Back in May the five members of Boyzone - Ronan, Stephen, Keith, Shane and Mikey - regrouped for their first tour in nine years. It went so well, with 300,000 pop fans coming to see them at 29 shows across the UK and Ireland, that they're now releasing a brand new single and an updated greatest hits set. But are the boys back together for good? We gave Stephen a call to find out.

What made you want to get back together now?
"Just time, really. We went to see Take That on their reunion tour and they had such an amazing response. We thought, 'We used to do this. We used to have all this noise and screaming,' so we decided to give it a bash."

Were Take That a bit of an inspiration then?
"Oh yeah! They really raised the bar. We knew we had to put on a fantastic show and we waited until the time was right - we were in chats for about two years. It wasn't a money-making thing for us because we spent £3m on the tour's production. We wanted to give fans the best show we've ever done and I believe we achieved that."

Who was the driving force behind the reunion?
"I don't know, really. Myself and Ronan met up at this charity bash and someone bid £20,000 for me and him to sing 'No Matter What' together. The vibe up there was just fantastic and it was really fun to sing with him again, so meetings started happening and it all just snowballed from there really."

Were any of the guys reluctant to reform the group?
"No, I don't think so. We're more chilled out now, more grown up and hopefully a little bit wiser! We're not winding each other up - there's just no point. We can't believe how much warmth there is for us out there and we're really enjoying it."

'Love You Anyway', your first single since 1999, is out on Monday. Are you feeling nervous about the chart position?
"You know what, I'm very nervous about it being released. The market's changed and I just want it to do well. If it went top ten, I'd be very happy. If it went number one, I'd be absolutely ecstatic. I'd go out and buy a really good bottle of champagne and drink it through a straw! It's a song that really grows on you and it's a fun song to perform. We didn't want to do what was expected of us and come back with a ballad."

You've got a new greatest hits album coming out, but is there going to be a new Boyzone studio album?
"There will be. Myself and Ronan are going into the studio in January to do some writing and then the rest of the guys are joining us in February. It's a really exciting time for us. We've also got another tour coming up in May and June, and before then we're going to Asia and Australia - places we haven't been in ages."

Do you see the reunion as a long-term thing?
"I hope it goes on for a long, long time. We're in this for the long run really. The reaction to the tour has been so fantastic that we've just decided to run with it. We've all done our different bits and pieces but you can't beat the fun we have together."

Will Louis be getting you on The X Factor this year?
"You know what, I really hope so because I love The X Factor. He'll have to, I'll be disappointed if he doesn't! We said to him recently, 'Come on Louis, you have to get us on the show for a song'. It probably won't be this single, but hopefully we'll do the next one, which is a beautiful ballad that's coming out just before Christmas."

Boyzone release 'Love You Anyway' on Monday. Their greatest hits album, Back Again... No Matter What, follows on October 13.


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