OHMYGOSSIP — Normani Kordei “would never” leave Fifth Harmony.
The 21-year-old singer – who stars in the chart-topping girl group alongside Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane and Lauren Jauregui – recently signed a solo management deal with S10 Entertainment and Media, prompting speculation she is set to leave the band, but Normani has insisted that’s not her long-term intention.
She shared: “It’s funny because so many people were like, ‘5H is over! Oh my gosh! She’s leaving the group.’ And I’m just sitting in my bed laughing because so many things can be misconstrued and misread and just taken out of context.
“I’m like, no, I’m not leaving my group. I would never. We’re on such a high right now. We’re at our peak. It would be dumb at this point, and it’s not what I want to do with my heart and soul. That wasn’t even a thought.”
Instead, Normani said she signed the deal because it will help her with projects “aside from the group”.
She told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “All it is, is that I got my own manager to kind of help guide me with whatever it is that I want to do aside from the group. That’s all it is.”
Normani also revealed that following the announcement, she made a conscious decision to disengage herself from the chatter on social media.
She said: “I completely cut off social media because I heard so many people were talking about it. Not even in a negative way! There were so many people excited for me and like, ‘We want your music! We want to hear a piece of you!’
“Because we all have our hardcore Harmonizers and then we each have our own fans that gravitate to one girl more. Mine call themselves Normani girls. They’re just very excited for what’s to come.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Adele reportedly turned down £1 million to perform in the Middle East in favour of pruning her garden.
The ‘Hello’ singer has developed a penchant for gardening during her break from the spotlight and her friend, fellow musician Guy Sebastian, has revealed the 29-year-old pop megastar snubbed the offer to sing at two shows, because she was preoccupied with her new hobby.
Guy told the Daily Star newspaper: “I was with Adele’s agent and two gigs offered her a £1 million deal to perform.
“Her agent said: ‘Nah, she’s not doing it. She’s busy gardening this week’.
“Adele is often weeding these days.”
Adele hardly needs the cash as she rake in an estimated £52.5 million in 2016.
In February, it was reported that Adele rejected endorsement deals worth almost $40 million for the sake of her son.
The ‘Chasing Pavements’ hitmaker has been doing all she can to ensure four-year-old Angelo – whom she has with husband Simon Konecki – is kept out of the limelight, and is believed to have rejected the mega sum of money to promote family-friendly products and the chance to feature her family in a reality TV series.
An insider said at the time: “Adele could fill her whole year with these offers of endorsements and TV work without having to do any singing at all – the offers have simply come flooding in for months on end.
“Adele is a top performer but her caring mum image is just as appealing to companies.
“Her down-to-earth approach to her success and her maternal side are huge plus points for making films.”
The London-born star – who is currently splitting her time between living in Los Angeles and the UK – previously rejected the opportunity to perform at last year’s Super Bowl half-time show as she didn’t feel like the performance was “about music”.
On her decision not to perform, Adele said: “First of all, I’m not doing the Super Bowl. I mean, come on, that show is not about music. And I don’t really – I can’t dance or anything like that. They were very kind, they did ask me, but I said no.”
In the end, ‘Born This Way’ singer Lady Gaga ended up stepping up to the job.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Bjork and LCD Soundsystem will join The xx and The National to headline the All Points East Festival.
The quartet will be the main acts for the brand-new 10-day event in east London’s Victoria Park from May 25 to June 3, 2018, with the likes of Beck, Lykke Li, Father John Misty and Warpaint also on the bill.
LCD Soundsystem – who split in 2011 before getting back together in 2015 – will headline the first ever night of the music event on Friday May 25, supported by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, and Glass Animals.
‘I Dare You’ hitmakers The xx will take to the stage the following night to complete a day of music action, which will also feature Lorde and Rex Orange County.
Bjork will close out the weekend’s performers on the Sunday night after fans have listened to sets from Beck, Father John Misty, Flying Lotus 3D, and Alexis Taylor, among others.
The music then returns to Victoria Park less than a week later as The National headline on Saturday June 2, 2018, with special guests The War on Drugs and Future Islands.
The US rockers are planning something big to make the event a special one for their fans.
They said: “After a thrilling four sold out shows at the Eventim Apollo in September, we are excited to take over Victoria Park next summer.
“We are already thinking about ways to make this more than just a show.”
Pre-sale tickets for the All Points East Festival are on sale on Wednesday (01.11.17) at 9am.

