SURREY%20ROCKS%20-%20APRIL%202022 - Flipbook - Page 57
greatly... It’s good to talk, and there is help out there to
give men the tools they need to deal with things they are
struggling with.”
Ronan is an ambassador for a fair few charities. “I feel
very passionate about working with the Strong Men
charity, which assists men dealing with bereavement and
deals with mental health,” he says.
CELEBRITY JUICING
Ronan’s also let his hair down on Keith Lemon’s
Celebrity Juice. “It’s SO much fun to be on. At a time
like this, where everything is so sanitised, literally, we
need a show like that…”
I suggest he puts himself forward for James Cordon’s
Car Karaoke. “That would be GREAT fun… a riot! James
and I sang together a few years ago at one of my charity
events. He’s a great singer.”
A ROLLERCOASTER
TWENTY TWENTY
Ronan’s album Twenty Twenty, released in the
rollercoaster year of 2020, features a magnificent mix
of old and new tracks, commemorating 20 years since
his first phenomenally-successful eponymous debut solo
album Ronan.
He describes Twenty Twenty as “a greatest hits of
brand-new music”. “There are three songs I readdressed;
When You Say Nothing At All, Life Is a Rollercoaster and
Lovin’ Each Day. Those songs are kind of career records
that stand the test of time and are still with me today.
And I’m here today because of those songs. So, I just
thought I’d kind of give them a new, 2020 flavour.”
IN TUNE WITH
OTHER TALENTS
Reworking a few old favourites, Ronan called in a few
famous friends to add their creative juices. “Robbie
Williams, Shania Twain, Emeli Sandé, Nina Nesbitt...
some of my favourite artists are on there… I got to sing
with them and I’m very proud of that.
Having Alison Krauss sing on When You Say
Nothing At All, and Ed Sheeran play guitar over
it, it’s just phenomenal… a great honour.”
RONAN & ROBBIE’S
BIG GOODBYE FOR
STEPHEN
Ronan and Robbie, of
course, go back a long
way, and duetted on a touching Twenty Twenty tribute
track to Ronan’s late Boyzone bandmate Stephen
Gately. “It was lovely to work with Rob. I love his work,
he works very hard, he’s a great artist and great fun,”
says Ronan.
“Rob reached out to me on the 10-year anniversary
of Stephen Gately’s death to say he’d forgotten he’d
written this song, The Big Goodbye, about Stephen’s
passing. It was a very moving, emotional rollercoaster,
the whole thing, to be honest, but a great honour to
have this on the album and to sing it with Robbie.”
RONAN ON THE ROAD
Ronan was supposed to celebrating his milestone
work anniversary with a ‘Twenty Twenty’ world tour.
“It should have kicked off in June 2020, but it was
postponed. A big part of the celebration is to tour
it live. We all need to get back out there and tour
live, for our heads and our hearts, we just wanna get
back on the road again. That’s why I do what I do –
perform.”
Just last week, Ronan at last took to the stage again,
at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. How does it feel to
be finally doing what he loves again? “It’s just great
to be back on stage with my band again. After the last
couple of years, I think everyone feels a huge sigh of
relief that we can all get back together again to do
something we truly love.”
His rescheduled ‘Twenty Twenty’ tour kicks off in a
couple of months, and he’ll be back here in Surrey in
September, where he’ll perform at Lingfield Park Resort.
“That will be a new one for me!” he reveals. “I’ve got
theatre dates all across the UK during June and July,
and then some outdoor shows through the rest of the
summer. The race day shows are always great fun,
especially if you can pick a couple of winners!”
FESTIVAL TIME
The summer festivals are finally back in full force too.
“I’m heading to Oxfordshire for Cornbury Festival this
summer… finally!” he tells me of the fantastic music
fest taking place between 8th–10th July at The Great
Tew Park.
“I was due to perform there in 2020 but,
understandably, everything had to be moved. It’s a
great line-up, with Bryan Adams, James Blunt and
then me on the Sunday.”
BUCKET LIST COLLABS
Having collaborated with some greats in the past,
Pavarotti and Elton John also among them, whom
would Ronan most love to duet with?
“Garth Brooks is someone I’d love to work with, and
it would be awesome to work with Bono and U2...” he
tells me.
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