dewinsya-medi.blogspot.com

Where We Are Tour 2010 @ Nottingham

2010-06-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

Source : http://www.Westlife.gr and http://markevin.fan-sites.org

Nicole Rose Filan

2010-06-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Name : Nicole Rose Filan

Date of Birth : 23^rd July 2005 at 8.27 am

Place Of Birth : Sligo General Hospital,Co.Sligo,Ireland

Astrological Signs : Cancer

Weight : 5lbs 7oz (at birth)

Eye colour : Blue

Hair Colour :Blonde

Parents : Shane Steven Filan and Gillian Rose Walsh Filan

Grandparents : Peter Filan and Mae Filan

Siblings : Patrick Michael Filan and Shane Peter Filan Jr.

Nicole and Shane Sing Together Live where we are tour~Im Already There

10 years of Westlife Live At Croke Park,Dublin Ireland

2010-06-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Rocco Bertie Byrne

2010-06-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

~~ Rocco Byrne ~~

Name: Rocco Bertie Byrne

Nicknames: Rocco

Date Of Birth: 20th April 2007

Time Of Birth: 9.55 am (Irish time)
Place of Birth: National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street
Weight: rumoured 5lb 11
Star Sign: Aries

Parents: Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne and Georgina Ahern Byrne
Siblings: A twinbrother Jay Nicky Byrne
Godmother: Cecelia Ahern (Georgina's sister)
Godfather: Adam Byrne (Nicky's brother)
Current residence: At home with mummy and daddy and twin brother Jay in Malahide/Dublin

Hair colour: Blonde
Eye colour: Blue
Grandparents: Bertie and Miriam Ahern, Nicky Sr and Yvonne Byrne
Aunt: Gillian Byrne
Uncle: Gillian's husband Mark

Facts:
- He has a twin brother names Jay
- Georgina was rushed to hospital on 19th April and had to stay over night
- He was born premature, the original date was 2nd June 2007
- His birth was announced in the afternoon of the 20th April
- He was delivered by Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe
- He did well after the birth, so did his brother and his mother
- He was born by C-section
- According to Nicky he looks like his father Nicky
- He's slightly smaller than his brother

Jay Nicky Byrne

2010-06-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

~~ Jay Byrne ~~

Name: Jay Nicky Byrne
Nicknames: Jay
Date Of Birth: 20th April 2007

Time Of Birth: 9.55 am (Irish time)
Place of Birth: National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street
Weight: rumoured 4lb 8
Star Sign: Aries
Parents: Nicky and Georgina Byrne
Siblings: A twinbrother called Rocco Byrne
Godmother: Gillian Byrne (Nicky's sister)
Godfather: Mark (Gillian Byrne's husband - Nicky's brother-in-law)
Current residence: At home with mummy and daddy and twin brother Rocco in Malahide/Dublin
Hair colour: Blonde
Eye colour: Blue
Grandparents: Bertie and Miriam Ahern, Nicky and Yvonne Byrne
Aunt: Gillian Byrne
Uncle: Gillian's husband Mark

Facts:
-> He has a twin brother names Rocco
-> Georgina was rushed to hospital on 19th April and had to stay over night
-> He was born premature, the original date was 2nd June 2007
-> His birth was announced in the afternoon of the 20th April
-> He was delivered by Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe
-> He did well after the birth, so did his brother and his mother
-> He was born by C-section
-> According to Nicky he is the image of Georgina and has her big eyes
-> He's a bit bigger than his brother

Biography Of Mr.Kian Egan

2010-06-03T22:52:00.000-07:00

KIAN EGAN

Full Name: Kian John Francis Egan
Date of birth: 29th April 1980
Star sign: Taurus
Place of birth: Sligo, Ireland

School: Summer Hill College
Where do you live now: Sligo / On the road

Colour of eyes: Blue
Height: 5ft 10
Inside Leg Measurement: 31
Chest: 40
Shoe size: 8
Any tattoos: a chinese symbol meaning spirit/soul on his left ankle
Scars/marks: Small scar on face (right cheek)

