KEITH DUFFY GETS EMOTIONAL AT SCOTFEST AS BOYZONE NEAR END

Beverley Lyons
BOYZONE singer Keith Duffy says he’s becoming emotional as the end of the band is in sight - but he’s hoping family and  friends  including the famous sporting Evans brothers lend their support when he plays Scotfest this weekend.
The singer is going to make sure he has a real party in Edinburgh when he plays the Royal Highland Centre In Ingliston on Saturday for the nostalgia fest.
Boyzone will headline the gig while B*witched, Five, East 17 and Liberty X also play Saturday following The Jacksons, Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers, Five Star and S Club on Friday.
He said: ”Scotland has always been one of my favourite places to gig and Scottish fans are just nuts, not unlike the Irish. They like a swally, as we say, and  know how to have fun.”
“Scotfest is a festival show and will be a great outdoor party. Hopefully we don’t get the typical Scots weather and it remains sunny.”
The Scotfest show is the second last time that Boyzone will perform here - with their last ever Scots gig at the SSE Hydro in January next year.
Keith admits he’s already preparing himself for an emotional time but is hoping his friends and family will give him a sense of perspective on the end of the band.
He said: “It is the end of Boyzone and a conscious decision has been made. It’s  not a decision we’ve taken lightly and we’ve been humming and hawing over the last while about what way we should do it.
We’ve all gone down different paths and have been busy. Brian McFadden and I have been doing very well as a duo and enjoying playing smaller venues. It’s been more like the early days playing theatres and halls and looking into peoples eyes.”
Keith said of the split: “Thankyou and good night is what was decided and we have respected the memory of Stephen Gately.
It feels like one last hurrah after twenty five years and it will be really nostalgic.
I’m emotional. If you spoke to a member of my family they will tell you I am quite sensitive and quite emotional. There will be melancholy and a tear in my eye. I’m still coming to terms with it because it is so final and does need to be so final and so dramatic and for us to believe it and embrace it. It is dramatic and final but it is going to be a great party. The Evans brothers come to all the Boyzone gigs so they are invited to Edinburgh.  They can stand by the side of the stage or if they want to go out front they can do that too.”
“When you look at it, we are all grown men in our forties with grown up kids. Although there will be tears, there are far worse things in life like the loss of Steven and my daughter Mia who has autism graduating from school, so we will get over this. There are always different channels in the entertainment industry. “