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OHMYGOSSIP — V Festival will be renamed next year and take place over three days.
The two-day music extravaganza has seen some of the world’s biggest pop acts perform – from Justin Bieber and Jay-Z to Sir Tom Jones and Amy Winehouse – over the last two decades and has been sponsored by Virgin ever since its inception in 1996.
However, media mogul Richard Branson’s company announced on Monday afternoon (30.10.17) that 2017 was “the last” ever V Festival as we know it.
In a statement, 67-year-old Branson said: “V Festival has always been a special weekend for everyone at Virgin. We’ve been proud to sponsor V Festival for the past two decades and there have been some incredible performances on the stage. Now, after 22 very enjoyable and successful years, 2017 was Virgin’s last V Festival.”
The event will continue to be held at both Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, Staffordshire by Live Nation in partnership with SJM, Metropolis and MCD.
Next month, there will be an official announcement confirming the changes and re-branding plans.
Festival Republic Managing Director Melvin Benn has reassured fans of the festival that it will still continue to host the best pop and dance acts.
He told Music Week: “The festivals will continue, we have the announcement later in November of the replacement name. “We are looking forward to the new festival now, it’s just something that we are incredibly excited about.
“It will very much continue to have a pop and dance focus.”
2017’s festival over August Bank Holiday saw Pink and Jay-Z headline, but it was previously reported that ticket sales dipped compared to previous years, especially at the Staffordshire site.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Liam Gallagher performed Oasis hits ‘Some Might Say’ and ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ for the first time as a solo artist on Sunday (29.10.17).
The 44-year-old rocker hasn’t sung the Britpop group’s first UK number one single from their second studio album 1995’s ‘What’s the Story (Morning Glory?)’ live since 2002.
However, he treated fans at Samhain Festival in Dublin, Ireland over the weekend to a rendition of ‘Some Might Say’ for the first time in 15 years.
They also got the chance to hear 1994’s ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ from their debut LP ‘Definitely Maybe’ for the first time since Liam performed the track with Beady Eye, the group he formed with former Oasis members Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and Chris Sharrock after his brother Noel Gallagher quit the band in 2009.
After the release of his number one solo album ‘As You Were’ earlier this month, Liam has introduced an equal balance of Oasis and solo songs into his setlist.
The crowd were also given the live debut of ‘Come Back to Me’, which Liam believes is one of the most “Oasis-y sounding” tracks on the hit record.
Speaking about the 10th track on the LP – which was co-written by Liam, Adele producer Greg Kurstin and songwriter Andrew Wyatt, who is known for his work with The Libertines’ Carl Barat and Florence + The Machine – Liam said previously: It’s another Oasis-y kinda sounding one. It started off sounding a bit ‘I am the Walrus’ it had a big mellotron on it, so we took that off as it was really Beatles-y – so we just played it with the guitars, and that’s a monster now man.”
Liam Gallagher’s Samhain Festival setlist was as follows:
‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ (Oasis song)
‘Morning Glory’ (Oasis song)
‘Greedy Soul’
‘Wall of Glass’
‘Paper Crown’
‘Bold’
‘For What It’s Worth’
‘Slide Away’ (Oasis song)
‘Some Might Say’ (Oasis song)
‘Come Back to Me’
‘You Better Run’
‘Be Here Now’ (Oasis song)
‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ (Oasis song)
‘Wonderwall’ (Oasis song)

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OHMYGOSSIP — N.E.R.D. appear to be teasing a comeback.
The hip-hop trio – featuring Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shae Haley – haven’t released an album since 2010’s ‘Nothing’, but over the weekend at Tyler, The Creator’s Flog Gnaw festival a number of posters were displayed showing off an acronym for the trio’s name, which read: “No_one Ever Really Dies.”
The same message also appears on their official website and all of their social media profiles.
It’s the first sign that new music is to surface from the ‘She Wants to Move’ hitmakers since Pharrell confirmed in 2015 that they will definitely be doing another record.
When asked in a Twitter Q&A by a fan: “Are you going to make another N.E.R.D. album?”, the ‘Happy’ singer replied: “OF COURSE!”.
Despite not having recorded new music together since the release of their fourth studio album, Pharrell and Shae both appeared on stage together at Camden’s Roundhouse in London in September 2014, and teased new material from the band.
