They said it was going to happen, and they are clearly men of their words.

Boyzone will bow out after 25 years together with one final album and a UK and Irish arena tour that will kick off in Belfast next January.

The album is called 'Thank You & Goodnight' and will be released on November 16th. It features songs written by Ed Sheeran and Gary Barlow, amongst others.

Their 25th anniversary/farewell tour will kick off at Belfast's SSE Arena on January 23rd, 2019 before heading to Dublin's 3Arena on January 24th.

Tickets are on sale next Friday, June 22nd from usual outlets at 9am.

The boyband released a statement saying: 

“When we started out as five young Dublin Northsiders, eager to face the world, we never imagined that we’d still have an army of fans some twenty-five years later... If you’d seen our famous first TV appearance on The Late Late Show, you’d probably be surprised too!

 

But what followed was the stuff of dreams. We’ve played stadiums and arenas all over the world, released six albums, and had almost two-dozen hits. We really can’t put into words just how much you, the fans, have supported us along the way. Without that support, we would have never achieved what we have, and for that we’re eternally grateful.

 

We’ve had some tough times too. The loss of Stephen left scars that we will carry as a band forever. We were immensely touched by all the tributes and messages of support that helped us through the dark days. Stephen was our brother and will always be at the very the heart of Boyzone.

 

Twenty-five years is a long time. We’re certainly not boys anymore, and we all feel that we should now call time on our lives together as Boyzone and go out on a real high.

 

This November we will be releasing our final album, ‘Thank You & Goodnight’. We’ve recorded twelve brand new tracks that we hope you’ll enjoy listening to as much as we’ve enjoyed making them.

 

We’re especially excited to share a very special tribute to Stephen in the shape of a new song, ‘I Can Dream.’ We came across a demo that he originally recorded for his solo album in 2002 and we’ve had the opportunity to re-work the song and add our harmonies alongside his lead vocal. It was a bittersweet experience to hear all our voices together again. It’s the closest the five of us will ever get to being in a room together again making music.

 

And we’re also eager to invite you all to one final celebration of twenty-five years of Boyzone and our journey together. We would love for you to raise the roof one last time as we head out on our farewell UK and Ireland arena tour.

 

We know this love’s forever. That’s all that matters, no matter what…”