Family: parents Kevin Egan (d.2009) and Patricia Egan
three brothers: Gavin Egan, Tom Egan, and Colm Egan
three sisters: Vivienne Egan, Fenella Egan, and Marielle Egan

Personality:
Describe yourself in three words: Romantic, fun, shy
Bad habit: I bite my nails
Rule of life: "Treat everybody the same way you want to be treated"
Phrase that you use often: Alone
If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be? a beaver
Dream house: Big house in Hollywood
Worst class(es): Maths
Best class(es): Art
Hobbies: Music, snooker, pitch and putt, shopping
Instrument: Guitar and piano
Likes: performing on stage, having a good night out and being in Westlife
Dislikes: sushi and rude people
Fave sport(s): Basketball, football
Fave actor: Brad Pitt
Fave actress: Cameron Diaz
Fave male singer: Brian Littrell
Fave female singer: Celine Dion
Most like to meet: Michael Jackson
Who Would Who Have A One 2 One With: Madonna
Most Impressive Person You've Ever Met: Lenny Kravitz
Best movie ever: Titanic
Fave cereal: Frosties
Fave food: Steak and Chips
Worst food: Sushi
Fave soft drink: 7 UP
McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds
Fave place to chill: In front of T.V.
Fave place to visit: USA
Fave football team: Liverpool
Fave perfume, men?JOOP
Fave perfume, women?Loads
Fave clothes: Alexander McQueen shirt, Nicole Farhi cotton jeans
Fave designer: Dolce and Gabbana
Fave colour: Blue or white
Fave book: Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNabb
Fave music: BSB, Boyzone, Five, Chart
Fave song: Baby one more time by Britney Spears, She's Like The Wind (from 'Dirty Dancing')
First record bought: Metallica - Glory of Love
First concert: Michael Jackson in Dublin
U2 or B*Witched: U2
BSB or Boyzone: BSB
Lovelife:
Blondes or brunettes: Both
Ideal woman: Good looking, good personality, good fun
Girlfriend: Jessica Forsman ?!
His first kiss : was when he was nine - round the back of the Mervin community centre in Sligo!
Fave one-liner: Don?se any
Romantic move (eg. flowers): Too many to give away!

Biography Of Mr.Nicky Byrne

2010-06-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

NICKY BYRNE
Full Name : Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne
Date of birth: 9th October 1978
Place of birth: Holles Street Hospital, Dublin, Southern Ireland

Height: 5ft 9 and a half
Color of eyes: Blue

Parents: Nikki Byrne Sr & Yvonne Byrne
Brother: Adam Byrne
Sister: Gillian Walsh Filan

Pets: None - My dog Ben ran away!
Any tattoos: Yes, right over my bum
Dream house: Big house just outside Dublin
School: Returned to Plunkit College after spending two years with Leeds Football Club

Worst class: I was never any good at maths

Best classes: English was easy and geography wasn't bad
Hobbies: Football and Snooker

Likes: Football (especially Man U and Leeds because he used to be the goalie in the junior team), eating out, shopping and traveling home to Ireland to see his family, playing music and singing
Dislikes: Smoking and nasty people
Favorite sport(s): Soccer and snooker
Favorite actor: Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt
Favorite actress: Demi Moore
Favorite male singer: Phil Collins
Favorite female singer: Natalie Imbruglia
Favorite video (s): Titanic, Die Hard
Favorite cereal: Sugar Puffs
Favorite Food: Sunday Dinner
Favorite soft drink: Pepsi
Favorite place to chill: My couch in my front living room in Dublin
Favorite place to visit: Caribbean or New York or Sydney
Favorite perfume, men's: Dolce & Gabbana
Favorite perfume, women's: CK Eternity
Favorite Football Team: Manchester United
Favorite Group: Boyzone
Favorite song: Flying Without Wings (by Westlife!!)
McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds definitely
Rule of Life: "Never think that anyone's better than you, and never think that you are better than anyone else"
U2 or B*Witched: U2
BSB or Boyzone: Boyzone
Blondes or brunettes: Depends
Favorite one-liner: How do you like your eggs in the morning
Phrase that you use often: Le Gra means with love in Irish
Described as: Sociable and fun.
Football Careers Before joining Sligo based band IOU, Byrne was a footballer who played for Home Farm F.C. and St. Kevins Boys F.C. in North Dublin. He became a professional football player, and joined Leeds United as a goalkeeper in 1995, and was a squad member of the FA Youth Cup winning team of 1997 He played for Leeds for two years, leaving when his contract expired in June 1997.

