Chapter 4 : Taking off and Over

Louis Walsh told BZ to cherich their few days off over Christmas and New Year since he predicted that 1996 would be even more hectic than the previous 12 months. Louis had his eyes set on a global expansion for the band, as well as bigger tours in Ireland and the UK, not to mention another album. In 1995, BZ has sold 2 M records. Louis's target for 1996 was 6 M and for the group to perform concerts at major venues across the UK, including the Wembley Arena. He also wanted them to establish themselves in the Far East, Japan and Australia, but most importantly, America. Louis Walsh was convinced BZ had a chance in America and he felt that coming from Ireland could work in their favour in a country which so many millions of its citizens have an Irish heritage.

America was the priority for the start of 1996, so the 1st promotional trip BZ made that January was to Miami, Florida. Although the whole daunting North American mountain lay before them, the boys were pleased to hear they were already climbing high in the tricky hills of South America. News filtered through that their singles and the album were selling like crazy in all parts of the continent, especially in Brazil. Louis was so pleased that he had the lads take Spanish lessons, so they could issue special releases of their hits in the local lingo in the future. He said, "The boys are already a huge hit throughout South America and the Spanish lessons are well worth the effort. This is going to be an unreal year - the best ever. They are in the charts in Germany and heading there in France. There's no reason why their popularity shouldn't just keep on growing."

When BZ returned to Ireland, they began remixing the new single and record tracks for their second album. In the meantime, Louis Walsh sealed 3 commercial deals that would help boost the coffers. He agreed the final design for the BZ dolls and signed a major advertising campaign with the makers of Sugar Puffs cereal and 1 with Cadbury's for their cream eggs promotion at Easter. The group also got a fantastic buzz when, unexpectedly, they were ranked alongside some of the greats in the music industry by being nominated in the Best International Newcomer category at the prestigious BRIT awards. Not bad for a band that so many critics have scoffed at.