While we all got to know and love the members of Boyzone, there were another two singers when the band initially formed that say they're responsible for its massive success.
One claimed to be the original frontman instead of the adored Ronan Keating, and another said it was he who thought up the idea for the band when he was just 15 - and who still calls himself the founder. The five members of one of the world’s biggest boybands were reunited recently when they came together to take part in a new docu-series that delves into the often murky reality behind their huge international success.
Sky’s Boyzone: No Matter What looks at the lives of Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch before, during and after their time in the band. Formed in 1993 by X Factor judge Louis Walsh, they sold more than 25 million records worldwide with hits such as Love Me For A Reason and No Matter What. Following their split in 1999 they reunited in 2007 but faced tragedy both personally and professionally two years later when their bandmate and "brother" Stephen suddenly died from symptoms relating to an undiagnosed heart condition. It broke the remaining boys, who all suffered greatly in their individual ways trying to come to terms with his loss.
After going back on tour two years later, they realised it was no longer working and eventually split for good in 2018 after their 25th anniversary. Each member of the band shares their highs and lows from their Boyzone days in the three-part series but it’s Mikey who seemed to struggle with the pressures of success most. Now unrecognisable from his boyband days, he currently lives a rural life in Ireland and admits in the trailer, "I just wanted out" and "to get away from that toxic environment."
There were however two other original members who very much wanted to stay in Boyzone but who were kicked out right at the beginning by founder and future X Factor judge Louis Walsh . Richard Rock and Mark Walton were recruited to the line-up following auditions with Louis but never went on to enjoy the incredible fame and wealth the band’s success created.
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RTE)For Richard, his sacking from Boyzone proved to be pivotal in his personal decline. He’s the son of Irish singing legend Dickie Rock who died in December aged 88, so had grown up with a performing background. He joined Boyzone in the early 90s and appeared with them dancing to a backing track on The Late Late Show in 1993, but his 'bad boy' image didn't quite work with Louis' plan to have a clean cut boyband for the young fans.
He previously spoke of being booted out of the band and having to watch their rise to fame from the sidelines with the Irish Independent, saying: "I arrived into Shaft nightclub on Ely Place and I was pretty wasted on E [ecstasy] and Louis and [manager] John [Reynolds] told me I was out of the band. I was, like, 'Whatever.' I spent the next few years watching them getting bigger and bigger and I just went off the rails for a while. It did affect me and my life."
Richard, who claimed it was he who was the frontman originally and not Ronan, turned to DJing in Dublin and songwriting but he was battling with an addiction to hard drugs. Speaking about taking heroin in 1994, he admitted: "It blocked out all the crap that was in my head, because I was just so frustrated. I didn't have any direction about what I wanted to do. I really wanted to do music, but I couldn't see any way out. It was just a dark space I was in. When I was taking heroin, it lifted me."
His life continued to spiral and he received a two-year suspended sentence for the possession of heroin in June 1998. His father Dickie was distraught at his son’s fate and blamed himself for attracting publicity to his suffering. However, after previous failed attempts, Richard completed a five week stay in rehab in 2004.
He went on to find work with a media company and performed as part of an electronic duo called Lectrosoul. In 2018 he married Iranian photographer and videographer Sadaf Javan. The couple were based in Goa and also lived in Iran for a while. While on a visit to Dublin in 2018 during which Sadaf met Richard’s father for the first time, he told the Sun: "We're working in India, based in Goa, doing a lot of videography and photography for a lot of events and parties and then I've been producing music and doing a lot of gigs there."
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Facebook)Mark on the other hand did go on to enjoy immediate professional success despite being ditched from the band by Louis. He maintains on his Linkedin profile that he is a co-creator/ founder of Boyzone and he thought up the concept when he was just a teenager: "At the age of 15, I came up with the idea for Boyzone. I started to put the band together, during this process I met Louis Walsh and ask him to get involved.. The rest is history..." it states on his page.
Although he wasn’t a part of the formidable final line-up, he went on to become a member of Dublin-based pop band Fifth Avenue for four years. He also started to work behind the scenes in the music industry with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias and Shaggy and acted as the business and personal manager of boyband Blue for three years until 2014. He also managed Irish girlband B*Witched, which Boyzone Shane Lynch’s twin sisters Keavy and Edele were a part of. He used his experience to help young hopefuls on the south-east Asian version of Pop Idol, in which he was a judge on Vietnam Idol.
He made headlines in 2016 when he claimed to be a billionaire, telling the Irish Sun: "I never planned to be in a position where I could be a billionaire from Ireland. Right now, I have the crazy glamour, big-name side to what I'm doing in my career that I think no one expected of me. And I intend to do a lot more with it than buy Lamborghinis and spend my time on the beach."
However it hasn’t all been plain-sailing for Mark. In March 2018 his ex-partner Sabrina Kouider was found guilty of murder. Sabrina and her partner Ouissem Medouni murdered French nanny Sophie Lionnet over a false belief that she was having an affair with Mark. Her body was found badly burned in the garden of a London home.
The Boyzone founder, who was based in Los Angeles, gave evidence at the Old Bailey during the trial, stating that he was left 'emotionally broken' after his split from Kouider. He also told the court he had never heard of the nanny until she was killed. Kouider and Medouni were jailed for life in 2018 and ordered to serve at least 30 years behind bars after being convicted of murder.
Have you watched the Boyzone documentary? Tell us what you thought in the comments below.
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