Joining the ‘Freedom’ hitmaker on stage, Shae said: “It feels good to be back in London. When we released our first album back in 2001 and first crossed the Atlantic, this was the first place to embrace us. You’re going to like this s**t we’re going to release.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Niall Horan is feeling “completely mind blown” after his debut solo LP ‘Flicker’ reached number one in the US.
The ‘Slow Hands’ singer reached out to thank his fans and his team for sticking by him throughout the making and promotion of his record and to reflect on the “crazy” few years getting the chart-topping record released.
In a lengthy note to his 35.5 million followers, Niall posted on Twitter on Sunday night (29.10.17): “Wow! Thank you so much. My mind is completely blown.
“An album that I wrote has gone to #1 in the United States and I cannot thank you guys enough for supporting it.
“It’s been a crazy couple of years for me between writing, recording and promoting this record.
“Today it really feels like all of the hard work has paid off.
“Huge thanks to my label and management for the constant support on everything I do.
“My band have been amazing. Travelling around on every TV show and every radio thing with me this year helping me achieve this.
“The fans. You are incredible! The love I get on a daily basis is amazing. Thank you and thank you again.
Love Niall (sic)”
With Niall’s record topping the US chart, and his One Direction bandmate Harry Styles and ex-member Zayn Malik also nabbing the number one spot with their debut albums, the boyband continue to make history.
The trio have matched The Beatles record as a band with three solo number one records between them.
However, despite their solo success, Niall recently reassured fans that he’s definitely up for reuniting with One Direction – also comprised of Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson – and insisted the boys would be “stupid not to” reform.
The Irish pop star said recently: “[We’d be] stupid not to … I’m up for it, yep, 100 per cent, I’ve said that on multiple occasions.”
The ‘Too Much To Ask’ hitmaker would never distance himself from his boyband past because he knows he wouldn’t have ever got the opportunity to make his record if he hadn’t been a member of 1D.
Speaking about his pride at being part of the group, he said: “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for it.”
Although Niall is keen to reform One Direction in the future, he has previously stated he doesn’t think it will happen in the near future because the boys are all busy with solo projects and were exhausted by the time they headed off to pursue other projects.
He previously said: “We were knackered by the end of One Direction … I wouldn’t stick a date on it.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Sam Smith wants to be the next George Michael.
The ‘Too Good At Goodbyes’ hitmaker has been a fan of the late Wham! star and gay icon since he was a youngster, and admits his music helped him to “escape” when he felt lost growing up.
The 25-year-old singer hopes he too can be a role model for young people by showing them he’s not perfect, just like George – who passed away on Christmas Day last year (25.12.16) aged 53 – did by not being afraid to show his flaws.
Sam told the Daily Star newspaper: “I’m really just trying to reach the kids in the middle of nowhere.
“Like me. I grew up in a village in the middle of nowhere.
“I turned to George Michael, he was my escape.
“That’s what I want to try and be. I looked up to him as a role model as a gay artist in pop music.
“I loved how flawed he was. He was a superstar but he was a human at the same time.”
The ‘Stay With Me’ hitmaker – who will release his much-awaited follow-up to 2014 debut LP ‘In The Lonely Hour’ on Friday (11.03.17), ‘The Thrill Of It All’ – previously revealed the ‘Careless Whisper’ hitmaker sent him a gift of flowers when he couldn’t attend an awards show to pick up a prize from him.
Sam previously said of his memory of George: “He sent me flowers once I was upstairs and I cried my eyes out.
“I think I’d asked him to present something. They were like, ‘who’s your dream person to present an award’ or something.
“We asked him but he was busy, so he sent flowers. He’s amazing.
“When I was at that time, in the time of ‘In the Lonely Hour’ I was going mad, I would unwind on the tour bus and I’d just watch videos of him, to see how he held himself and for me he was a megastar, but he was so human.
“I love that about him. I don’t want to become a robot.
“I think sometimes people get so media trained that they become a robot.
“He was in interviews and he would say the wrong things and he was so flawed in such. Beautiful way.
“Also, he was gay.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Stormzy has a hit list for songs he wants to record with artists.
The grime superstar’s ‘Momma’s Prayer’ collaborator JP Cooper has revealed the ‘Big For Your Boots’ hitmaker always keeps ahead an pre-plans what he wants to write about and who with.
JP – whose real name is John Cooper – told the Daily Star newspaper: “He has a list of subjects he wants to address and sing about, and who he wants to work with.
