''Songs for My Mother'' is the fifth studio album released by Boyzone frontman and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

singer/songwriter

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

. The album was released on 16 March 2009 on

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, and is his first album to be released since the reunion of

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...

. The album was a commercial success, debuting at #4 on the

Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by the ...

before peaking at #1 on its second week of release. It also peaked at #1 in Australia and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the album debuted at number sixteen, jumping to number one the following week. The album spent three weeks at number one and was certified Platinum, selling over 15,000 copies.

Album information

The album was recorded over the span of two days during Christmas 2008 at

British Grove Studios British Grove Studios is a recording studio located at 20 British Grove in Chiswick, West London, and owned by musician Mark Knopfler. British Grove Studios was built by David Stewart, the studio's former manager, and commissioned by Knopfler as ...

. The album was recorded with his usual backing band and a live orchestra. Ronan took time out of his busy

schedule in order to record the album. The album is produced by

Stephen Lipson Stephen J. Lipson (born 16 March 1954) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter. As a record producer, he has worked with many artists including Annie Lennox, Propaganda, Act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Will Youn ...

. The album was recorded in memory of his late mother Marie Keating and also to celebrate Mother's Day. The songs that Ronan chose to record for the album are songs that he remembers his mother listening to throughout his childhood. This album also contains a new version of his own song "This Is Your Song", a track which he wrote that originally appeared as the B-Side to his very first single, "

When You Say Nothing at All "When You Say Nothing at All" is a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. It was a hit song for four different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart on December 24, 198 ...

", and his third studio album, '' Turn It On''.

Track listing

Chart performance

Due to the album's release being so close to Mother's Day in the United Kingdom, the album peaked at No. 1 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. It debuted at No. 4 on the

, before peaking at No. 1 in its second week of release. It peaked at No. 1 in Australia, while in New Zealand, the album debuted at number sixteen, jumping to number one the following week. The album spent three weeks at number one and was certified Platinum, selling over 15,000 copies.

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Ronan Keating albums Albums produced by Stephen Lipson Polydor Records albums