronan: Exactly!
Molly: Have you seen the "Lord Of The Ring" movies?
Ronan: I’ve seen them all. I’m a movie fan, a real movie fan. When the
movies come out, I go to the cinema, maybe two or three times a week! So I’ve
seen everything now and that’s the problem. I see everything and then there’s
nothing to see. So I go to see the movies again…the same movie even. I just
love the experience…going in and getting some popcorn and a hotdog and sitting
down in front of a big screen. So when I made a few grant I went and bought
myself a home cinema system. I’ve got a projector and all. And I joined the
Irish Classification board, so they send me movies before they come out. I just
like to watch movies. I really do. It’s just such a getaway for me. It’s a
real getaway.
Molly: Who da man? Aragon, Legalas or (all Lord Of the Rings characters)?
Ronan: Probably Aragon. I would say Aragon. How about you? Who do you think?
Molly: Legalas.
Ronan: Aragon is the son of the king right? With the long hair?
Molly: Yes.
Ronan: Yeah, he’s the man! If I want to play a role in a movie, I’d like to
play someone like Aragon.
Molly: I was looking at this magazine yesterday, "Top Of The Pops" and
in there it’s got this quote about embarrassing dates…
Ronan: Oh no, what did it say?
Molly: You said ‘I’m married now, so I don’t date, but letting it rip is
something I’ve definitely done. It doesn’t go down very well.’ But I just
wanted to see if it’s something you actually said.
Ronan: It has happened to me. I probably would win! (laughs) No, I’m not that
bad. But I get up in the morning and it’s never a good idea to date in the
morning. It takes a while for your system to get going. But yeah, it happens.
Molly: What’s your wife’s favorite of all your songs and why?
Ronan: I don’t really bring it home. I try not to bring what I do home. I don’t
hang discs on the walls and I don’t play in front of the kids really. I want
to try and keep it as normal as possible. She liked "Picking Me Up".
That was one of the songs she liked on the last album. Yeah.
Molly: After a long tour, what’s the first thing you want to do?
Ronan: I like to go home, and stand in the kitchen while drinking a coffee with
my friends around. Also, hang out with the kids and go for a walk with the kids.
It’s pretty normal. I like to drive. I like to get out on a bike. I like
bikes, so I like getting out on my motorbike. That’s something I like to do.
It clears your head. I do that when I get home. Just to go down to the grocery
store. Any excuse. Get on the bike and just go.
Molly: Do you have anything to say to your Hong Kong fans?
Ronan: Well, I hope they enjoy the show tonight. I hope they love the record and
I hope they continue to like what I do. I think the most important thing is that
I keep the people happy that I’ve already made happy. But, if I can bring some
new ears along the way then, that’s a bonus.
Alyson: Enjoying Hong Kong so far?
Ronan: As always, having a ball. Great time.
Alyson: Busy in 2003 so far?
Ronan: Yeah, it has been crazy. Last year was the craziest year I’ve ever had.
2002 was crazy and this year is starting out just as crazily. But I’m going to
take off. I’m going to make the album in June, July, August and September. I’m
going to LA and working on some stuff out there. So I think the rest of the year
will be pretty relaxed. That is the plan, but it never happens.
Alyson: So now that you are a solo artist, would you have rather started out as
a solo artist?
Ronan: Yeah, but I wouldn’t have gotten here as quickly, as easily. It would
have been really slow. I started off in the music industry when boy bands were
the thing. That was the push. That was THE big deal. It was easier having an
opportunity as boy band then it would have been as a solo artist.
Now, if I started in 2003, it probably would have been easier to be a solo
artist. But then, it was easier to be in a boy band…so it worked.
Alyson: But there are still a lot of boy bands around.
Ronan: There is, yeah. But their days are numbered, for sure. Bands like
Westlife and bands that were already there, fine. But for new bands to come
along. Bands like Blue, it’s easier for them. But for new bands to come along
it’s more difficult. I don’t think we’ll be seeing a lot of boy bands, in
the next ten years….new boy bands. You’ll see Westlife and Blue, but for new
ones it will be difficult.
Alyson: Okay. I’ve got some names here. Since you’re the one that helped
Westlife to stardom, I was wondering if you could tell us who would do well in
the business and who should just pack up….
Ronan: Okay, I’ll try….
Alyson: Gareth Bates.
Ronan: Gareth’s a really nice guy. I don’t think he wants to be around. I
don’t think he will for a long long time. That’s no disrespect to Gareth,
but….I have a real problem with the Pop Idol, Pop Star thing because they way
it was put together and the way they control it, it’s just too overpowering.
