Boyzone to reunite for first UK tour in 7 years

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Irish boy band Boyzone are reuniting for their first UK tour in seven years, singer Ronan Keating announced on Wednesday.

Keating, who left the popular Irish boy band to pursue a solo career, said he and the other four members of the group decided to tour after rehearsing together for a one-off charity performance to be broadcast on Friday.

"We've been talking about getting back together for some time now," Keating, 30, said on his Web site www.ronankeating.com.

"The Children in Need rehearsals just made us want to tour together again. I can't wait to be back on the road and all the guys feel the same."

The tour will kick off in May at London's O2 Arena and end in June in Glasgow.

Boyzone, featuring Keating, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch, Mikey Graham and Keith Duffy, was formed in 1993 following an advertisement looking for singers by Louis Walsh who also managed another boy band, Westlife. They had six No. 1 singles in the UK.

The group behind hits including "Words" and "A Different Beat" are the latest 1990s act to get back together.

Another boy band, Take That, has already been on a successful tour, despite performing without former member Robbie Williams, while British girls group the Spice Girls will return to the stage in a world tour in December.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Steve Addison mike.collett-white@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 4015))