When Boyzone made their Irish TV debut in 1993, host Gay Byrne was scathing. "You don't play, you don't sing and you can't write music," he pointed out. "There's no talent whatsoever." He jokingly concluded: "They'll go far".
And they did. In the next decade, Boyzone scored five UK number one albums, 18 top-10 singles and six number ones. They went their separate ways between 2001-2007, but over a 25-year career sold 25 million records. Now, Ireland's first boy band are calling it quits.
"We were young when we started," says Shane Lynch, now 42. "We didn't know what we could or couldn't do."
"And by the time we found out, it was too late," chortles Keith Duffy, 44.
Their final fling comprises an album, Thank You and Goodnight, and a farewell tour next year.
Working on choreography in a London dance studio, the four surviving members are full of affectionate in-jokes, among more poignant memories. This includes staying overnight in church with the body of bandmate Stephen Gately, who died at 33 in 2009, of a heart condition.
