Ronan Keating's Boyzone bandmates are like ''brothers'' to him.

The 36-year-old star is enjoying working with Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham again for their 20th anniversary because he has missed the ''camaraderie''.

He said: ''[I missed] the camaraderie, the friendship, that energy that we create between each other. It's hard to explain but they're my brothers - we're there for each other every step of the way.''

The 'Isn't It A Wonder' hitmakers still feel the ''love'' of their fans, and say their own bond is stronger than ever.

Ronan told Britain's HELLO! magazine: ''It's fantastic. There's a lovely sense of love out there for the band and the atmosphere between us is better than ever before.''

While the group have had many high moments in their long career, Ronan says they have had their fair share of drama too, but nothing more difficult than losing bandmate Stephen Gately to an undiagnosed heart condition in 2009.

Ronan said: ''The highs have been incredible: the number ones, the sell-out tours, performing with Pavarotti and Mariah Carey - so many. The lows have been incredibly dramatic and losing Stephen is still today the hardest thing I've ever dealt with in many ways.''