Sunday 31 May 2009

Ronan Keating & Queen found providing 'natural uppers' in London...

Hi I’m back again with another blog. Blimey what’s going on – so many in one month!
But I’m not going to apologise that it’s a Boyzone themed blog this time (plus I’ve not done one in a year!) because why do I need to keep apologising for something I enjoy?
If you’ve read my past blogs you’ll know I’ve always been a fan of Ronan Keating, and he is the reason I find myself in the situation I do today trying to write novels for a living. ( http://alimcnamara.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html ) So I’ll be honest and admit it’s him I really go to see when I go to a BZ concert, because at the moment Ronan isn’t touring as a solo artist. But these days the world of Ronan & BZ is like a strange cult that I was once a part of, and now I’ve left I just sit happily on the sidelines of, occasionally allowing myself to become immerged in once again. The reason I only do it occasionally is because to me it’s like a drug. Once I start – the highs make it very hard to stop!
I’ve been lucky enough to meet Ronan Keating a number of times, and never a more polite, or gracious celebrity will you ever encounter. And it’s not just me that says that, ask anyone that’s ever met him in the industry – you’ll never hear a bad word. And that’s rare.
But of course it’s not just his manners that attract me to him. One look from those blue eyes, one smile, nod of his head, or wink from the stage that says "Hi howaya?" is enough ‘Ronan heroin’ to keep me going for weeks ;-) Let alone what happens when you actually meet him for real, and there’s that same eye contact, but with a hug and a kiss at the end of it! Blimey if I could bottle that sort of high I’d be living in the South of France on a Yacht somewhere - buying all the front row tickets I wanted. Not sitting here typing at my desk when I should be out making the most of the limited British sunshine, about to tell you the story of my bargain ticket finds on Ebay this week!
Anyhow I’m digressing (which wouldn’t be the first time!) and on Friday night my husband, Jim took me to see Boyzone at Wembley arena on the latest leg of their current tour.

Up until about a week ago I didn’t even have tickets for this gig, because I really wasn’t that bothered about going to see Boyzone this time around. I’d been off the ‘Ronan drug’ for a while and as always that lessens my need for a fix. But my curiosity got the better of me as reports began to flood the internet on the first few shows of the new tour from Belfast and Dublin, and so by pure chance I managed to get myself a front row seat, but I only had the one. My husband didn’t want me to be wandering the streets of London on my own late at night after the gig (visions of a smog ridden Victorian London spring to mind.) getting tubes and trains, so he said he would accompany me, and this is where the bargain part comes in. I managed to get him a £10 4th row ticket off Ebay – which is a bargain to start with, but while we were waiting for the gig to begin he sat in the seat next to me in the front row, which happened to be empty. You can probably guess what happened next? Yep, no one came and filled the seat - so Jim got a front row seat for a tenner! In these ticket tout filled, credit crunch days, a real bargain.
So on to the gig itself. Apart from the songs and the Boyz of course, I was completely fascinated by the costumes – which I loved, especially these dresses that the dancers came on in, which had photos of the Boyz faces screen-printed on them
But the Boyz costumes especially I think deserve special mention. Not because they were raunchy or left little to the imagination. But because they were sleek and simple, in bold bright colours, that only enhanced the performances on the stage, not detracted from them.
Favourite parts for me. The Queen medley deserves a special mention – not just for its costumes which again were not only brilliantly bold, but ultra camp too. But for its songs, and the execution of them- fabulous.
Ronan's solo - the Cyndi Lauper classic 'Time after Time' from his recent No1 Album Songs for my Mother.
And always a crowd pleaser, Life is a rollercoaster – this time sung while the Boyz ‘flew’ through the air – spinning above the crowd like circus acrobats - well the braver members of the group attempted the spins ;-)
And did I go away at the end of the evening feeling like I’d ingested a cocktail of the best quality ‘uppers’ money can buy? Well to be honest I’ve never touched an illegal drug in my life, let alone ingested it. But the natural high I had after seeing ‘my own personal drug’ on the stage on Friday, will take a lot longer to come down from than any illegal substance could ever hope to produce.
Until the next time,
A x

2 comments:

Mandie said...

Hi Ali.
I'm sorry I haven't left a message recently.
You know what, I never noticed the Boyz pictures printed on the dancers dresses which is a shame really. It's those small details I missed, maybe it's more of an excuse to see the Boyz again. I'm with you on the Queen Medley as well. My husband Ben is a huge, maybe obsessed fan, of Queen....he could even tell you who wrote what song without looking at a single record sleeve. Anyhow, I had to show him the Youtube clips....I know they don't do the actual thing any justice, but he was pretty impressed. Quote- "Wow! That was the most bizarre, but in a good way, thing I've ever seen and they have certainly done their research". That is a compliment....since then he has said that they did a really good job.

Going back to the Meet & Greet we had.....Mr Ronan Keating is a true gentleman....So to see my son, Ronan (yes named after Mr K, but I loved the meaning "Little Seal") photographed next to him was the most amazing moment I will never forget. Our Ronan is in his 13th year of life, but it certainly wasn't unlucky.....he loved every moment. He admitted later that he wished he'd actually spoken to his name sake.

Ali McNamara said...

Hi Mandie,
It was a great photo of the two of them together. What did Ronan say when you told him about your son?
My husband also likes Queen and really enjoyed the medley at the concert on Friday too.
Ronan's met Jim a few times now too, and even smiles and acknowledges him too when he see's him with me - which I find hilarious, yet at the same time really lovely. :-)