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Rating: 10/10

Best Tracks: No Matter What; Words; Picture of You; When The Going Gets Tough; When You Say Nothing At All

After shooting to fame in 1994 with a cover of The Osmonds song ‘Love me for a reason’, Irish boyband Boyzone became a household name throughout the ’90s. It was no great surprise, then, when 1999’s Greatest Hits album By Request not only sold millions of copies worldwide, but also became the second best-selling album of the year in Britain.

When each song from the album starts, I find myself standing rooted to the spot, staring into oblivion and listening to the lyrics through my headphones. It isn’t until a very angry man pushes past me whilst walking up the train station stairs that I realise the song has taken me into a whole other world. Suddenly, it’s just me and the lyrics, and this is what makes By Request special. The songs can touch so many and speak to listeners universally, providing a montage of Boyzone’s best moments through the vocals and the soft beat, and Ronan Keating’s vocals never fail to send me back to my childhood (not that I’m very old mind). Lyrically, By Request is phenomenal. From the soulful voice within ‘Love Me for a Reason’, to the gorgeous words in ‘When You Say Nothing At All’, (which is a song that will be playing at my wedding one day, much to my future husband’s dismay), the album is able to speak directly to the listener, whoever they may be. However, Boyzone are not only romantics, but also great performers, with upbeat tracks such as ‘Picture of You’ brimming with energy. In fact, even my grandma can’t help but get up and jiggle around the room with me when she hears it.

Songs such as ‘Words’, ‘When The Going Gets Tough’ and ‘No Matter What’ can deliver memories to every listener and will hopefully keep on delivering them for many years to come. Boyzone are a much-loved band by many, with music connecting to all ages. I fully recommend By Request to everyone, especially the songs ‘Father and Son’, ‘Isn’t It A Wonder’, and ‘Baby Can I Hold You’. Through listening to each track, it’s difficult not to reminisce about old memories, whilst also creating new ones we can smile about in years to come.