Mikey Graham first became famous as one of the lads from Boyzone. He's currently resting from his main job to take on a solo career. He joined us to answer your questions about his life in pop, being a dad and going it alone.
Marianne asks: "Is it strange performing as a solo artist? And do you miss the boys when performing without them?"
Mikey says: "Hello Marianne. Yes, it's a bit strange doing performances without the rest of the lads. I keep looking around to see Keith or Shane. But I've slowly got used to it - I've been going solo for nearly a year now. And I've been chatting to Stephen and Ronan and seeing how they have been getting on."
Maxine Russell asks: "Are happy with the way in which the public received your single, 'You're An Angel'?"
Mikey says: "Hello, Maxine. Yes, I am happy with how the single has been perceived. It went to number thirty, which I was very happy with. It was hoping for a top 20 but I was satisfied with that. We didn't really get a lot of TV or radio support, but nonetheless we still did quite well. But it got to No.4 in the Irish charts, so I was pleased with that."
Ann-Marie Grundy asks: "Are you planning to do a solo tour like Ronan?"
Mikey says: "Yes, Ann-Marie. Next year, about February or March I'll be touring the UK and Ireland and I'm really looking forward to performing a full show on my own. The last time I performed on my own was before Boyzone, in Dublin. So I'm really looking forward to being there and having you all come along."
Mel asks: "How did it feel to become a Dad? Was it as scary as my fiancee makes it out to be?"
Mikey says: "The birth was very, very interesting. I thought I might faint in the first couple of minutes but I didn't and I was very intrigued by the whole experience. I was only 23, and I don't think we really mature until we are thirty or something, but it's a fantastic thing to have a child. The love you receive is unconditional, and it's just a fantastic privilege to have in life."
Francesca York asks: "Hi Mikey. How is your daughter Hannah?"
Mikey says: "Hannah is fine. She's four and a half now and she's doing tap dancing and ballet dancing. In September she started big school, so she's all in her uniform now and she's just growing up too fast!"
Laura asks: "Hi Mikey! Do all the rumours about you and Boyzone annoy you because it seems that there is a different one every day?"
Mikey says: "Yes, they do slightly annoy me. I think we have said a million times already that we aren't breaking up. We are talking about doing a tour next year and hopefully that will happen. But we're not breaking up, and if we did, we'd have a press conference to announce it. But we are just busy working on solo projects. People like to start rumours, but no, we're together!"
Adde Sarry asks: "Mikey, who's your favourite in Boyzone? Me and my friends love you. Can you blow us a kiss?"
Mikey says: "I don't think I have a favourite - I like them all, they're all good fellas! Throughout the Boyzone years everyone at different stages hung out with one member or whatever, but everybody is good friends. I think we're all equal - I hope they think that about me!"
Corina Tyson asks: "What's your favourite programme and do you often get time to relax?"
Mikey says: "I don't get too much time to relax because I'm constantly working. I haven't watched much TV over the last few years. I've always been very anti soap-watching. But recently I was watching EastEnders and I was very intrigued as to what Pat and Frank were up to. So I've turned into a bit of an EastEnders buff - my girlfriend watches it so I don't get to watch anything else!"
Lena asks: "I have noticed you always sing live when you perform on TV shows, which I think is great. Who decides about that, you or the producer of the show?"
Mikey says: "I decide that. I refuse to mime any performance of mine. There was one occasion, because they didn't have the sound equipment, where I had to mime. If an artist becomes used to miming, they depend upon it all the time. When they have to sing live, they then can't handle it. So I'd rather just sing live. It's quite amazing that when people sing live people are intrigued by it, but that's the way it should be all the time. Miming just isn't my cup of tea. Boyzone always had live vocals, but you may have heard a 'half playback', where some vocals were pre-recorded. But our vocals were live all the time."
DT asks: "Did you prefer the old, up-beat Boyzone or do you like the present (ballady) Boyzone more?"
Mikey says: "I think that a healthy mixture is good. I suppose in the early days it was more uptempo and poppy, but it's slowed down a bit now and got a bit more ballady. In my solo work I've got more uptempo stuff - a mixture of the two. You don't want people getting bored or worn out listening to the music! Boyzone were the ones who began doing that ballad-like thing, and now other people are doing it. But too much of one thing isn't a good thing!"