“He came in, he had the list, and the song ‘Momma’s Prayers’ was on it with my name next to it so he already knew: ‘I want to do this song with JP. He’s very focused.'”
Stormzy – whose real name is Michael Omari – is in big demand for collaborations with the likes of Clean Bandit, Ronan Keating, Bradley Walsh and more all wanting to work with the rapper.
Meanwhile, the British star is reportedly hoping to bag a Christmas number one with his gospel song ‘Blinded By Your Grace’.
The 24-year-old artist managed to get to number eight in the festive official UK singles chart with ‘Shut Up’ last year, but he’s said to be working hard on sprucing up the track, which sees the rapper showcase his soulful tones backed by a choir, in an attempt to top the chart.
His co-writer and producer, Fraser T. Smith, teased recently: “Stormzy’s got big plans for ‘Blinded By Your Grace’.
“I don’t want to say too much and jinx it.”
Last year, Stormzy lost out to Clean Bandit, who nabbed the number one with ‘Rockabye’ featuring Anne-Marie.
They were followed closely behind Rag ‘n’ Bone Man’s ‘Human’ at number two and ‘Just Hold On’, the debut solo single from One Direction star Louis Tomlinson produced by Steve Aoki, in third position.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Nikki Sixx is putting his band Sixx:A.M. on the back burner.
The former Motley Crue bassist plans on focusing on his television career for the foreseeable future, which is why he has decided to take a break from the heavy metal group and end his radio series ‘Sixx Sense’.
His final episode of the show will be broadcast on iHeartRadio on December 31.
The ‘Girls Girls Girls’ rocker felt inspired to progress his TV skills after his former bandmate Vince Neil – Motley Crue’s frontman – told him how funny he was when he chatted between songs on stage.
Speaking in an interview with comedian Dean Delray, Nikki said: “I’m gonna be leaving radio. I’ve been doing it for eight years, and I love ‘Sixx Sense’, but I’m gonna be leaving it and I’m gonna start focusing on television and programming.”
Nikki continued: “I’m working on developing some TV shows right now. And maybe doing a one-man kind of tour.
“It’s something I’d be interested in doing. I got a little taste of that … Vince would ask me to go on stage and say a few words during the show to give him a rest or to get some water or something, and it turned into being, like, 15 minutes.
“And I’d be, like, ‘I hate this,’ and the guys in Motley were, like, ‘Man, the fans love it.’ And I started thinking, maybe this is something I can go out and… not like stand-up, ’cause I don’t think it’d be comedy, but it would be like talking about my life [with] a lot of funny stories.”
As for what the future holds for the ‘Life Is Beautiful’ trio, the 58-year-old star said guitarist DJ and singer James are also working on their own personal projects, so they won’t be performing together anytime soon.
He said: “[There are] no tour plans for SIXX:A.M.
“James [Michael] and DJ [Ashba] and me talked at the beginning of this year, and I think that the idea of SIXX:A.M. being a side project has been just the way it’s been, and we went out and started focusing on it being a main project.
And I think DJ has a bunch of stuff he wants to do musically, and he has this media company that he focuses on that he does really good at. And James is a producer and a songwriter.
“Right now is the first time where I’m actually not in a band, and I’m not gonna have radio, and as of January 1st, I don’t have a job.
“Like, what’s gonna happen with this brain with all that free time?”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Wiley claims the sound currently enjoying chart success “is not grime”.
The 38-year-old star – who is often called the Godfather of Grime – believes that certain UK artists are wrongly being associated with the genre, even though he considers them to be more similar to pop acts.
He explained: “No-one’s had a grime number one. Any number one that anyone’s had, it’s pop music. England is built on pop music, that’s why the show was called ‘Top of the Pops’. It’s a strong pop market.”
Wiley – whose real name is Richard Cowie – insisted he doesn’t wish to detract from the recent success of acts like Stormzy and Skepta.
But he’s claimed that the sound he helped to create has been watered down over time in order to make it more radio-friendly.
The London rapper said: “Stormzy and Skepta have made it into something today that pays as well as pop does.”
Wiley also explained he doesn’t judge himself by chart success.
He told the BBC: “I haven’t had any glory. I’ve had a number one [single] but in my world going number one is like going number 200.”
Meanwhile, Wiley revealed he wants to end his long-running feud with fellow grime star Dizzee Rascal.
