To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Michael ‘Mikey’ Graham was part of the 90s boyband Boyzone – one of the most successful Irish groups of all time. Together they released five number one albums and sold 25 million records embedding themselves firmly in music history with hits No Matter What, Love Me For a Reason, and Picture of You.

Now, the four surviving members – Mikey, Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, and Shane Lynch – have all contributed to a new documentary, Boyzone: No Matter What that chronicles their highs and lows. The band also included Stephen Gatley who died in 2009 aged 33 from an undiagnosed heart condition. While Mikey, 52, told his story within the three-parter, he decided against making an appearance at the recent promotional event. The docu-series concludes with the band meeting up in a pub, but Mikey also skips that reunion.

While he insists that he wishes the other members ‘the best’ and has ‘no grudges,’ he declared: ‘I don’t want to go back to how I felt for many years.’. ‘To see them, if it were for too long, would remind me of that and my future is far too important for me to waste it looking back at my past.’. Boyzone was formed in 1993 and although mechanic Mikey wasn’t initially put into the group, he was hired after two members were dropped by management after it was decided they weren’t committed enough. A little older than the other members, Mikey had more experience writing and performing music and so was considered for the lead singer role.

However, it was Ronan, 47, and Gately, who were made the frontmen. ‘I was upset about it at the time, I tried to convey that but it fell upon deaf ears,’ he honestly admitted. Mikey recalled looking out into the crowd and seeing just a handful of posters with his name on them, and not having his voice featured on one album. The whole experience affected his confidence and he began to retreat. He didn’t speak to manager Louis Walsh for seven years.

‘Remember, I was 21. As a kid that was tough, and Louis went from one day speaking with me to never speaking with me for seven years and I never knew why, I had absolutely no idea why. I just thought he didn’t like me,’ he shared. However Louis, 72, said he thought he was ‘happy being the quiet one at the back’. Alcohol became something he used to ‘get him through the years’ after feeling ‘hurt’.

He struggled with depression and anxiety, later telling the Irish Independent: ‘I just remember one day I cried and cried like I never had before and I just couldn’t stop.’ He also suffered panic attacks, which he hadn’t experienced since childhood. The band split in 2000 before returning in 2007 for a reunion. Tensions throughout their final tour in 2019 came to a head when the members argued repeatedly.

The worst row involved Keith, 50, and Mikey, who admitted that ‘there were things that happened that were cruel,’ while refusing to divulge further details. He continued: ‘We left Japan, some of us not talking with each other and yet we still had to do the final five nights in the (London) Palladium. I just wanted to get out of there. Get away from that toxic environment. I haven’t seen anybody since that night. That’s when I began to understand that I needed to make some changes.’.

Now the Dublin-born pop star, once known as ‘The Quiet One’ in the band, lives in a peaceful part of rural Ireland and leads a life far away from the world of showbiz. Although he has social media accounts, updates are few and far between. His most recent Instagram post was in April 2024. Before stepping back from the spotlight he did make some solo appearances. He competed on Dancing On Ice in 2010 with professional skater Melanie Lambert and entered a competition to represent Ireland at Eurovision in 2010, but he just missed out to Eurovision 1993 winner Niamh Kavanagh. He also appeared on Ireland’s Celebrity Apprentice in 2013.

After the band’s first split in 2000, Mikey trained as an actor in America, and studied Music Technology and Sound Production. Mikey is still involved in the music business and now works as a songwriter. He doesn’t speak to his Boyzone bandmates but hasn’t completely ruled out a reunion. Mikey has two children. Early on in Boyzone, he had 27-year-old daughter Hannah with ex-partner Sharon Keane. Mikey has said providing for his young family is partially what prevented him from quitting.

His eldest child had her own daughter Bonnie, who turns three today! At the time of her birth, he shared the news before adding: ‘As you know I tend to be a very private man but I had to share this good news with all you wonderful fans. Nice to have some good news to share for a change.’. He was married to Karen Corradi for 20 years and the pair share a daughter Sienna Grace, 18. The couple met after she worked as a dancer on a Boyzone tour.