New & Noteworthy: Gately says the boys will be boys again

It’s hard to believe that six years have passed since the group last warbled hits such as “Love Me for a Reason” in front of thousands of screaming girls at Dublin’s Point Theater. Soon after, front man Ronan Keating launched a moderately successful solo career, Keith Duffy turned to acting, Mikey Graham to producing, Shane Lynch to race car driving, and Stephen to musical theater. In recent years, Ronan has repeatedly resisted offers to reform the band, which has caused some bad feelings in the ranks. Last year, the singer parted ways with manager Louis Walsh after the two disagreed on his career path: Louis saw him as Cliff Richards, while Ronan saw himself as more Elvis. Costello, that is.
Stephen, who made headlines around the world in 1998 when he announced that he was gay, ran into Ronan when the two attended Elton John’s wedding to David Furnish last month. As the old bandmates caught up over cocktails, Stephen broached the subject of a reunion. He says that he was delighted to find Ronan was ready to get with the program.
“We had a long chat about reforming,” he told the Mirror. “Ronan is definitely in. He said he can’t wait to meet up with the rest of the lads again. “It’s now just a case of agreeing a time when everyone is free. We can’t wait to get out on stage again for the fans.”
But you know what they say about counting your chickens (or singers) before they’re hatched. As the Echo went to press, Ronan’s official web site posted a story denying that he would take part in the reunion.
“Contrary to recent press speculation, Ronan has no plans to get back together with Boyzone just now,” reads the statement. “The guys all remain good friends but with a new solo album coming out, Ronan is not able to commit to a Boyzone reunion at present.”
In related news, Stephen was so impressed with Elton’s nuptials that he’s decided to take the plunge himself. He announced that he and his partner, singer Andy Crowles, plan to make it legal by getting married in Dublin. The pair tied the knot in front of an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas back in 1993 (but everyone knows that only counts if he wears the white jumpsuit). And Elton, who introduced the pair a few years ago, will be on hand as the guest of honor.
“I’m having an Irish wedding,” Stephen gushed to the Mirror’s 3am Girls. “We’re madly in love.”

Brit Awards no Oasis for band
It was almost too quiet in Oasis land, what with the Gallagher brothers being all God Bless Us Every One and observing a boring holiday ceasefire. Happily, things are back to normal, and Liam and Noel are doin’ what comes naturally: squabbling (again) over who’s the boss of the band.
This week, the bone of contention is the lead singer spot for the group’s performance at next month’s Brit Awards show. Entertainment sites all over the internet are buzzing about a report in London’s Daily Mirror newspaper that has the siblings elbowing one another to grab the star spot.
An insider told the Mirror that, “They’re at each other’s throats over who gets to sing.” Apparently, Noel is insisting on singing, and Liam is furious at the thought of being made redundant. “He doesn’t want to stand at the back of the stage while Noel steals the limelight,” snickered the source.
In more Oasis news, the elder Gallagher has weighed in on the relative merits of pop bands of the Take That, Westlife and Boyzone variety. In a nutshell, he thinks they’re pathetic, a conclusion he reached after viewing a few cautionary documentaries.
“All these boy bands have a couple of lagers, dance around onstage and mime on ‘Top of the Pops'” he sneered. “Take That’s Howard Donald said . . . that he hears voices at night willing him to fail. To fail at what? You don’t do anything, Howard.”

Killing her with kindness
Marriage has certainly mellowed pop diva Christina Aguilera. The singer, who’s never been at a loss for words when mixing it up with rival tartlet Britney Spears, has taken the high road in her current clash with Kelly Osbourne.
The crabby apple of Ozzy Osbourne’s eye recently dismissed the “Drrrty” singer as “[having] a mouth on her, but she’s all talk” since she’s always surrounded by a phalanx of security guards, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The gossip site monstersandcritics.co.uk quoted Kelly sneering that Christina’s “like a [bad word] feather. I could pick her up and chuck her across the room.”
The blonde object of Kelly’s ire believes that the real problem is that she’s the object of Kelly’s desire. The New York Post’s “Page Six” reports that Christina is taking a kinder, gentler view of the situation. “Kelly must have a crush on me,” mused Christina. “Because she’s always saying mean things about me.”

Briefings
One can only hope that the construction crews working on Mariah Carey’s New York apartment listen to the radio while they work. According to celebrity news site contactmusic.com, the singer is frustrated that renovation work on her Manhattan pad is proceeding at a snail’s pace. I mean, the girl’s got social obligations, yo.
“I plan to get a hot tub on my roof terrace,” she said. “Hopefully next summer it’ll be the place to hang out . . . If you’re a builder, please hurry up and finish.” Maybe she should try inviting them to hang out during the summer.

UPI reports that the on-again, off-again marriage of Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards is – big surprise – off again. Over the holidays, the celebrity couple decided that the marriage was just a ghost of Christmas past, so they decided to part ways – permanently, and amicably. In an effort to avoid the media circus that surrounded their original split, the actors are hoping to hire an arbitrator to keep things private.

Twenty years ago, Annie Lennox was the gender-bending lead singer of The Eurythmics – and she had some American concert promoters so confused that they demanded proof that she was a woman.
In an interview with The Advocate magazine, Annie revealed that her forays into menswear – most notably in videos like “Here Comes the Rain Again” – “seemed to cause some kind of furor” that horrified segments of the American population. She recalled one instance where she was required to produce legal documents to support her claim to sisterhood.
“They asked me to provide my passport to prove that I was a woman and not a man,” she said.

Comedian Jim Carrey has his share of high-profile exes, including actresses Lauren Holly and Renee Zellweger. But while he’s graced his share of tabloid covers, the “Fun with Dick and Jane” star he says the press can speculate to its heart’s content — he’ll never discuss his personal life to get some cheap publicity. And he implied that celebutantes like Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson should adopt a similar attitude.
“I think people feel desperate to be noticed sometimes,” he said, according to DigitalSpy.com. “It can lead you to give too much away. I’m just not going to do that.”

Fresh off her stint co-hosting New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest (Out!), actress Hilary Duff is trying to set the record straight about her relationship with Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden. She’s worried that people have the wrong idea about her inked-up inamorato.
“You’re automatically prejudging us because Joel has tattoos or I have blond hair,” she whined to Teen People magazine. “He has tattoos so he’s bad, I smile all the time so I’m perfect.”
Like, duh.
According to Hilary, 26-year-old Joel is the most perfectest guy imaginable. “Joel is the most respectful boyfriend I’ve ever had,” she said. “We had five or six dates before we even kissed.” (Wait’ll Wilmer Valderama hears that.)

Professional clotheshorse Liz Hurley is pals with most of the world’s top fashion designers. While this would seem to put the “Austin Powers” star in an enviable position when it comes to choosing a dress for her upcoming wedding, alas, ’tis not so. The actress says that she’s so afraid of bruising any delicate egos that she’ll probably buy her dress off the rack at a department store.
“If I had a dress designed for me I’d be in absolute agony,” she told London’s Evening Standard newspaper. “I wouldn’t know who to go to. I have so many friends in the fashion business . . . I’d be in absolute hell.”
Liz says that she’ll either wind up making the dress herself, or selecting one at Debenham’s, a British chain store that’s roughly equivalent to Macy’s. According to the store’s web site, the soon-to-be Mrs. Arun Nayar, who will reportedly take the plunge in India on Valentine’s Day, can choose from “a stunning range of bridal wear . . . to ensure you look absolutely gorgeous on your special day.” And even though she’s marrying a millionaire, thrifty Liz will no doubt appreciate the reasonable price range (