EXCLUSIVE |Ronan Keating: India gave me my crazy Beatles moment

International pop sensation Ronan Keating first fell in love with India when he happened to experience the warmth and revelry of the culture while on a tour.

“I have two good vivid memories (about my visit to India), one in Bengaluru and one in Mumbai. I did a show with my band, Boyzone, and after the show, we went back to this magnificent, beautiful, old colonial hotel in the middle of the city. I felt like I was in a movie. It was beautiful and stunning,” Keating recalls in an exclusive interview with us.

Continuing his walk back into the past, the 44-year-old adds, “The most heartwarming part of the whole thing is the reception we got, the way people treated us. The warmth from the people. It was just gorgeous, and beautiful. When we came to Mumbai, it was the closest Boyzone ever felt to being The Beatles because it was crazy.”

The When You Say Nothing at All hitmaker recalls how the streets were lined with people, all wanting to see them. “We had to go on the roof of the hotel to wave because we couldn’t go outside. It was incredible,” shares Keating, who also performed at an award show in Mumbai in 2005.

The singer and self-confessed Bollywood aficionado has a ‘connect’ with the Hindi film industry. “I recently interviewed Priyanka Chopra Jonas. She’s lovely. She’s an international talent, but that’s probably the only real contact I’ve had with a Bollywood star,” says Keating, who earlier said he wants to work with a star from the Hindi film industry.

While he’s ready to get on a flight to India and perform, he thinks it is a far-fetched idea right now due to the pandemic.

“I’m happy to come and perform, but no promoter is going to put money down and get insurance until there’s confidence that there’ll be no cases and the gigs won’t shut down. So, it’s going to be a while before companies or promoters bring me to India,” he confesses.

As for the pandemic, he says, “We saw so many deaths across India, it was heartbreaking. It is really important that we speak about it (the grief).”

Meanwhile, Keating is spending his time at home in the UK making new music.

“I’ve got a new album coming out in November, before Christmas this year,” reveals the singer, who is associated with celebrity-fan engagement platform GoNuts.