Boyzone weren’t as "squeaky clean" as some people might think.
The Irish boyband – comprised of Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham – will pull the curtain on their 26-year career following five shows at the London Palladium this week, which conclude on Friday night (25.10.19).
And the band – which also featured Stephen Gately until his tragic death at the age of 33 in 2009 – have admitted they were more rock ‘n’ roll than most rock stars in their heyday.
Keith, 45, told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: "The perception of rock stars is that they’re all about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and a boyband is all pretty boys, who are squeaky clean. That was completely f***ing wrong. We were more honest.
"If you look at a rock band, they’ve got long hair that’s permed — how are they cooler than us?
"We had shaved heads and were in the bar until six o’clock in the morning."
Ronan, 42, agreed and told his bandmate: "I’m sure you put a few rock stars to bed over the years and stayed up afterwards."
The ‘Love Me For A Reason’ hitmakers recalled the time they were playing Amsterdam and a fan attached themselves to their people carrier’s spare wheel – and admitted they have no idea what happened to her.
Keith remembered: "We came out of a stage door in Amsterdam and got into one of those American Chrysler-style people carriers that have the spare wheel connected to the back door.
"We were ushered through screaming kids and into the van. But as we drove down the road, the scream wasn’t fading. One of the fans had jumped on to the spare wheel on the back of the van and the scream kept on going and going and going.
"It was only after a while we realised, ‘Hang on, that scream’s not going anywhere’ . . . until the van driver took a sharp right turn and the scream disappeared.
"We never found out what happened to her. That was pretty f*****g crazy."
The shows might not be the last we hear of the four-piece, as they have expressed their desire to follow in the footsteps of Queen and Sir Elton John by having their own musical biopic made about them, after ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Rocketman’ proved a huge hit at the box office.
Mikey, 47, admitted: "There’s a great movie in it, there really is, honest to God. There’s so much to it. There is a huge story."
Shane, 43, teased: "It is the concept of five boys growing up, different individual characters, how we came together, then everybody knows what happens next."
As well as their 25th anniversary tour and album, the band also released final LP ‘Thank You & Goodnight’ in November.