Rise of the Ronan empire

By ELEANOR BLACK

Says Ronan Keating has taken a break from packing and wants to get straight to the point, no messing around.

He puts the London-Auckland phone call through himself and laughs heartily when asked where his assistant is.

"I try to keep my feet on the ground. I don't have people making phone calls for me," he says, as if puzzled that anyone would want such a service.

Keating, who flies into New Zealand this weekend for a three-concert tour, speaks quickly in an Irish brogue which thickens towards the end of the conversation, as he strives to pack in as much information as possible. He says cool a lot, although it sounds like cull.

In Keating's estimation, his second solo album, Destination, is a lot cooler than his first, Ronan, which suffered from a mish-mash of producers and songwriters and the long shadow of his boy band history. Two years ago, when the 4.4 million-selling Ronan was released, the former Boyzone lead singer was lost in the kerfuffle. If emerging from behind his pin-up poster boy image was difficult, then making music that deviated from the mould was close to impossible.

At 25, Keating has finally grown up.

"I think I have put [the boy band tag] behind me, but it's not something I feel I have to do, because I'm not ashamed of it. It got me where I am and I'm lucky to be here. At the same time, we all need to grow up and move on and I feel I have done that now. And I think people are starting to accept me now as a solo artist."

The famously well-behaved pop star doesn't miss the days of travelling in a colour co-ordinated pack, and he doesn't miss the guys with whom he made four albums that sold close to 12 million copies. "You know, I did a lot of work on my own to be honest. I spent a lot of time in the studio on my own."

Keating spent six months in the studio making Destination, the longest period he has ever devoted to an album. He worked with Gregg Alexander, frontman for the defunct American outfit the New Radicals, who wrote the light and breezy Life Is A Rollercoaster, one of the two No 1 singles from Ronan(Alexander's voice and former band is also behind Mitsubishi's catchy ad campaign jingle).

The men wrote songs for the new album together, and Alexander produced.

The result is a more mature blend of catchy pop tunes, ballads and rock. Even Keating's voice sounds more adult, a change which is hinted at in his official record company biography: "The strength of his singing will surprise fans and cynics alike - it's almost like hearing a new artist for the first time."

It's more than a little like hearing Bryan Adams for the first time, a point made by music critics worldwide. The comparison thrills Keating, who wants the same kind of slow-burning career as the Canadian singer who has sold more than 50 million albums in 20 years.

"I guess [my voice has] matured. I was 16 when I made my first album. I have been singing professionally for nine years. That can only do good, if you do it right ... I look at Elton John, George Michael - people who have been around 20, 30 years - and I'm envious. I want a piece of that."

Someone whose career he doesn't envy is the flashy/trashy counterpart to his own cleancut persona - former Take That singer Robbie Williams. Keating comes close to bagging the other boy band graduate, but soon backs off. After referring to Williams as "a phenomenon" who will not have a lasting solo career, he adds: "I admire him. I think he's great. He's made some fantastic records. He is all about the flamboyance, the babes, the press, the hype.

"As for me, I'm just trying to let the music speak for itself. I spent enough time in a boy band doing all that. I just want to calm it all down."

Like Williams, Keating is trying to make an impact in the US. Both men are having trouble, but Keating says he is more than pleased with his success in the rest of the world. "If America happens, great. If it doesn't, I'm very happy with what I have."

While it may seem premature, Keating is growing into his role as an "elder statesman" of Irish pop. He has gained new respect as mentor to Westlife, a second generation Boyzone, and is attracting new, older fans.

"It's really opened up for me, thank God," he says with gravity. "I'm not one of these people who want to make an album, make a bit of money and retire and live on a beach. I love music. I don't know how to do anything else."

The best part of making music, says Keating, is taking it on tour. He believes the show he is bringing to New Zealand will surprise audiences, because rather than being a pop fest "it's a bit rock'n'roll". It has already had 14 airings in Britain and Ireland and before November will be performed 28 more times, in Australia, South Africa and Europe. His 3-year-old son by wife Yvonne Connelly is tagging along on what is the singer's first true world tour.

"I'm very excited about it. It's our first daddy-son trip. It's going to be a real laugh, an adventure to say the least."

And with this ahh-how-cute moment, Keating returns to his packing.

* Ronan Keating, North Shore Events Centre, Monday, July 15; Queens Wharf Events Centre, Wellington, Tuesday, July 16.