The Boyz are back in town
They’ve been around the block, now Shane Lynch and pals have high hopes for a Christmas No1
BOYZONE’S badboy Shane Lynch has teamed up with fellow 90s players for a new grown-up group, Boyz on Block.
The band – former Boyzone star Shane, Abz Love from 5ive, Ben Ofoedu from Phats & Small and Dane Bowers from Another Level – have covered Stay Another Day for their debut single, which also features the song’s w ri t e r Tony Mortimer on piano.
Here Shane, 44, talks about why they got together, playing Scotland and how he’ ll have his first Christmas at home.
Have you been pals for a while?
I’ve known Ben the longest. Ben and I have been pals from 1984. When Boyzone first came to the UK and were London-based, Ben was one of the first pals I made.
Another Level, Dane’s group, supported Boyzone in 1996 for an arena tour and toured with Boyzone, and Abz was on the same record label around the same time as Another Level and pitched against them.
How did you guys get together?
We were booked separately for the same gig at Bournemouth Pride and ended up partying together on stage for the crowd. The papers wrote: “Bad Boyz on the Block get together on stage.” But it wasn’t a band. Back in the 90s, Boyzone and 5ive were seen as rivals but we were never actual enemies. At the Pride gig, Abz and I were talking and he said: “Can you imagine if we did a collaboration how big it would have been between 5ive and Boyzone?” We weren’t writing and recording music but playing an 80s and 90s-era DJ set and from there we thought: “Should we record a record?” So we did and now we’re going for a Christmas No1.
Why did you choose Stay Another Day?
It’s my favourite Christmas song. We’re going to donate some money from the profits to food banks. And we’ll keep doing that with our records. We want to help as many food banks as we can. The more records we sell, the more we can donate.
Boyzone called it a day last year. Do you keep in touch?
They are my family and I’ve had amazing support from the guys. Ro and Keith have been on their socials to support the record.
How do you feel about that infamous Late Late Show appearance in 1993?
I think any opportunity for young artists to be able to go to any of these type of reality or TV shows like X Factor or audition- based shows, no matter who you are, if you are brave enough to give anything a go and make a success of it, hats off to you.
You need to be thankful for that chance and look back and think we created something global from there.
What are your memories of Scotland?
I’ve got amazing memories of Scotland actually, mostly touring scenarios with the Boyzone boys. There’s a certain amount of Celtic crossover and a love of the surroundings.
There’s a hotel in Glasgow called One Devonshire Gardens and Boyzone often spent Christmas there or if we were playing the SECC or later the Hydro we’d have dinner there with the family and crew. It’s very magical and it’s got the winter feeling of being cosy and eating turkey.
During lockdown, it was reported you and your wife Sheena had split. How is Christmas going to be for you?
Christmas this year, crazily enough, is going to be the most normal for me ever. Usually I’m away from family and loved ones doing panto or on tour so it’s super-exciting to be home
for Christmas this year. I’ll be home with my family and with my little girl and wife for the first time in a lifetime. It’ll be a joyous Christmas for me regardless of what’s going on.
You’re also car-mad and have started your own car show?
I go live every Tuesday on Facebook at 7pm with My Dream Machine. I interview folk from music, race car drives and car builders. Raffle off cars. It’s really diverse. I’m hoping to go two nights and then three nights.
What’s the plan for Boyz on Block?
It’s only dawning on us now we are a band with a record out and that we are going for Christmas No1. We then have a cover of K-Ci & JoJo’s All My Life to follow that. Next year, if the government open venues, we’d love to tour. But if that doesn’t happen we’ll keep releasing music. ● Boyz on Block’s Stay Another Day is out now.