Keating mum 'thought he had joined cult'

Ronan Keating has revealed that his mother thought Boyzone was a religious cult when he first joined the band.

The singer admitted that he had to convince her that he was not being brainwashed by manager Louis Walsh into a strange sect.

"My mother thought I was joining a religious cult when I said I was joining a pop band," he told Heat Radio.

"There was no such thing as boybands in Ireland, so when I was hanging around with Louis Walsh and these four other lads, she had no idea what was going on."

Keating went on to claim that Boyzone were better placed to handle their fame since reuniting in 2007.

"It was overwhelming before, now I'm taking it in my stride. And it's wonderful to work with the guys, not taking ourselves too seriously," he said.

"We wanted to be cool back then and be Oasis, not Boyzone. Now we're very happy being Boyzone."