QUEUES of screaming fans lined up outside of HMV on Cornmarket to meet singer and radio host Ronan Keating.
Fans shouted: "I love you Ronan" as they queued up outside the store, which opened in September, to get a signed copy of his latest album and a cheeky selfie with the Boyzone frontman.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Mr Keating said he had been on a tour of the city and said it was "gorgeous", his favourite part being "all of the old buildings".
He added: “It is so close to where I live, it is a shame I do not come more often.”
READ MORE: GALLERY: Ronan Keating signs copies of his new album in Oxford
This new album, Songs From Home, is his 12th solo release and an ode to Keating's homeland in Ireland.
It includes tracks such as Luke Kelly’s Ragland Road, Damien Rice’s The Blower's Daughter and Bagatelle’s Summer in Dublin.
Keating told the Oxford Mail all the songs on the album are special to him and he feels ‘genuinely connected’ with each of them.
When asked what his favourite was he explained that fans can ‘take their pick’ from all 12 songs on the album.
He said: “They are songs that moulded me and that are part of the tapestry of my life. They are all Irish songs and they are all very important to me in different ways.”
Songs From Home is described as a celebration of Irish music and its significance to Keating, featuring traditional poetry and folklore alongside contemporary pieces.
The full track list is:
• Raglan Road
• Into The Mystic
• Where The Streets Have No Name
• The Voyage
• The Island
• Summer In Dublin
• Guiding Light
• No Frontiers
• The Blower's Daughter
• The Parting Glass
• Heyday
• Set In Stone
Keating’s signing event was not his first visit to the city as he and had previous performed in Oxford and spoken at The Oxford Union, Oxford University’s debating society.
As well as releasing his latest album, Keating is busy with his role as a radio host on Magic Radio’s breakfast show alongside podcaster and blogger Harriett Scott.
Keating told the Oxford Mail he is also currently finishing off renovating his new home and is eager to get out on tour in January, as it has been cancelled three times because of Covid-19.
The singer will go on tour across the UK in January and will play nearby venues including the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, Northampton’s Royal & Derngate and the Apollo in London.
Oxford’s HMV store on Cornmarket only opened in September on the site of the Gap store. The music chain left the city centre back in 2014 but made a return this year, the new store boasts two floors of music, films, books, clothing, toys and franchise memorabilia.
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