Keith Duffy says he is disappointed with how he and the band were portrayed in the follow-up Boyzone documentary on Sky. Last year Sky released a three-part documentary series called Boyzone: No Matter What . The series covered the band’s formation, rise to fame, fallouts and Ronan Keating ’s solo career.
This year, a follow-up, one-off documentary special called, Boyzone: One For The Road , aired on Sky with the focus on the lads reuniting after 17 years for one final farewell performance at Emirates Stadium in London - or so they thought. While the episode documented the lads as they prepared to take to the stage together, it also heavily focused on the underlying tensions that still persist within the group.
For example, Keith’s fraught relationship with bandmate Mikey Graham, who missed rehearsals due to his mental health struggles. Speaking to RSVP, Keith said he was disappointed that the follow-up documentary focused on the negative aspects of the band, and compared the special to the movie Rocky 5 ; “We didn’t need it”.
“The initial Boyzone documentary - the three-part one that came out last year - was very accurate and very honest. It was difficult to shoot, when you're doing something like that, you have to give warts and all,” Keith explained. “As human beings, we'd rather just promote ourselves than actually be honest about our downfalls. But we gave an honest account, and it was quite therapeutic.
Parts of it were difficult to watch, but it was accurate and it was honest, and I did like it. “The one that's just come out recently… I'm not so much a fan,” he added. “One of my mates was slagging me the other day, and he basically referred to it as Rocky 5 . I laughed because I thought, that's probably quite accurate. It's Rocky 5 . We didn't need it”.
Keith said he was annoyed at the angle the documentary took, focusing too much on the negative and not enough on the positive. “I didn't like the narrative that the editors took," he admitted. "They got great access to us all day, and there were lovely harmonious times of us celebrating each other's company and getting excited about the big show that was coming up in the Emirates, our last time on stage together.
“I just think that episode of the documentary could have been a lot more lighthearted and a lot more fun. They seemed to take the narrative of anything that might have been negative or argumentative or not nice. I don't think they needed it.
“Every family, every relationship, every football team, every association, they have debates and arguments and fallouts, but the rest of the time, they have harmonious happy times together. I would have preferred if the narrative was the happy times that we had together, the experiences that we shared getting ready for our final show, not just all this drama.
“I was led to believe when I agreed to do it that it was going to be a celebration of us coming back together to do one last show. Instead of that, the team that made it decided to take on the narrative of the arguments and the upsets. I don't think we needed that. “I'm just honest about it. The first Rocky instalments were brilliant and celebrated; there was no need for the fifth one”.
Keith is seeking to raise awareness and much-needed raffle and auction items for his upcoming annual Black Tie Christmas Ball that takes place next month (December 19th). “Anything that people or companies want to donate will be greatly received and appreciated,” says Keith. All monies raised will go to The Keith Duffy Foundation, which helps families access a multitude of autism support services.
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