Boyzone’s Mikey Graham, 52, appears unrecognisable as he particulars abandoning ‘poisonous fame’ for reclusive life in Ireland… as one band member admits he hasn’t spoken to him in FOUR years

For a time, he had the world at his feet. 

With six No.1 UK singles, five top albums and more than 25million records sold across the globe, Boyzone were second only to Take That as the boy-band phenomenon took hold in the mid-Nineties. 

But for disillusioned founding member Mikey Graham, the band’s chart-topping glory days are best left in the past. 

In a first look at a forthcoming three-part Sky Documentaries series charting the Irish pop group’s creation, breakthrough and commercial success, Graham admits he grew tired of the music industry before walking away for good. 

Now 52 years old, Graham lives a nomadic existence in his rural Ireland, a life far removed from the glitz, glamour and relentless globetrotting of his youth. 

‘I just wanted out,’ he admits in a first trailer for No Matter What. ‘And to get away from that toxic environment.’ 

Mikey Graham admits he grew tired of the ‘toxic environment’ in Boyzone while discussing the band in new three-part Sky documentary, No Matter What 

Graham enjoyed prolonged success with Boyzone throughout the 1990s and early 2000s 

Elsewhere former band-mate Ronan Keating admits he hasn’t spoken to Mikey – famously referred to as ‘The Quiet One’ during his time with Boyzone – in four years.

The three-part show, which is set to air on Sky Documentaries and NOW on February 2, gives fans a look at the ‘fame, fall-outs and tragedy’ of the Irish band, who formed in 1993 before splitting seven years later.

Part of the show will focus on the period in which late star Stephen Gately, who died aged 33 in October 2009, publicly came out as gay, with the singer forced to do so after a publication gave him an ultimatum.

In the two-minute clip, former manager Louis Walsh, 72, is seen smiling as he recalls the publicity garnered by Stephen’s confession as he gleefully noted how the news made ‘the front page’.

Meanwhile, Ronan, 47, is seen breaking down in tears as he recollects the heartbreaking moment the band were told of Stephen’s death, with it later being revealed his passing was caused by a pulmonary oedema due to an undiagnosed heart condition.

Looking back at the early days of their career, Ronan remarked: ‘We were a bunch of kids put together. We weren’t perfect, we weren’t polished.’

While Louis, who masterminded the lads’ careers, remarked: ‘I prefer ordinary people, because they work harder. And they do whatever you want at the start.’

This was one of several comments made by the Irish manager aimed at the band throughout the clip, which comes amid a long-running feud with lead singer Ronan. 

Now 52, Graham lives a nomadic existence in his rural Ireland – a life far removed from the glitz, glamour and relentless globetrotting of his youth 

‘I just wanted out,’ he admits in a first trailer for No Matter What. ‘And get away from that toxic environment’ 

At one point in the trailer, Shane, 48, comments on working with Louis, stating that the former X Factor judge ‘promised us the sun, moon and stars.’

While Louis suggested that he orchestrated the band’s huge publicity, quipping: ‘They believed their own publicity. They forgot I wrote it’.

A synopsis for No Matter What documentary reads: ‘They were one of the most successful and iconic boybands of all time – but behind-the-scenes, conflict and rivalry, betrayal and tragedy led to their falling apart.

‘Now, thirty years on, all four remaining members – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Michael ‘Mikey’ Graham, as well as their estranged manager, Louis Walsh – reveal the truth of what really happened, the extraordinary highs of their meteoric rise to fame, and the huge costs that being in a boyband had on each of them.’

Boyzone: No Matter What airs Sunday February 2 on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW.

The new trailer for Boyzone’s upcoming documentary No Matter What shows the band’s former manager Louis Walsh’s reaction to Stephen Gately publicly coming out

Part of the show will focus on the period in which late star Stephen, who died aged 33 in October 2009, publicly came out as gay – with the singer forced to do so after a publication gave him an ultimatum

Meanwhile, Ronan Keating is seen breaking down in tears as he recollects the heartbreaking moment the band were told of Stephen’s death

The three-part show, which is set to air on Sky Documentaries and NOW on February 2, gives fans a look at the ‘fame, fall-outs and tragedy’ of the Irish band, who formed in 1993 before splitting seven years later [L-R Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy]