Boyzone to reform for charity event

Well, it was inevitable really. Take That have done it; The Backstreet Boys have done it; and the Spice Girls are in the process of doing it. Now it seems Irish boyband Boyzone is to follow in their footsteps, having announced plans to reform for a special performance on Children in Need on BBC1 on November 16th.

Boyzone, in case you have forgotten, were one of the most successful boybands – ever. Their debut single, "Love Me For A Reason", stormed into the charts at number 2 back in 1994. And the rest, as they say, is history. Over the course of seven years, they notched up six number one singles and four number one albums and became the first act in chart history to reach the top three with their first 14 singles. To date, the group has sold in excess of 15 million records.

One fifth of the band was Stephen Gately, who, back in June 1999, at the tender age of 23, came out as gay to British daily tabloid newspaper, The Sun, after fearing that a former member of the band’s security was about to sell the story. For a young man with thousands of young and predominately female fans across the globe, it was a courageous decision to come out so publicly.

In 2000, the band decided to go their separate ways in order to pursue solo careers and acting roles. Stephen was actually the first band member to release his debut solo material. The single "New Beginning" reached number 3 in the UK charts and an album of the same name followed shortly, charting at number 9 in the UK.

Unfortunately, Stephen’s solo career pretty much flopped. However, he has since built up a successful stage career in West End musicals. In 2002, he secured the lead role in a new production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And then, in 2004, Stephen was totally unrecognizable as the evil Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium.

At this stage, Boyzone are said to have no definitive plans to tour or release any new material. However, considering the scale of Take That’s successful comeback, it may only be a question of time before Boyzone are back doing what they do best.