“If you would have told me 30 years ago when I started in this business that I’d still be in a boyband when I was nearly 50 I would have said ‘Nooo'”, admits 49-year-old Irish singer Keith Duffy.

“But I’m looking forward to getting back on the road again. We love what we do and the fact that we still have an audience to play to and people still want to see us – we’re very grateful.”

Duffy, who rose to fame in the Irish boyband Boyzone in the 1990s, has been performing alongside fellow Irish star Brian McFadden of Westlife in recent years.

They first came together for what was meant to be a one-off tour in 2016 which saw them perform hits from both of the Irish groups. It was here that the “supergroup” Boyzlife was born.

placeholder image — Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden

The duo went on to release their debut album, titled Strings Attached, in 2020, and followed it up in 2022 with their second record Old School.

Their dulcet vocals and Irish charm continue to draw in fans, with many supporting them since the early days of their careers.

“Most of our fans have been following us for 25-30 years,” Duffy says over a video call.

“If we have new fans, it’s because it’s their children or their grandchildren.”

The singers have continued to adapt as the music industry has evolved during their careers, but they admit they have found the move from physical records to streaming and downloads a challenge.

“The music business has all changed now, and the kids are so clever with online stuff,” Duffy adds.

“So we have to rely on the nostalgia of our music.”

Duffy and McFadden are hoping to create their own nostalgic moments on their upcoming UK tour, which will see them celebrating the hits from Boyzone and Westlife that made them. The 14-date tour is set to kick off in January in Poole, Dorset, before moving to cities including Birmingham, London, Glasgow, and York until March.

Along the way, they will be performing at theatre halls and venues which have a special connection to them as they were where Boyzone played when they first got on the road in 1994.

Ahead of the tour and as they play festival dates across the summer, including at Rewind and The Weekend festival, the singers have been trying to get themselves in shape, or at least have considered it.

“We talk about it,” says McFadden with a laugh. “‘For six weeks now we’ll have no drink and we’ll get in great shape’ and then the tour has already started and we’re like ‘Oh, what happened to that?”

“I think that’s the one difference between now and then, is that we’ve freed up so much more time that we can actually just enjoy being on tour,” McFadden says. “It doesn’t feel like work like it used to.”