The former friends recently exchanged insults and threats on Twitter, but Wiley has claimed he’d be happy to sit down with Dizzee and resolve their differences at some stage.
He shared: “Stuff’s happened – there is no resentment. I don’t know [if we’ll talk again] but if there is a chance – I am not going to be the person that says, ‘No’. It’s boys being boys, or men. It’s just egos.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Weezer will release their 12th studio album in May.
The ‘Buddy Holly’ hitmakers – made up of Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell and Scott Shriner – dropped their 11th record, ‘Pacific Daydream’, last week, and are wasting no time in getting their next LP, ‘The Black Album’, together for an early 2018 release.
Rivers said: “‘The Black Album’ is almost done, and hopefully it comes out in May but this one got finished first and it’s good, so we brought it out.”
Should Weezer’s next record drop in 2018 it will be three years in a row they’ve released an LP, and Rivers admitted he doesn’t like to wait around when an album is ready to go.
He added: “I like putting out music and I don’t like waiting around. I think I want to pick up the pace, actually. The slow part is finding the right producer, because that kind of locks you into a certain production sound and that’s a contentious part.
“Everyone has their idea of what Weezer should sound like. But the songwriting part is fun and easier.”
The US group’s self-titled first album, also known as ‘The Blue Album’, dropped in May 1994, and Rivers believes one of the reasons the group are still going strong is because they like to “constantly” change their sound.
Speaking to Dazed, he added: “I just like new music and I always listen to new music and it’s constantly influencing me. Then when I go to the studio, I get bored if it sounds like something we already did so I want to emulate the new sounds I’ve been hearing. I don’t know. Maybe that’s helped us seem relevant or interesting over the years, I’m not sure.
“Another factor is that the four of us want to be together. We all come from broken homes with not a lot of stability in our lives, so we just kind of stick to each other. When we’re together it’s like we have some kind of chemistry.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — One Direction’s tour bus is up for sale.
The ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ group used the iconic Scooby Doo-themed VW Crafter van to travel between gigs from 2013, but it is now going under the hammer at an online auction.
The 2011 vehicle cost £70,000 to convert into a luxury cruiser, and from the outside it is a replica of the Mystery Machine, the vehicle used in the classic cartoon series.
The van boasts heated leather seats inscribed with LM and ZM for Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, under-floor heating, a fridge and microwave, and it also has a roof covered in pages from comic books encased in perspex.
Five camera were installed to keep an eye on fans outside, and it’s even believed there is a water jet that could be used to keep them at bay if things got too wild.
There was plenty of entertainment on hand for the group, which also included Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan, including a 55″ Sony Bravia plasma TV screen, two smaller televisions on the sides, a Sony PlayStation, Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii.
And there’s an impressive sound system and even a laser light show for added party atmosphere.
The distinctive vehicle will be sold in a silent auction, meaning the winning bid won’t be disclosed, by Ashtons car dealers.
Sales manager Oliver Cox said: “There has been a lot of interest in it. I’m hoping for six figures for it, and the bids are already getting towards £100,000.
“It is certainly different from the usual Mercedes, Porsche and Land Rover we sell!”
The van wasn’t used by the group as much as they’d hoped.
Oliver explained to The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “We know someone in the trade who is a friend of Zayn and got it a few months ago.
“It is in perfect condition and only done 3,000 miles.
“The van was supposed to take One Direction on tour across America, but when it arrived there it hit copyright problems because of its Mystery Machine branding and had to be shipped straight back.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Ed Sheeran has written a song for Keith Urban.
The ‘Shape of You’ singer relished the “challenge” of turning his skills to country music when he was asked to collaborate with the former ‘American Idol’ judge.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “Ed loves nothing better than experimenting with different sounds and types of music. He also likes a challenge.
“He loved the idea of penning a track no one would expect from him – and who better to work with than one of the industry’s biggest country music stars?”
The pair were put in touch when Ed appeared alongside Keith’s wife, Nicole Kidman, on ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’ earlier this year.
Keith, 50, has already recorded the track – which doesn’t feature its 26-year-old writer – but fans won’t get to hear it until next year.
The source added: “Keith recorded the track in June and believes it will be a huge hit.
“It’s not thought that Ed is singing on the track as well, but he could still jump on the track. The finished single should be released next year.”
The ‘Castle on the Hill’ hitmaker is very busy at the moment as his friend Pixie Lott recently revealed they are planning to collaborate.
