RONAN KEATING: ‘I DON’T EAT CRAZY TAKEAWAYS, I LIKE A RED WINE, BUT I DON’T GO DRINKING CRAZY SPIRITS’

As he celebrates 20 years of solo success and becoming a dad for the fifth time, Ronan Keating talks about grief, worrying less and feeling blessed.

Everybody’s had things they’ve missed during 2020, and for Ronan Keating, not being able to perform on stage has felt like “a piece of me is missing”.

The Irish singer-songwriter knows he’s fortunate though, especially compared with artists who don’t have the financial means to stay afloat during tough times – “and all our crews, drivers, all the people behind the scenes who make stuff happen”.

It’s fair to say he’s worked incredibly hard, and 2020 marks two decades of music industry success for Keating. As well as soaring to global stardom with Boyzone in his 20s, he’s had a stellar solo career – which he’s celebrating with new album, Twenty Twenty. He and wife Storm also welcomed their new baby daughter Coco in March, making Keating a proud dad-of-five (he also has three-year-old son Cooper with Storm, plus Jack, 21, Missy, 19, and Ali, 15, from his first marriage). Yet the selfconfessed “worrier” has had his share of struggles and his life’s been marked by grief – his mum Marie died from breast cancer aged 51, and Boyzone’s Stephen Gately died suddenly in 2009 aged 33.

Today though, a “happy” and “lucky” Keating is counting his blessings. Here’s more…

How does it feel to be marking 20 years as a solo artist?

“I feel very lucky, it’s wonderful, a blessing. Although 2020 does feel like everything’s kind of been put on pause, to have an album out, it’s been a great experience and very enjoyable to look back on the 20 years with joy and a sense of achievement.”

One of the songs on your new album was a tribute to Stephen Gately, wasn’t it? “Yeah, The Big Goodbye, a duet with Rob [Robbie Williams]. Rob was in the studio the week Stephen passed. He started writing this song after hearing the news, and 10 years later he reached out to me.

“The first time I heard it was very emotional. I remember standing in my kitchen when Rob emailed it to me, with tears in my eyes. It was the 10-year anniversary [of losing Stephen] the day I heard it, so there was a lot of emotion.”

What do you do for your health?

“I go to the gym regularly and don’t eat crazy takeaways and so on. I like a red wine, but I don’t go drinking crazy spirits. There wasn’t really any excess back in the Boyzone days either. “

How do you look after your mental wellbeing?

“I think looking after your mental health is about listening to yourself, paying attention to yourself, and [remembering] it’s never as