As part of the celebrations to mark the opening of the Freeport shopping and leisure complex in Alcochete, Ronan Keating, former member of Irish boy band, Boyzone, Portuguese Pop Idols, NONSTOP, and the Algarve’s Ryan Ferrada performed there on Saturday evening. Anne Marie Douglas was there for The Resident.
Ronan fronted an excellent six-piece band, plus soulful backing singer, Jo Bryant, who performed one of the highlights of the evening – a duet with Ronan We’ve Got Tonight, a track which he had previously recorded with Lulu. Other highlights included a respectful and spirited version of the Van Morrison classic Brown Eyed Girl and a powerful ballad called I Hope You Dance, Ronan’s latest single, which is due for release on September 27. He will also be releasing a Greatest Hits album to celebrate 10 years in the music business in October. The previous evening, Ronan had performed in Geneva with LeAnn Rimes and their duet Last Thing on My Mind, this time performed with Jo Bryant, was given a tremendous ovation. If Tomorrow Never Comes and When You Say Nothing At All were also enthusiastically received.
The evening ended with Life Is a Rollercoaster and Ronan thanked his support acts, especially his good friend, the Algarve’s very own Ryan Ferrada, for whom he predicted a big future. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and, from the audience’s reaction, Ronan is certainly popular locally. However, as he was quick to point out that Portugal is his ‘second home’ as he ‘lives down the road’, I feel the crowd would have been absolutely ecstatic had he attempted a ‘boa noite’ or an ‘obrigado’!
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