Michael Christopher Charles "Mikey" Graham[1] (born 15 August 1972) is an Irish singer-songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as a member of boy band Boyzone.
Michael Graham | |
|---|---|
 Graham (right) with Ronan Keating (left) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael Christopher Charles Graham |
| Born | 15 August 1972 Raheny, Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Pop, soft rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, actor, music producer |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Polydor UK |
Early life
editThe youngest of seven children, Graham was born to housewife Sheila and carpenter William, and raised on the Northside of Dublin with five older sisters and one older brother.[1][2] He attended Billie Barry Stage School in Dublin[3] and started his life in the public eye at an early age, appearing in television adverts for Mikado biscuits and the Irish Electricity Board, T-Mobile. Like his bandmate Shane Lynch, Graham had worked as a mechanic before finding fame as a singer;[4] Lynch has stated in an interview that during the early days of Boyzone, he and Graham had a heated argument over exhaust pipes and barely spoke to each other for fifteen years.[5]
Boyzone
editIn 1993, Graham – who had previously been a member of the band Ivory[6] – auditioned for a new boy band which would later be known as Boyzone, singing Meat Loaf's "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad".[4] Although he was not chosen as part of the final line-up, manager Louis Walsh changed his mind after firing two members for their lack of commitment.[7]
Graham gained a reputation as 'the quiet one' in the band, but despite their success he felt Boyzone's pop-styles did not give him a chance to expand his own musical horizons which included rock and folk. In an interview, he stated "Creatively and musically, what I wanted to do personally wasn't what was required for the band's product, so that suppression of what I wanted led to low self-esteem."[8] Following Boyzone's split in 2000, he sank into depression, but gradually recovered.[1] During his break from Boyzone, he trained as an actor in America, and studied Music Technology and Sound Production after his solo career as a singer ended.[9]
In 2007, the reunited Boyzone completed a 29-date reunion tour and released their comeback single on 29 September 2008, Love You Anyway, which was followed by a Greatest Hits album entitled Back Again... No Matter What released on 13 October 2008. He toured again with the band in 2009, and a brand new studio album with two singles - "Gave It All Away" and "Love Is a Hurricane" - were released the following year. In 2011, Graham joined his bandmates on tour, and again in 2013 with a new album.
Film, pantomime and television appearances
editIn 1998, Graham broke into acting when he played Mikey Oprano the leader of a drugs gang in the full length Irish martial arts film Fatal Deviation, a low-budget cult film produced and set in Trim, Meath. Comedy website Cracked.com nominated Fatal Deviation as the worst movie ever made saying; "you could replace film school with this movie alone–just screening it once for students and asking them to list all the things it did wrong. Anyone who doesn't write "everything" instantly fails".[10]
Graham appeared in the 2008 low budget Irish feature film Situations Vacant written by Steve Murray and directed by Lisa Mulcahy who is best known for directing Irish Television drama The Clinic,[11] and was also among the ten Irish actors who appeared on the RTÉ reality show Hollywood Trials[12]
On the BBC television programme Something for the Weekend, Graham's bandmate Ronan Keating let slip that Graham would be taking part in the fifth series of Dancing on Ice, starting in January 2010. On the show he was paired with professional skater Melanie Lambert, but were voted off on 7 March in a skate-off with Danniella Westbrook and her partner Matt Gonzalez.[13] On participating, Graham has described his training as therapy which has helped him come to terms with the death of his bandmate Stephen Gately, who had participated in the show two years earlier.[14]
In February 2010 it was announced that Graham would be participating in Eurosong 2010, Ireland's final to select their Eurovision Song Contest entry. He performed the self-penned song "Baby, Nothing's Wrong" on 4 March on RTÉ One, attempting to achieve an eighth victory for Ireland in the competition, but placed second, losing out to Eurovision 1993 winner Niamh Kavanagh.[15] [16]
In 2013 he appeared in Celebrity Apprentice Ireland on TV3.[17]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Meet Me Halfway |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [18] |
IRE [19] | |||
| 2000 | "You're My Angel" | 13 | 15 | Meet Me Halfway |
| "If You'd Only... (Make Up Your Mind)" | — | 29 | ||
| 2001 | "You Could Be My Everything" | 62 | — | |
References
edit- ^ a b c 'That day, I cried and cried like never before and I couldn't stop'
- ^ "MusicMoz - Bands and Artists: B: Boyzone: Members: Graham, Mikey". musicmoz.org. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "Billie Barry Stage School". Billie Barry Stage School. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b Gripper, Ann (12 January 2010). "Mikey Graham profile: 10 things you need to know about the Dancing On Ice star". The Mirror. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "Shane Lynch: I had 15 year rift with Mikey over exhaust". Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Mikey Graham Website Archived 13 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ BOYZONE HISTORY
- ^ Boyzone's Mikey Graham on his battle with depression
- ^ Mikey Graham from Boyzone chats to go! Archived 10 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Ireland's Only Kung Fu Movie (Is the Worst Film Ever Made)". 3 July 2010.
- ^ "AMANDA MEETS... FAIR CITY STAR SAM CORRY". Sunday World. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ Hollywood Trials
- ^ "Mikey Graham: I'm doing Dancing on Ice for my pal Stephen Gately". People.co.uk. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ Mirror.co.uk (4 January 2010). "Dancing On Ice: Boyzone's Mikey Graham says training was 'therapy' over Stephen Gately's death". The Mirror. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ Spackman, Conor (11 February 2010). "Boyzone star Mikey Graham in Eurovision glory bid". BBC News. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Stories - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "Judges and Contestants". TV3.ie. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 233. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Peaks in Ireland:
- "You're My Angel": GFK Chart-Track . Chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved on 15 May 2012.
- "If You'd Only... (Make Up Your Mind)": GFK Chart-Track . Chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved on 15 May 2012.