She said: “I have been speaking to Ed about doing something together. I love Ed. He is brilliant and an amazing songwriter. We first met when we were 16 and auditioned for a TV drama called ‘Britannia High’. We’ve been friends for the past 10 years.”
However, any plans for a potential duet have been put on hold for now, after Ed broke his left elbow and right wrist, and damaged his ribs in cycling accident earlier this month.
Pixie, 26, admitted: “I guess he can’t really play the guitar right now, which is very unfortunate.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Noel Gallagher isn’t interested in pleasing his “parka monkey” fans.
The 50-year-old former Oasis rocker is delighted his latest single, ‘Holy Mountain’, has divided opinion and though he knows the track is very different to what his loyal supporters have grown to expect from him, he doesn’t care about what they want.
Of the divided reaction, Noel said: “I’ve got to say that was the intention. Half are saying, ‘This is f***ing s**t. This can’t be the guy who wrote ‘Live Forever’ and the other half are saying ‘This is f***ing amazing’ and that’s not a place I’ve ever been.
“[Fans expect] the strumming of the guitar and the melancholy songs of lost love or lost youth, but with a hopeful chorus. But that’s not where I am now.
“I know that’s what people want, but f**k what they want.”
And Noel – who also branded his fans “little 15-year-old snotty ****s with polka-dot scarfs” – isn’t expecting them to be too impressed by his upcoming album, ‘Who Built The Moon?’.
In particular, he doubts they’ll enjoy the track ‘It’s a Beautiful World’, which has a French spoken word section.
He told Q magazine: “The parka monkeys are going to be like, ‘A f***ing French bird on a track? No mate, not having it. It’s not rock’n’roll. Well no, it isn’t. Who’s saying it is?”
Despite this, the ‘AKA… What a Life’ hitmaker is happy he has the freedom to make whatever music he wants to on a “whim”.
He said: “I’m not in a band any more so I don’t have to sell it to anyone. I run my own record label, I pay for my records, I promote them, I market them, I do everything myself. If I have a whim, I’m going to do it.
“When you’re solo, you can move quicker. Big rock bands are like huge tankers but I’m like a f***ing speedboat.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Keith Duffy thinks Boyzone made their comeback “way too soon” after Stephen Gately died.
The 43-year-old singer – who was in the ‘Love Me For A Reason’ group alongside the late Stephen, Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch – has admitted he didn’t “enjoy” going on tour and performing in 2011, two years after the late band member passed away in 2009, and to cope with the loss, as well as the fast pace of the music industry, he started “drinking too much”.
Speaking to the Express Online, the star said: “We did two huge [comeback] tours in 2008 and 2009, and we did four nights in each venue.
“We then came back with the Greatest Hits album in 2009, and in the October we were in the middle of recording the Brother album when we lost Stephen.
“He died in 2009 and we were back on the road in 2011, two years later – which was way too soon. Way too soon.
“Emotionally and psychologically… I’ll be very honest, myself and Shane were drinking too much, trying to numb the pain, onstage and offstage.
“It just didn’t work, and it wasn’t enjoyable. We didn’t want to be together. That’s when we took a sabbatical.”
And the Irish hunk – who has Jay, 21, and 17-year-old daughter Mia with his wife Lisa Smith – has revealed the ‘No Matter What’ hitmakers return four years ago wasn’t the “success” they hoped for, which was why they cancelled a string of their concerts.
He continued: “Then in 2013 and 2014 we decided to try and tour again but by that stage the success wasn’t as good, though we probably pretended it was. We actually did one night in each venue, as opposed to four in 2009.”
Boyzone are set to group again next year to celebrate their 25th anniversary, but Keith is apprehensive about how it will turn out.
He said: “Coming back now, who knows how successful it’s going to be?”
Meanwhile, Keith has teamed up with Westlife singer Brian McFadden to become a double act named Boyzlife, and the pair are shocked by how popular they have become as a duo, especially as the pre-sale tickets for their tour sold out immediately.
Brian said: “When the tickets were going on sale, it’s not like the old days where you sell out tours and every single goes to number one.
“So we were like, ‘let’s put the tickets on sale and go do some TV shows, do some promo and hopefully closer to the time we’ll sell out.’
“And we got the call that the presale – just the presale tickets! – had sold out the whole tour within four hours.”

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