Keith Duffy(Boyzone) and his girlfriend Lisa Smith aren't married but they are already parents. "I was panic cause i was afraid that i wouldn't be a good father, after all i am still a growing child myself". Admit Duffy, 22. But he is attacking the critics. "They said i'm giving bad example for the youth and boyzone's fans will get pregnant out of marriage because of me. That's crap!"
It's not easy to be in a successful band: The ffans running after you, you don't have a private life, you need to be secretly when you're going out with your girlfriend and worse - at least to the fans who're dreaming about you, fantasies about you, following after you - discovering that you are a dad and have a baby! Above all that the fact that the baby born in Ireland, a catholic country, wihtout his parents been married and there you go, you have a scandal that is in every paper.
Keith Duffy from Boyzone was the first in the band that had a baby. Mike Graham folllowed him, but since it was unplanned pregnancy Graham didn't expose his baby to the public and until now there hasn't been publish a picture of him with his daughter. Duffy, on the other hand, didn't hasitate to be interviewed and take pictures with his son Jordan and his fiance Lisa Smith in a few interviews in Ireland and England.
Thinking back, he might even had to give up this explosion that brought him a little aggravation.
Smith and Duffy met about five years ago at a club in Dublin, Ireland. It wasn't love from first sight and maybe because she's older than him in four years. But still, three months later they gave up for love, Duffy joined the boys group that became Boyzone and Smith continued to work in expensive clothes shop in Dublin. When Boyzone started to become famous, the publishers tried to hide it but not completely since Keith didn't impprove it. LIsa Smith came to Boyzone's concerts every chance and said she never got jealous in the fans and didn't felt to stand in the middle of the crowd and scream 'his mine!'. "On the stage he is completely different from the man i know", she said, "but when he's coming home, Keith is the man i love, simple and cute, one who don't let the success get over his head".
Duffy, said he never let Lisa a reason to be afraid that he'll cheat on her. "It took her a while to believe not to trust anything you read in the papers", he said, "when you are a member in a band you are expected to be available, without a girlfriend, the important thing is that me and her knows that whatever that is print on me sometimes not true".
They talk about waanting to have babies, but they agreed to wait a while - to get married, to have an apartment, earn more money and save for the future and only then start thinking about frowing the family. But even all the planes that made, Jordan Stephen Scott Duffy, their two years old son, born at the hospital in Dublin on 20th April last year.
Q: Keith, when did you know tha tLisa was pregnant?
Keith: "She called me from Dublin to the BBC studios in London a few minutes before we had to go and performed live on Top Of The Pops and she said she's in the 3rd month. How did i feel? Scared. In the next morning i flew to Dublin and took her to her doctor. I didn't came in so that nobody will see me and tell the papers. When Lisa came out with tears i knew tha tit's true. She's pregnant.I told myself that i have to be strong for both of us. I told Lisa that "there is no reason to cry, after all we do love eachother". That we planed to have a baby after we'll get married and that the only thing is that the schedule changed. Lisa calm down. The truth, even if i managed to calm her down i was in panic. I thought i won't be a good father. I mean, after all i'm still a growing child myself. Anyway, it was before Lisa got pregnant. But as soon as the baby born all fears disappear completely. Jordan gave me a lot".
Q: How did your parents react when you told them about the pregnancy?
Keith: "We were afraid to tell them but there was no choice. I told my parents: 'You are about to become grandparents', they were really excited and started to cry, all three of them together. I wasn't with Lisa when she told her parents. I know they were angry at me and they were afraid that their daughter will carry on by herself raising the baby while the father, me, having fun with his band. When Lisa told me what they're thinking, i drove there and try to calm them down. I told them i love Lisa and i want to spend the rest of my life with her and the child. Anyway, even if they were upset about me, it passed after the baby was born. They are crazy about Jordan. Both parents, mine and hers have been very helpfull. Without them we wouldn't managed."