Boyzone’s Keith Duffy and Westlife’s Brian McFadden have been touring together as Boyzlife for a decade now. In that time they’ve played stadiums, performed with Mariah Carey and seen the world, but they’re still the same grounded, funny Dublin lads we’ve grown to know and love.Keith, 51, and Brian, 46, have more than 20 UK No1 singles between them, and they’ve recently signed up for I’m A Celebrity spin-off show The Wild Frontier in Canada. Here, they open up about what makes them work so well as a duo and why touring as Boyzlife is a far cry from their whirlwind days in two of the world’s biggest boybands.Hi, guys! Boyzlife are back on tour soon. How does it compare to touring back in the day?Keith: Back in the 90s we were teenagers, learning our craft, working for a record company, being told what to do. We didn’t have much control of our own lives. I’m sure you’ve seen the documentaries. It’s becoming very apparent now that it was a pressure cooker for everybody.‌Does it feel like you’ve got the reins now?Keith: Absolutely. We plot everything together. We have a great team around us that we’ve chosen. It’s a much more enjoyable way of living in the music industry.What would you say to any young lads just starting out?‌Brian: When we were in our respective groups, we probably didn’t enjoy it as much as we should have, because you just thought it was going to last forever. Now, we realise every single gig could be the last. If we go to places like Asia, Australia or America on tour, we also take in the places, enjoy it.Brian, when you started in Westlife, how much did you look up to Boyzone?Massively. Westlife started out as Boyzone’s support act and we couldn’t have had a better schooling. They were the biggest band in the world. We learned how to handle ourselves, about the pressures of being in a band like that. I think that’s why Westlife took off in the first place.Keith, what did you think of Westlife back then?‌It was lovely to feel these guys looked up to you, even if you didn’t feel you quite deserved it. And some of the Westlife lads, including Brian, had fantastic vocal ability. I’d look at them and very much recognise they were better singers than me.Was there ever any serious rivalry between the bands?Brian: Not in my world, because there was no real crossover period. When we started, Boyzone were peaking. And by the time we’d taken off in our own right, Boyzone were on a break. We always felt like we were all from the one stable.Is it fun when your families come to see you perform?‌Brian: Our kids have been coming to gigs for a long time. They’re a huge part of it. Keith’s son Jay comes on the road with us. They love it.Did your kids ever want to follow in your footsteps?Keith: Only as far as entertaining goes. I mean Jay, and Brian’s daughter Molly, their paths are crossing at the moment because they’re both actors. Molly is a great singer too. Actually, I think we have a little star on the horizon, because Brian’s five-year-old holds a tune much better than I ever could.Do you think you’ll still be touring in 10 years?‌Brian: Yeah, maybe with a Zimmer frame! But we’re only in our late forties and early fifties. We’ve got long lives ahead of us, hopefully. I can’t see why I’d ever not want to perform, even if I won the EuroMillions tomorrow.Keith: If you’d said to me aged 18 that I’d be doing this at 50, I would have imagined an old man. But we still feel fresh.What’s been the most rewarding moment so far?Brian: For me, it’s the 30 years in the business – I’m still doing it.‌Keith: Supporting Mariah Carey in Indonesia, closing the Beijing Film Festival in China. We’ve done crazy things all around the world. But right now, it’s Brian and I performing our new song, Chills, at the Emirates Stadium two nights in a row when Boyzone were performing.There must be tough times too. How do you cope with those?‌Brian: There aren’t many low moments with Boyzlife because Keith and I are in charge of the whole thing. We’ve said from day one that we have to have a life outside of work. If we feel we haven’t spent enough time with our family, we’ll take time off.Do you ever fall out?Brian: I probably had more fights in Westlife in a year than in the whole 10 years we’ve been together. We know how to handle each other and make sure the ship is sailing smoothly.Keith: If one of us is having a bad day, the other knows not to pour fuel on the fire.‌Is there anything left on your bucket lists?Keith: Absolutely. We’re very ambitious. Brian’s passionate about his songwriting and he’s brought me in on that. We’ve had great experiences writing new music. We’ve got some great songs coming. There’s talk of us moving to arenas next year, which is exciting. As long as we keep doing what we love, we’re happy.Boyzlife will tour across the UK in October and November 2026, and May 2027. See ticketmaster.co.uk for ticketsLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .