Nine years after calling it a day, Boyzone are back for a second crack at pop superstardom. Entertainmentwise recently hooked up with one fifth of the band, Shane Lynch, to chat about whether he will be adding a Boyzone inking to his extensive tattoo collection ("certainly!"), what it's like being reunited with bandmates Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately after all this time ("a nice feeling") and, crucially, whether he really believes Harry Potter is evil.

It’s been 9 years since Boyzone split, why get back together now?
The break has done us good and now we want to come back and we are hungry, we want to make it work. I think in the late 90s it came to an end for a good reason – we were overtired and it just felt right to stop. It would be foolish not to say that we want to do what Take That and The Spice Girls have done, so we thought, lets put a tour out there too. Our new tour is almost like a farewell that we never did to say thanks very much to the fans and the people who bought records and came to see the shows. It was such a phenomenal success for us guys, we decided to release a new record, a record company called and we got excited – deals were offered and away we went.

Whose idea was it to reform?
We’ve been speaking about it for years, since kind of in 2004 when I did a TV show called The Games and the boys came down to support me.

That was the first time the group met since the split wasn’t it?
Yes all five of us, and it was nice to reminisce and it was a nice feeling to be with the lads again and we kind of spoke about doing a comeback but nothing happened. And then we just decided that if we didn’t do it now then we never would. Before everyone started getting too busy with other projects we just thought let's nail it now and we did.

Did you enjoy performing with the band again on your recent tour?
It was amazing, seeing the boys when I looked left and looked right, and to have their support and the feeling that comes with that, and contentment I suppose.

Has it been strange being back together as a band after such a long time apart?
It’s not been weird at all, I did think it was going to be very different coming back but it actually hasn’t been coming back, it’s exactly the same as it ever was and nothing's really changed, except just us boys really and our attitudes towards what we’re doing is very different. I mean it’s the same industry, the same record companies, the same gigs, and it’s always been amazing and it’s a pleasure to just experience it again to be honest.

The industry is still the same but how have you changed as a group?
Each character has changed. Naturally we’ve become the people who we’ve become and again its easy to be back to our old ways as 16,17 and 18 year olds winding each other up and pushing each other’s buttons. But yeah we are grown men now and its nice to be back in the music industry with a more qualified brain.

It was widely reported that Ronan initiated the orginal split because he wanted to pursue a solo career. Would you say that relations between the band are better than they were?
Ronan never initiated anything, none of us helped the situation. And I guess we get on better now more than we ever have because we understand each other a little bit better I think.

You can probably talk through your issues more then.
When you’ve been in the industry for so long and you read stuff in the papers about other folk you think is terrible, when we split we kind of fell into that industry trap of reading what everyone else was saying and we didn’t talk about problems then.

You’ve kept yourself very busy since the split but have you missed the band and the fame?
Yes I’ve definitely missed it to be honest. I missed the incredible lifestyle. It’s an emotional journey, it’s a lot of growing, it’s experiences you get that are incredible. I guess being back I appreciate it a hell of a lot more now. We’ve got a record out soon – the first record in 8 years and I’m scared about it – it’s like wow we are actually releasing a song, years ago I never took the time to appreciate it because it was one record after another, but this time around I’m a lot more in touch I guess.

Boyzone were massive the first time round, is there a pressure that you have to match that original success, especially since Take That’s comeback has been so well received?
No we’re not trying to match or beat Take That, we just do what we do. And we would love a number 1 or number 2 or a top 10 that’s for sure! But who knows, that may not happen but we’ve got a pretty good record that we’re happy with and at this point we are very happy with how we’ve pushed everything forward and to where we are today. We’ve just got to wait and see – it’s in everybody else’s hands and we’ve played our part.

You’ve all grown up a lot and are older than you were, how have you stayed in shape?
To be honest it’s not that difficult. Nobody’s gone soft, I think we have all maintained a level of fitness anyway. I personally drive racecars so I’ve gotta be fit for that. Stephen Gately is in shape because of all his West End shows. And Ronan makes the effort to get fit. I mean we’re all around 31, 32 so it’s not so bad!

You became a born again Christian during your time away from the band, how has your faith helped you since rejoining the group?
Becoming a Christian is just my relationship with God, it’s something I disrespected and rebelled against when I was a youngster. At that age, having my religion would have given me a lot that I didn’t have such as discipline and understanding, and I pretty much saved my life from self destruction and it’s been nice with the band – before we go out on stage we all say our thanks, for being there, and for getting a second chance. It’s certainly helped me in a big big way.

How have the rest of the band responded to your new-found faith, have they been supportive?
Well, I’m not cancelling gigs to go to church, its my relationship with god in my life and how I like to deal with principles. There is nothing difficult about it, and I think the lads are glad that I’m not like the old Shane that was a little bit wreckless.

Tell us a bit more about what's next for the band, the upcoming tour, what we expect musically from Boyzone, any surprises?
We have a £3 million budget on our last tour to make a fantastic show and now we’ve gotta better that. I think one thing for sure is we will continue to put out a fantastic visual show, but the songs themselves will carry themselves, we’ve had so many hits, and when you come to the concert it’s hit after hit after hit and it’s incredible. It’s a journey about people’s past and it is about the songs, and coming back to see a boyzone show you will go on an emotional journey seeing the old boyzone songs and it is electric.

You’ve done a lot of reality TV, would Boyzone consider bringing out a reality TV series covering the life of the band?
Personally I never say never. I get offered all sorts of TV opportunities, some I take, some I don’t. Generally speaking I like to experience a lot of things in life and nobody is Bill Gates – we still have to go out and work and do what we do so if it’s the right thing for Boyzone then yeah we’d get involved.

You’ve got lots of tattoo’s, do you have a Boyzone one?
I don’t!

Would you consider getting one?
Yes maybe, as a kid I was too proud but now, I’ve realised boyzone is a massive part of my life and it’s given me everything that I know and it’s who I am really so yeah I certainly would!

If you could add a 6th member to the group, who do you think would fit the bill?
Colin Farrell.

Do you still think Harry Potter is evil? (Last year, Shane likened Harry Potter to the occult in a newpaper interview.)
I never said that he was evil, I said he was misleading for children. Wizardry and witchcraft are not something that children really should dabble in, let alone adults, and I think I would have no problem with my child watching Harry Potter but I would have to explain the craft behind it.

Boyzone's new single Love You Anyway is out today. A new album - Back Again...No Matter What - The Greatest Hits - follows on October 13.