It’s just waiting to explode.
On the other hand, somebody like Will, who has taken the reins a little, it’s
the same situation as Gareth. But for me, it’s like Will has taken the reins
and is trying to go a different road. Gareth has taken the road everybody has
expected him to take and Will hasn’t and I think Will will probably be around
longer.
Alyson: Blue?
Ronan: Great bunch of guys. I mean they are actually friends of mine. These guys
are great fun. They’ve got great energy. I like the records they are making.
They’re good quality pop songs. Those guys will be around as long as they want
to be around. I think, personally.
Alyson: How about Tatu?
Ronan: I don’t even know who they are. Sorry, I don’t think they’ll be
around!
Alyson: Norah Jones?
Ronan: Best album of 2002. Unbelievable. I mean it’s on my CD player upstairs.
When I get up in the morning it’s on. I mean, it’s my chillout, just waking
up album. It’s just genius.
Alyson: So you’re betting your money on her for the Grammys…
Ronan: Oh yeah! If she doesn’t get Grammys, there is no justice.
Alyson: Cool. We’re talking about awards shows and the Brit Awards are
actually happening tomorrow!
Ronan: Tomorrow, I’m supposed to be going! I’m not going to go.
Alyson: So who do you think is going to be the big winner?
Ronan: Who’s going to be the big winner? They always give them to obscure acts
because they want to be cool. They gave them to people like Air and stuff like
that. Who are they….they’re gone! Craig David should have gotten awards and
he didn’t. Coldplay are going to clean up this year. There’s no doubt about
that! The Sugababes should get something. They probably won’t but they should.
Bands like Atomic Kitten, who’ve done a great job in the pop charts around the
world should, but they won’t. Blue should, but they won’t. So for me, the
one who WILL will be Coldplay and they deserve it. That album is an incredible,
fantastic album. It’s another one of my favorites.
Alyson: Now what do you enjoy doing the most. Show host? Singer?
Ronan: I hate hosting shows, absolutely hate it.
Alyson: Really? Why?
Ronan: It’s just not me. I do it because they ask me and it’s great exposure
and there are three hundred people watching the MTV Awards. I wasn’t going to
say no to that. But for me, it’s performing. It’s what I love to do. It’s
just fantastic.
Alyson: How important are family, music and money to you?
Ronan: Money means nothing. For me, it’s important because it gives my kids a
future. But it’s the root of all evil. There’s no doubt about it. I’ve
fallen out with so many people because of money. It’s a killer. I hate it.
But personally, the most important thing is my family. They mean everything to
me. They give me a focus and a reason for doing what I do. Otherwise, why in
hell would I be doing this? It’s crazy. It’s bizarre! It’s a birzarre life
for anyone to lead.
Alyson: Yeah. You’re always touring but you’re not with the whole family.
Ronan: They travel with me a lot of the time. They’ve been to Australia, South
Africa, Europe and the UK. They didn’t come out to Asia. It’s too difficult
with the kids. There’s a lot of hopping around.
Alyson: How do you maintain a good relationship with the family?
Ronan: You make it work. I mean, it works. There’s no two ways about it. I
fell in love and got married and that’s what happens.
Alyson: You’ve released seven solo singles. Two outstanding solo albums. Did
you imagine that you’d come this far?
Ronan: I always had hopes and dreams but never imagined that I’d get this far
this quickly. I know it’s been ten years, a long time in the pop business.
Actually, it’s a long time for anyone. But for me, it’s a short time. I
mean, I can’t believe I’m here already. So I’d like to be here for another
twenty or thirty years. We’ll see what happens.
Alyson: Recently, in an interview, you said ‘I’m no longer interested in
being number one. You’re just kidding right?
Ronan: I’m not interested in having a number one single anymore. I’m
interested in having number one albums, fine. The race for the singles. It means
nothing. A single is a tool to sell albums. People forget that. England is one
of the only countries in the world where it’s all about the singles market.
Nine times out of ten, it’s all about the albums market everywhere else, which
is the real deal.
England needs to change a little there. The UK needs to change. It’s actually
destroying the industry, the way that they battle for these singles charts. It
means nothing, the singles. It’s far more important that the album does well.
I’m lucky I can say that because I’ve had six number one albums. But it’s
true. It’s really true.
Alyson: Now, in this music trip, where is your final destination?
Ronan: God knows. Madison Square Garden maybe. I don’t know. I have different
goals and then I push the goalposts farther back and find a new one. So when I
get to that one maybe I’ll push it back. The song at my funeral will be my
last trip of music. Who knows…
Scott: I’ll finish up here. The video "Tomorrow Never comes" is
amazing. I was watching the behind the scenes last night. So you worked with
Kevin Godley before…
Ronan: Yeah. Kevin’s a good friend, a very good friend.