Kirsty asks: "What is your favourite chart track currently?"
Mikey says: "I think it would be Coldplay, and I like 'Yellow' and 'Trouble'. Two nice songs. I'm going to go out and buy the album. I think the industry is slightly allowing singer/songwriters and songs with some lyrical depth through now, but only slightly. It's the tip of the iceberg. David Gray is another one. There doesn't seem to be much music out there for adults. It's very much force-fed by a blitz of promotion of pop bands. I think a lot of pop bands are talented, and if they had more freedom, they could show a lot more. But it seems to me that the industry isn't allowing solid singer/songwriter talent through anymore. Us adults have to stand up and ask for more music for us!"
Maddy asks: "What do you think about Shane and Keith’s cover of the Milli Vanilli song? Are they being serious or they taking it as a bit of a joke?"
Mikey says: "Firstly, I haven't heard it or seen the video. Secondly, they are just having a laugh! They are headbangers, you know! They have a lot of fun making the stuff. I think it'll do well - kids'll love it and adults'll accept it."
Loren McCrystal asks: "You are on girls' bedroom walls. How does that make you feel?"
Mikey says: "I don't have a hang-up about it! Sorry! It's a privilege I suppose, but it's kind of weird. It's a strange experience seeing posters of us. We're flesh and blood, but the publicity creates an illusion that we are untouchable. So if I see a poster of me on a girl's wall, and reality meets the illusion, it's just very bizarre!"
Lisa Hunter asks: "Hi Mikey, who do you think will go top of the album chart, the Spice Girls or Westlife?"
Mikey says: "That's a difficult one. I would presume that they both have an equal amount of fans, and that a lot of Westlife fans might be Spice Girls fans. I wouldn't like to say. May the best group win!"
Justin Cidehim asks: "Do you cringe when you see the footage of your first gig on the late late show?"
Mikey says: "Firstly, the very first Boyzone appearance on the show didn't include me. There were six members, but I wasn't one. And then two members walked out and I was called in. Then there were all these stylists who did our clothes and everything. So they put us in the most ridiculous-looking clothing I've seen in my life... I don't know how these stylists got their jobs - I was looking like Peter Pan! I was in green crepe paper and combat shorts and I had a quiff. I looked like an idiot! But, we all have to start at the bottom, and we got out of those suits pretty fast!"
Destiny asks: "When Stephen came out, did you think that would be the end of Boyzone?"
Mikey says: "No! Boyzone had been going six years then, so the fans we started out with would have been about twenty years-old by then. They knew that some people in the world are gay. We got a lot of support, and the time was right for him to do it, and it was no big deal. We probably got even more fans, including a gay audience, because they could relate to him, I don't know. It only may have been a problem for Stephen, because he was a private person. He said that he feared every Saturday night because he was afraid of what the Sunday papers might say about him. So it was a brave move."
Dave2 asks: "What do you think about Westlife's music and do they remind you of Boyzone when they first started out?"
Mikey says: "I must say that it's not that I dislike Westlife's music, but my personal tastes don't lie there. I'm more into rock-type music. I see a lot of similarities between the two bands - sometimes too close! But, whatever! It may be that their manager, Ronan, projected it onto them, and that's what they carry on now."
Siobahn asks: "Why do you think Irish music has had such an impact on the UK charts, like Samantha Mumba and stuff?"
Mikey says: "I think it's fantastic that Ireland has covered the board, so to speak, musically. We're reknowned for rock music, like U2 and the Cranberries. Also we're famous for the celtic and orchestral sounds, but with pop it's been different. So I'd like to believe that Boyzone paved the way for that and for Westlife and Samantha Mumba and whoever else. I'm proud to be Irish and to come from a country with such fantastic musical heritage."
Jon Bolton asks: "What are you doing for bonfire night?"
Mikey says: "We do have a bonfire night, but it's on Halloween in Ireland. But what I am doing is I'm in Crystal Palace for a fireworks display. I'm doing a bit of a gig up there - about three songs. Billie and Truesteppers will be there too, so it'll be a star-studded event!"
