Ronan Keating
It’s more than a decade now since a fresh-faced Dublin teenager called Ronan Keating made his debut in a band called Boyzone. Their mime-and-dance routine on an Irish TV talk show was so bad that the host, Gay Byrne, earned a big laugh when he sarcastically suggested they come back when they were famous.

Seventeen million album sales later, Ronan is still having the last laugh. And, with the release of his third solo album, ‘Turn It On’, he has finally banished the ghost of his boy-band past. Still only 26, the boy has grown into a chart-topping solo singer in his own right.

After years of being depicted as quiet, considerate, modest and polite – all of which is true, earning him a reputation as one of the nicest men in a business full of monstrous egos - he’s finally ready to reveal the real Ronan for the first time.

That’s Ronan the songwriter. Seizing the chance to showcase his talents, he’s had a hand in all but two of the songs on ‘Turn It On’. Inspiration comes everywhere: “When I was making this album I’d sit and I’d watch people for hours in cafes and restaurants, jotting down ideas on paper,” he explains. “Then I’d go home and write a song about them.”

At the same time, Ronan’s voice has acquired a husky edge that is testament not only to his growing maturity, but also his fondness for bourbon. “I feel very proud of this album,” he says with some justification. “I think we’ll get some new ears. It’s going to attract a whole new audience.”

Not that Turn It On represents a radical change of direction; it’s more of a natural progression from what came before. “This is the first time I’ve really been able to say what I wanted to say on record,” he explains, “In the past I’ve been trying to keep the old Boyzone fans happy. I think the majority have stayed with me and believe in what I am doing. I know from all the letters I’ve received that they really love the music and want me to write more of my own stuff.”

Another part of making a clean break from his boy-band past involved a split from his manager Louis Walsh, the man who guided his career from the day when a 14-year-old Ronan first caught his eye (and ears) singing the Cat Stevens song Father & Son at an audition for Ireland’s answer to Take That. But a parting of the ways was inevitable if Ronan was to move on. He’s even written a song about it called On My Way.

“At the end of last year I had had enough,” he confesses. “I felt I was at a crossroads and I either needed to take the reins more or pack it in. I felt I was burning myself out singing other people’s songs. I was not happy with what I was doing musically. Since then I have gone through a lot of changes. The last few months has been fantastic, making the music I wanted to make at last. There is a lot I want to say and a lot I want to get off my chest.”

Written mainly at Ronan’s home near Dublin and recorded in London and LA, Turn It On finds Ronan writing his own lyrics and melodies with a string of talented writers and producers including the Matrix team (Avril Lavigne), Ricky Ross (ex-Deacon Blue), Paul Barry and Mark Taylor (Cher, Enrique), Steve Robson (Busted, Louise), Wayne Hector and David Franks (Christina Aguilera), Gregg Alexander (Mel C, Sophie Ellis-Bextor) and Rob Davies (Kylie, Atomic Kitten).

The results inject a fresh flavour to Ronan’s familiar framework of catchy pop-rock, heartfelt love songs and big emotive ballads. Many of these songs are intimate and personal: First Time is Ronan’s touching tribute to the way his wife Yvonne still makes him feel after five years of marriage and the closing This Is Your Song, was written for his beloved mother Marie shortly after her death from breast cancer.

There’s also a duet with LeAnn Rimes, Last Thing On My Mind, and beautiful versions of Terence Trent D’Arby’s tender Let Her Down Easy and the country standard She Believes In Me, popularised by Kenny Rogers.

Ronan just can’t contain his excitement about what he has achieved with Turn It On. “I’m really over the moon about this album and it excites me to know I wrote these songs,” he declares. “Even if it sells nothing I’ll sit at home and I’ll listen to it!”

One thing’s for sure – that won’t happen.