Scott: How did you come up with the concept and then work it out?
Ronan: The whole idea was to kind of follow the storyline of the song. Kevin and
I just talked day in and day out with different ideas and eventually we met at
the middle.
Our first idea was kind of the ghost idea that I was kind of following. And then
that kind of evolved into me being around. Then what happened was me being
knocked down by a car. And it just followed the lyrics of the song. It was cool,
and the special effects were good and we had a laugh making the video. I had to
fall a hundred times. It hurt like hell but it was great. I had to wear this
stupid ski mask and the way they did it with the computers was amazing. They
chopped my head off and put my head against a green screen.
Scott: So it was a real education.
Ronan: Oh, it was! It was unbelievable. I learned a lot from making that video.
It was great. Really cool.
Scott: You did an AIDS documentary in Thailand.
Ronan: I did indeed. Incredible experience. I went to Chiang Rai, Northern
Thailand. They don’t have TVs or magazines so they don’t know who I was. I
was going there for the rest of the market(Asia) to educated them about AIDS.
That was kind of the idea.
Scott: Were you contacted by MTV?
Ronan: Once or twice a year I like to get involved with a couple of projects. I
put it out there and let them come back to me. So the team out here and
Universal and Unicef and that’s how it came about. It was an incredible
experience. It was a real eye opener for me.
Scott: So for people who haven’t seen it, you were obviously exposed to people
who have AIDS…
Ronan: Yeah. I went to some hospitals where there are children infected and
affected by AIDS. I went to households where adults were infected and affected
by AIDS.
The hardest of all was when I went to a five year old girl’s house and both
her parents had died from AIDS. She was too young and they didn’t know if she
had AIDS yet. She was being taken care of by her grandparents. You didn’t see
it on the documentary because I asked them not to film. It was just
heartbreaking. And…I’ll never forget it. I will never forget that little
girl.
I was leaving Dublin and Yvonne(my wife) said ‘The kids have so many toys
here. Why don’t you bring a bag of toys?’ To be honest, I was like ‘Oh
Jesus, I don’t really want to lug that bag all the way to Chiang Rai.’
Yvonne had packed this big bloody bag. And, I was being selfish. And she said
‘Just bring the bloody thing. Just bring it for God’s sake! You check it in
at Dublin and you won’t have to see it until Chiang Rai!’ I said ‘Alright.’
And it was the most rewarding experience I ever had in my whole life.
Because I opened the bag and took out these two little teddy bears and I handed
them to the little girl and she just clung on to them. She didn’t have any
toys or anything. She just clung on to these two little teddy bears. And these
were my childrens’. They had played with them beforehand. I’ll never forget
it. It was unbelievable. It was very emotional and an incredible experience.
Thank God my wife convinced me to bring the bag, ya know? How selfish we can be
with things.
Scott: It’s amazing how the little things…
Ronan: Little things. Amazing. What an incredible experience.
Scott: You worked with Gregg Alexander (ex New Radicals). Great songwriter. Let’s
just see where this goes. You want to move into a rock direction. You still want
to work with him and Bryan Adams and…
Ronan: Yeah….Gregg and I made an album together. My problem was that I feel I
may have made a Gregg Alexander album on "Destination" rather than a
Ronan Keating album. I’ve been honest with Gregg.
Scott: What’s a Ronan Keating album to you though? You’ve threatened that
for a while.
Ronan: I know I have. I thought I was making it with "Destination" but
I think maybe I haven’t now. I learnt that. The stuff I’m writing now feels
a lot more natural to me. So…
Scott: So based on what’s happening in the world now at the moment, are there
any issues that you want to tackle?
Ronan: I have been. I have been writing about it. Obviously, it’s a very
delicate matter but we can’t avoid it anymore. I’m getting to an age where
now…I was in a boy band so I didn’t really tackle it because our fans were
so young. But my fans aren’t kids anymore. It’s not like I’m brainwashing
them. My fans are adults who know what they want and can think for themselves.
So I think I can talk about it now.
Scott: So what do you want to say?
Ronan: The obvious things. The situation with the world right now. I don’t
want to sound like a Miss World contestant, but obviously peace. That’s what
we’re all after. I’ve got views on the super powers and the Bushes and the
Blairs. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what comes out in the wash.
Scott: Thank you very much.
Ronan: Thank you guys. I enjoyed that. Cheers