Kate Hooker asks: "What have you done with all the teddys and underwear that have been given to you over the years?"
Mikey says: "The underwear didn't fit so I had to throw it out! We collected the teddy bears and gave them to children's hospitals and places like that. I'm grateful, but I'm 28 and I was never into teddy bears, so they've gone to kids that can enjoy them more."
Claire Edwards asks: "Do you have any tips for me on playing the guitar, apart from lots of practise?"
Mikey says: "Tip 1 - keep your thumb halfway down the neck of the guitar, and watch your other fingers when you're pressing down. Sometimes you can press too hard, but it doesn't need that much pressure. Make it more gentle, and then it doesn't hurt as much and you can still play!"
Judith asks: "What did you drink just now?"
Mikey says: "I drank some champagne. They forced me to drink it - I don't normally drink it, but they wouldn't let me continue otherwise! Cheers - it's nice!"
Lianne Logan asks: "I totally love your music but do you think you will try any presenting?"
Mikey says: "No! No no no! The reason is that I don't think I could cope with all that type of stuff. Most presenters have an in-ear monitor where the producer of the show is always talking to them, so while concentrating on that, they also have to put personality across and sound clever! I don't think I could do that - I'd get too nervous! Keith is doing well, though. It's not an easy job to do. I've watched from the backstage area, and there's so much going on, and running around, and then you've got to present the show. I'd run out of things to say!"
Hannah2 asks: "Are you gonna be home for Christmas? Is it an important time for you?"
Mikey says: "Yes, definitely. I always go back to Ireland for Christmas. My family and friends are there. This year we're planning to do a big thing for New Year's eve - and there are fifteen or sixteen of us in the extended family. We're all going to go away for the New Year."
Judith asks: "What's the colour of your pants?? Can you show us?"
Mikey says: "I'm showing you now! White."
Jon Bolton asks: "Do you find the 'waazup' annoying or funny?"
Mikey says: "I find 'waazap' a bit annoying really! I liked the lizards, though, in the other adverts. But it does my head in after a while!"
Emma MacRae asks: "What is your favourite thing about the UK?"
Mikey says: "My favourite thing about the UK is that despite the success we've had here I can still go shopping and just walk around. Although people recognise you, you don't get any hassle. People are always very nice. So I like that. People ask how you are and that kind of thing, and that's fine, you know?"
Laura Lathwood asks: "Would you ever do a Beckham and wear Karen's g-string?"
Mikey says: "No! I'd never fit my bits and pieces into it!"
Natalie asks: "What is your best Boyzone song of all time?"
Mikey says: "I liked the covers we did. 'Baby Can I Hold You', 'Father and Son', and another song called 'She Moves Through the Fair'. It had a haunting, Celtic sound, and that's why I like it."
Kirsty asks: "It must be strange living your life in the spotlight. How do you cope and is your career worth losing your privacy for?"
Mikey says: "Maybe it's just the kind of person that I am, but I refuse to pay the full price for fame. I won't lock myself away and turn into a hermit. I still go to pubs, and clubs, and go shopping. But you have to be careful - I would go shopping on a Monday morning rather than a Saturday afternoon! I do my job and I do my music, but I still live my life too."
Rob asks: "When will your next record be released?"
Mikey says: "I was going to release it mid-November, but because of the Xmas rush I was afraid it might be swamped. I want to be sure it gets lots of TV and radio promotion, so we're going to release it after Christmas at a quieter time. But it's going to happen on the 1st or 8th of December in Ireland. It'll be called 'If You'd Only Make Up Your Mind'. And the album is called 'Meet Me Half Way'."
Totp: "Unfortunately, that's all we've got time for, but here's Mikey with a final word..."
Mikey says: "First of all, thanks for logging on today and for all your wonderful questions. It's been a pleasure to be here and I've really enjoyed myself! If you want to keep up to date with what I am up to, you can go to my website www.mikeygraham.co.uk to find out more information. Thanks for all your support, and hopefully I'll see you for the tour in the New Year! Bye!
added on 23 Mar 2008 by Keety