By Colette Sheriden

In its recent focus on Ireland's pop music industry, the New York Times wrote the following about Louis Walsh: "Dubbed 'the baron of bland' by critics for churning out one squeaky-clean manufactured pop act after another, Walsh is feted by record industry executives for creating a stream of mega-selling pop outfits." Not that Waish, the man with the Midas touch, would be bothered about the 'bland' word. As he says of himself and his A-list acts which include Samantha Mumba, Westlife and Ronan Keating, "we're all making lots of money out of this business."

Speaking to him on the telephone in his Ballsbridge home in Dublin, the man who assiduously uses the press to plant showbiz stories - particularly the tabloid press - doesn't exactly endear himself to this Cork-based journalist. When asked if he is coming to Cork to see Elton John play at Faire Ui Chaomh, he is quite insulting about the second city. Dublin, to him, is mecca - although he is a culchie who was born in Kiltimagh. The 47 year old Svengali is only seen by the casual observer as the man who came to prominence when he manufactured Boyzone in 1994 but he has been involved in the music business since the '70s, managing acts such as Johnny Logan, Linda Martin, Rob Strong, Asian and In Tua Nua, to mention just a few.

"I always wanted to work in the music business and make a good living out of it. When I saw bands like Take That and East 17, I thought I could do that so I formed Boyzone whose first hit was "Working My Way Back to You."

Asked about his personal tastes in nusic, he says he "likes everything from Roy Orbison to Frank Sinatra, all the Tamla Motown stuff, some Irish acts and anything that is soulful." On the day that we spoke, the tabloids had published a story about Westlife's Bryan McFadden's romp with a stripper on the night of his stag party. His tearful wife, Kerry Katona, was standing by her man and father to her daughter. Is this kind of stuff damaging to the band! "There's no damage from a story like that. It's just human interest," he says.