Boyzone’s Mikey Graham thanked fans for their ‘unwavering support’ as he emotionally addressed the crowd during Boyzone’s farewell gig on Friday night – where he sparked concern by performing just four songs of the set list.
The singer, 53, reunited with his bandmates for the first time in nearly seven years at London’s Emirates Stadium for One For The Road: Live.
However, fans were left confused as Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch opened the show with Mikey nowhere to be seen.
He then later appeared on stage to sing Words and two other songs, before coming on for the encore, Life Is A Rollercoaster as fans were left worried by Mikey’s appearance.
Now a clip has emerged of him addressing the crowd while sitting down on a chair as he said: ‘Being here is an incredibly humbling experience to have. I just can’t express the gratitude that I feel and that the band feel.
‘It took 33 years to get here and those years were filled with so much laughter and crazy stuff so I just want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart, your support never wavered once.
Boyzone’s Mikey Graham thanked fans for their ‘unwavering support’ as he emotionally addressed the crowd during Boyzone’s farewell gig on Friday night – after sparking concern
Fans were left confused as Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch opened the show with Mikey nowhere to be seen
‘It humbles me so much and it’s almost bringing me to tears, but this is a beautiful night. I hope you are transformed back to your youth tonight.’
Fans were worried by Mikey’s appearance with one source telling the Daily Mail: ‘Mikey performed three songs with the boys while sat on a chair and Ronan stayed with him for Life Is A Rollercoaster.
‘It was an extremely emotional show, they kept talking about their love for each other as five and said the Lord’s Prayer for Stephen. They wore red for Stephen as it was his favourite colour.
‘The boys didn’t give an explanation about why Mikey was only a part of it. His appearance on stage caused concern amongst the audience.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Boyzone for comment.
Fans wrote on social media: ‘Where is Mikey?’, ‘Is Mikey not part of the whole show?’, ‘No Mikey at the Boyzone concert’.
When Mikey did appear for a performance of their song, Words, the crowd went wild.
Reacting on social media, they wrote: ‘After all these years, the magic of Boyzone is still alive. Not only in the hearts of the fans, but also in you’, and ‘go on Mikey’.
It was the first time the singer appeared on stage with the trio since the Thank You and Goodnight tour came to an end in 2019.
24 hours before the show, the quartet posed for a photo during rehearsals.
‘Emirates Stadium, we’re ready for you! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow night’, Boyzone wrote on their official Instagram.
Now a clip has emerged of him addressing the crowd while sitting down on a chair as he said: ‘Being here is an incredibly humbling experience to have…’
He then later appeared on stage to sing Words and two other songs, before coming on for the encore, Life Is A Rollercoaster as fans were left worried by Mikey’s appearance
With six No.1 UK singles, five top albums and more than 25million records sold across the globe, Boyzone were second only to Take That as the boy-band phenomenon took hold in the mid-Nineties
Joyful fans couldn’t hold back their excitement in the comments: ‘So excited for you boys!!!! Xx’, ‘The pic we have all been waiting for 4 of them together’,
‘The pic we’ve all been waiting for!’, ‘Can’t wait to see you all this weekend, gonna be an emotional one ❤️’,
‘Please give mikey the biggest cheer and scream and applause. So gutted I can’t be there!!!’,
‘Great to see Mikey he’s more loved than he knew.. love that song ❤️’.
During the show, the band also paid tribute to Stephen Gately.
Ahead of the gigs, Shane told The Sun: ‘This is the final chapter and I think it has to be.
‘You can’t follow up what we’ve just done. We weren’t meant to be here sharing a stage together again.
‘It is a pleasure to be doing this but look, whatever the future holds, we go away and we come back together in friendships and stuff and our paths do cross.
‘But we are not going to be a band again. We are very much separate individuals.’
And while there is still previously unheard Boyzone music hidden away, Ronan insisted fans will never get to hear the songs because they aren’t very good.
He said: ‘There are a lot of songs we wrote and recorded that have never seen the light of day, and rightly so, because they are s****.’
Since his departure from the band, Mikey has lived a nomadic existence in his rural Ireland, a life far removed from the glitz, glamour and relentless globetrotting of his youth.
‘I just wanted out,’ he said of his reason for leaving in the Sky documentary, No Matter What last year. ‘And to get away from that toxic environment.’
Ronan then admitted he hadn’t spoken to Mikey – famously referred to as ‘The Quiet One’ during his time with Boyzone – in four years.
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