Boyzone Don`t Want a Ballad for Comeback Single

Boyzone lead singer Ronan Keating has made no secret of his reluctance to release a ballad.

The recently reformed Irish boy band have been arguing with record company bosses, who are adamant they follow in the footsteps of Take That by releasing a love song.

But the band are keen to distance themselves from their 90s pop rival and want an upbeat track as their first release since 1999.

A friend of the band told Britain’s Daily Star newspaper: “Boyzone have been performing an upbeat track called ‘We Can’t Stop Thinking About You’ on their reunion tour, which is going down well with fans.

“They’ve also laid down the vocal to two slow numbers. After Take That did so impressively with ‘Patience’, the label believes it’s an obvious choice to go with a ballad if they want a number one.”

Boyzone lead singer Ronan Keating has made no secret of his reluctance to release a ballad. Earlier this month, the 31-year-old star said: “We know we will be compared with Take That, which is why releasing a ballad as the first single seems wrong.”

Boyzone - Shane Lynch, Stephen Gately, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Ronan - are touring the UK and Ireland until the end of June. They will play a homecoming show at the Dublin RDS arena on June 28.