Keating to record new solo album

Ronan Keating has announced that he is recording a new solo album.

The singer, who topped the charts in March with Songs For My Mother, revealed that the record will be released before any new Boyzone material.

"I'm hoping to have my album - some new tracks, some covers - by the end of the year, then a Boyzone album of new material will be out hopefully next March," he told The Mirror.

Keating has released six solo LPs, including four UK chart toppers, and a further five as part of Boyzone.

The 32-year-old recently admitted that his late mother thought that Boyzone were a cult when he first joined the pop band.