FINDING the right way to say goodbye after 25 years in music is always going to be a difficult task.

However, Boyzone had an adoring crowd at the BIC on their feet and singing along to some of the most iconic boy band anthems in a fitting send off.

The Irish group’s Thank You & Goodnight tour, which is also the name of their lauded seventh and final studio album, thrilled fans on the opening night of their two-gig residency in Bournemouth.

Emerging from the ceiling of the Windsor Hall, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch broke into their catalogue of chart classics, including Baby Can I Hold You and All That I Need.

The hits continued and the screams got louder as the boys from Dublin made the most of their last weekend on stage on the south coast.

During a short outfit change, a pre-recorded video discussed the life of band member Stephen Gately, who tragically died in 2009, and explained they are still very much a five-man group.

The singers returned on a podium in the centre of the audience and delivered Dream, which features Stephen’s voice when he recorded a solo version of the song in 2001. A bright white light shone from the small stage to represent the group’s fifth member.

The night went on with a mix of old and new before the main set ended with A Different Beat.

The inevitable and emotional encore had the venue shaking with When the Going Gets Tough, Life Is a Rollercoaster and the final farewell and thank you of Picture of You.