BOYZLIFE are returning to Northern Ireland and have called Belfast the “best place” to kick off their world tour.
The pop superduo - comprising Boyzone’s Keith Duffy and Westlife’s Brian McFadden - will take to the stage at the Ulster Hall in January.
“The energy that we get off the audience is phenomenal,” Duffy enthuses of his experiences playing concerts in the north from the start of his musical career in 1993.
“The shows that we do up here in Belfast are always incredible because we have that connection with the crowd, they just let their hair down and have a great time – and that’s just the fellas.”
Duffy and McFadden formed the group in 2015, combining their talent and experience from previously being in two of the biggest boy bands of the 90s and early 00s.
“Our paths had crossed a lot over the years, and we always got on well,” Duffy explains.
“Then when Brian came back from living in Australia we met up and he invited me to a show he was playing in Whelan’s in Dublin.”
During this period Duffy had just wrapped up a six-month stint on the West End and was planning to tackle a one-man show.
“I’d done everything else, and theatre is terrifying,” he says.
“And there’s something about that fear that ignites me, so I thought the ultimate fear would be doing it on my own.
“But then I thought, ‘Actually, this doing it on your own business doesn’t sound that good anymore’, so I asked Brian to do it with me.
“The two of us sat down, wrote the show, put the tickets on sale and we sold out 52 venues in four hours.
“That tour stared in 2016 and aside from Covid we’ve been on the road ever since.”
In September the duo released their latest single ‘I Would’ which pays homage to their nine-year partnership.
“We’re on our second original album now,” says McFadden.
“‘I Would’ really celebrates that because it’s a song about a relationship that nobody believed would last – that everybody doubted from day one.
“Even though the road was rocky to get to where we are now, we wouldn’t change a single thing as it got us to where we are today.
“Every punch we’ve taken, every tear we cried - we would do it all over again as it’s what brought us together to this path we are on.”
Agreeing, Duffy says the secret to their long-lasting collaboration is that they’re “very honest with each other”.
The shows that we do up here in Belfast are always incredible because we have that connection with the crowd, they just let their hair down and have a great time – and that’s just the fellas
— Keith Duffy
“Even if we’ve had a blazing row and fallen out, we’ve always had that ability to look at the bigger picture and understand that whatever it is that we’re fighting about is based on tiredness,” he explains.
“Both of us have been in bands with five members and we’ve seen how certain members used to hit off each other and create a bad environment for the rest of the band so we know how to avoid that sort of situation.”
McFadden adds: “I think when we had arguments during the first half of the nine years it was just because we were in different moods at different times, and we’d get annoyed at each other because we weren’t on the same page.
“But now we know how to manoeuvre that situation and we’re very aware of each other’s space.”
Now the pair agree their relationship is stronger than ever and they’re in “the best place (they’ve) ever been”.
“It still feels new for us,” explains McFadden.
“Every tour is different and making original music is a new thing for us too.
“And because of our past experience we’re very aware that this can get very intense and that’s when it’s stops being enjoyable.
“We never want this to feel like a job, we never want it to feel like the old days where you felt like it was a chore, and you almost hated doing it – we will never let it get to that point again.”
Although Duffy was in Boyzone for seven years and McFadden was with Westlife for six both say that their time in Boyzlife has “gone by so much faster”.
“Because we have fun, the last nine years have felt quicker than the six years I was in Westlife,” confessed McFadden.
“We really enjoy what we do and working with each other which hopefully bodes well for the tour next year.”
In January, the dynamic duo will be embarking on their first world tour together, starting in Ireland before heading to Britain, the United States, Australia, Europe and Asia.
“Our show is a step down memory lane because nostalgia is alive and well,” says Duffy.
“People love to be transported back in time and that’s what this show is all about. It’s a great night to just kick back and let your hair down and forget the world exists.”
Boyzlife play Belfast’s Ulster Hall on January 15 2025, Ticketmaster.ie
