Review: Boyzone take Dubai fans back in time

Performing the last outdoor gig in Dubai with summer setting in would have been reason enough for any band to feel the heat. And for Boyzone, that wasn’t their only cause for worry.

The five-member Irish pop band from the 90’s, who lost co-lead singer Stephen Gately one year after they regrouped in 2008 following an eight-year split, arrived on stage at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on Thursday night without their oldest member Mikey Graham, who had to rush home because of a family bereavement.

It was left to Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy to revive their connection with Dubai 15 years after they first performed at the Irish Village. The crowd that gathered inside the Aviation Club centre court with hardly any room left to sit or even stand must have heaved a sigh of relief to see a concert start at the promised hour.

Looking dapper, the trio took to the stage with Nothing Without You, the 2010 number from the album Brother. It was clear from the beginning that the shadow of their talented band mate’s death still hung heavily four and half years on and matters weren’t helped by the late adjustments they had to make because of Graham’s unavailability. It appeared age and adversity had also mellowed them down quite a bit.

Keating soldiered on, sweating profusely and belting out the hits in his deep and husky voice, a marked transformation from his boyish renditions of the 90’s. There was a big cheer for Words, a cover of the hit Bee Gees song from the band’s second album that got the crowd, mostly women in their 30s and 40s, swaying and singing along.

The trio then had the crowd on their feet with their 1999 hit When the Going Gets Tough, their trademark dance moves on stage taking the audience back to their heydays in the 90’s. But it was a fleeting moment, almost as if they had been caught out rejoicing. Soon enough, they went back to mourning their lost brother.

The trio sat down and regaled the crowd with tales of their deceased band member. Their number Gave It All Away from their 2010 album Brothers had the fans joining in with Lynch paying glowing tributes to Gately at the end. “He was the light and the colour and he is missed everyday,” the band’s bad boy said, sounding almost apologetic to be performing without him.

That done, it was back to old-fashioned Boyzone one more time. The first time they ever sang the song Love Me For A Reason, the audience flicked on their lighters. At this concert, Keating relived that moment by asking the fans to switch on their phone lights. It was a magnificent spectacle, to behold a crowd dotted with lights moving from side to side in the darkness. Next up was their biggest-selling single No Matter What, a song originally written by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the 1996 musical Whistle Down the Wind, which understandably had the women screaming their lungs out in chorus.

The crowd truly got their money’s worth as the band celebrated their 20-year journey singing most of their hits including Key To My Life and Light Up The Night. There was promise for the future with Who We Are, a beautifully robust number from their 2013 album BZ20, clearly suggesting that they can give younger boy bands of this generation a good run for their money.

— Jaydip Sengupta is the Deputy Editor, Sports, at Xpress, a sister publication of Gulf News.