A Chat with Keavy-Jane Lynch (08.07.26)
This interview was contributed by Jay Lowe (guest contributor)
Keavy-Jane Lynch is 1/4 of Irish girl group B*Witched. They have the accolade of their first four singles going to number one. They disbanded in 2002 but reformed in 2013.
In the first 10 months of B*Witched being in the charts, you had four consecutive number ones. How do you assess this time in your life?
Lynch: Obviously, it’s an amazing achievement, and we’re in the Guinness World Records 2000! And I love that! I remember back in 2000, they sent a time capsule up into space, and our CD was put into it. I think the idea was to see if there is any extraterrestrial out there. So there could be someone in space rocking along to ‘C’est La Vie’!
Your brother Shane had started taking off with Boyzone by 1994. Were you and Edele paying close attention to what he was doing, and did that inspire you to have that kind of life for yourselves?
Lynch: Shane was a bit of a surprise, to be honest, when he came home and said he was in a boy band. It was like ‘what’! But was he an inspiration? I don’t know if he was. I think Edele and I knew that we wanted to be in performing arts really young because it was all we ever did outside of school. We just did the Emirates Stadium with Boyzone a couple of weeks ago, and I did see a couple of comments like ‘nepotism at best’, and it really wasn’t; it didn’t actually come from Shane, it came through the promoter. We were a better fit, even because we were Shane’s sisters, it just made it all a bit more Irish and familiar to everybody.
What was the schedule like during your peak? Did you have much time off?
Lynch: It was absolutely insane. We worked 16 – 17 hours every day and maybe have one day off every three months. Our manager at the time believed that you could never take any time off, and the minute you did, it would end. So that was her driver. We were doing the world territories at the same time, so anytime we were in the car, we were on a phone to another part of the world doing an interview. We could be in three different countries in one day at times. We got to the point that we didn’t even know where we were. I remember one time we landed somewhere, and we couldn’t even remember where we’d came from to find the baggage carousel. Someone stopped us and said that we looked a bit lost. We definitely worked too hard.
The late 90’s seemed to be the last great era of pop. There was no social media, and you still had Top Of The Pops and Smash Hits. Do you think it’s easier to be a popstar back then or now?
Lynch: That’s a good question. I think it’s very different. It’s probably more accessible now, which is maybe a good thing. There are lots of people who have become stars from social media. Probably from doing their little shorts on TikTok, and I think that’s brilliant. Someone who maybe didn’t have a chance in the past has one now. It’s a different machine now, though; it’s very different. You work harder, and you get less. ‘C’est La Vie’ sold 180,000 in its first week to be number one. Now you only have to sell 10,000 if you play your cards right. Artists were at the mercy of record companies back then because that was how it was done. So the fact that we have social media now and you can self-release, there’s a lot more room for people who maybe wouldn’t have been chosen to make it, which I think is really good.
I love your two ballads: ‘To You I Belong’ and ‘Blame It On The Weatherman’. Do you think the band would’ve experimented musically if you’d carried on?
Lynch: We had a lot of the third album written and had some really good stuff. It was quite different, and some of them were going in a different direction. It’s just a shame they were never heard. There was one track, ‘Where Will You Go’, that got leaked on the internet, which was supposed to be our next single. Somebody was saying to us the other day, ‘Why did you not just carry on when you got dropped’? And I was like, ‘no one’s ever said that‘, and I was really shocked by the question, and we were all like, ‘that’s a good point’. It’s like we never knew we could. We were so young, and the machine behind us was so big it was like, yeah, we’ll do what we’re told. When we got dropped, it was all over, but it didn’t have to be. Now it’s like, well, who cares, let’s just manage ourselves and keep doing the gigs. Obviously, we would’ve had all our contacts of our fans on social media now. If we had back then, we could’ve just continued. But you didn’t have that machine on your own back then.
After the band were dropped by Sony, you went into a depression. How much has this experience affected you as a person? Do you wish you could’ve changed any of it?
Lynch: When you grow up, you learn more about taking care of yourself as a human being. If I could go back and know what I know now, it would be to set up having weekly support for each of us. I do think record contracts should’ve come with counsellors. I think that the industry did impact me, but it was also because of the type of person I was. I’ve done a lot of work on myself. At that time, I was very much a yes person; if someone wanted something from me, I didn’t know how to say no. So I ended up being completely exhausted. It was just the way it worked, and the type of industry it was, it was very fast and busy. I just crashed. So the thing I would change would be to get some support to learn where my boundaries should’ve been to protect myself.
How much did ITV’s The Big Reunion reignite interest in the band?
Lynch: It got us back together to be fair. And fair play to ITV, they did chase us for nine months. We wouldn’t have done it if it was one question and they’d listened to our ‘no’. But we’ve been together four times longer this time than we ever were in the beginning. It gave us the chance to get back together. It was enjoyable doing the show; it was absolutely nerve-wracking. And then when it turned into an arena tour, it felt like who do we think we are taking twelve years off and selling an arena tour? It was amazing. The show at the Hammersmith Odeon did so well that they put a tour on sale, which sold out around the country. Then we did a Christmas one, which sold out again. It was wild.
How much has becoming a mum changed your life?
Lynch: Oh gosh, it changes everything, doesn’t it! My thoughts are always first and foremost with them, and I love being Mum. It was hard having my twins during lockdown. I literally went from being Mum of one to three, not seeing the family or anything. Mum and Dad met Felix and Elana when they were about five months old. There’s lots of photos of Freya when she was a little baby meeting all the family, and there isn’t any with the twins, and that’s really sad. My sister Naomi lived down the road from me, so she was involved early on by coming into the house with a mask and PPE on. I think we shielded for about a year and a half, as there was such paranoia about pregnant women and newborn babies, and not knowing how it was going to affect them. I remember having to go to all the hospital appointments with a mask on and having to be super careful. It was a strange time to have a baby.
What’s been your best memory of the band, and do you have a favourite song you’ve recorded?
Lynch: I think the best memory is our arena tour that we did, absolutely loved that. We had a hand in designing the stage set and everything, and we put our heart and soul into it. It ended up being the only arena tour we got to sell, as we got dropped not so long after. We spent every penny we earned, and we’re not sorry that we did because looking at the video and the show we put on, we were just so proud of ourselves. It’s nice that a lot of people in the industry still talk about it and say our show was one of the most enjoyable, and people absolutely loved working on it. But it’s sad that we sold an arena tour and got dropped for it. It’s like, how does this work? My favourite song to perform is ‘C’est La Vie’ just because people go crazy. We have performed it so much, but as soon as the first riff starts, it just sends people off into a frenzy. And then when the Irish dancing comes, the loudness doubles, and they lose it! We’re so lucky to have that song. The campaign for it was enormous, and whether you liked us or not, you absolutely heard us.
How strong is the relationship between you and the rest of the girls now? Is it better than it’s ever been?
Lynch: I think we’ve always been really close and there for each other. We’ve always been a good unit on and off stage. On stage, we all have respect for each other, and we work really hard at being a blended unit that does the best it can. Off stage, we’re always there for each other for the good and the bad. We’re very lucky with the dynamic we have in the band; we’re the best of friends. When you listen to some other bands and the trials and turbulent times they had between each other, we don’t have that. So I think that has been some of our saving grace and what has kept us sane and grounded. I think we’re really lucky to have each other.
Learn more about Keavy-Jane Lynch on the B*Witched Instagram, Facebook, Spotify and TikTok.