It was not renewed as he wasn't tall enough and needed to grow another two inches - he never was able to meet these height requirements. He played in a reserve game for Scarborough F.C. and in a trial game with Cambridge United before returning to join Dublin club Shelbourne. He then signed for Cobh Ramblers playing 11 games, then St. Francis F.C., all in Ireland's League of Ireland. On the 14/5/09 Nicky was a substitute for a Liverpool FC Legends XI that played against an All Star XI in a Hillsborough Memorial match to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. All the proceeds from the match went to the Marina Dalglish appeal. He represented Republic of Ireland at U15, U16 and U18 levels.
Musical career
In June 1998, he attended an audition for a new Irish boyband, where he was spotted by Boyzone manager Louis Walsh, and Walsh approached him to join his new venture, Westlife. He joined Westlife along with Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden. Byrne also had a number 1 single in Ireland in 2002, alongside the Republic of Ireland national football team and Dustin the Turkey with the Irish World Cup anthem, 'Here Come The Good Times (Ireland)'. His first album with Westlife was released in November, 1999, titled Westlife. With Westlife, Byrne has had 14 UK number ones and 7 number one albums in the UK, and sold 40 million records worldwide.
Family
He married his childhood sweetheart Georgina Ahern, daughter of the former Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern on 5 August 2003 at the Wicklow Registry Office, Wicklow, County Wicklow, Ireland. The civil ceremony was followed on Saturday August 9 by a church blessing at the Roman Catholic Church of St Pierre et St Paul in Gallardon, Eure-et-Loir, France and a reception at the nearby 16th century Château d'Esclimont.
Georgina gave birth to fraternal twin sons Rocco Bertie Byrne and Jay Nicky Byrne on 20 April 2007, 6 weeks premature. Rocco and Jay were christened on 15 July 2007 in the Saint Sylvester Church in Malahide, Dublin. Jay's godparents are Nicky's sister Gillian Byrne and her husband Mark Gallagher. Rocco's godparents are Georgina's sister Cecelia Ahern and Nicky's brother Adam Byrne. Nicky Byrne's father, Nicky Byrne Sr, died on November 3, 2009, from a suspected heart attack at the age of 60. Westlife's promotional tour of London was cancelled as Nicky flew back to Dublin to be with his family. A few months later his niece-in-law was born to his sister-in-law Cecelia Ahern and partner David Keoghan. It was a third grandchild for his father-in-law Bertie Ahern. The baby girl was called Robin and born in the Rotunda Hospitak, Dublin on the 13th of December 2009 .

Biography Of Mr.Mark Feehily

2010-06-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

MARK FEEHILY
Name: Mark Michael Patrick Feehily
Date Of Birth: 28th of May 1980
Horoscope: Gemini
Born In: Sligo - Ireland
Lives: Callry - Sligo

Eyes: Blue
Height: 5 ft 11 in
Status: Single
Family: two younger brothers
Dream house: Big house in Sligo with a pool
Pets: A black Labrador called Snoopy
Hobbies: Tennis, football, snooker, chilling out
Describe Himself: Shy, Easy-going, Friendly
Previous Job: Pizza Delivery and Photo Lab Assistant
Before Joining Westlife: He also began to perform when he was 12 years old.
Fave Food: Steak and chips
Fave Football Team: Liverpool
Fave Subject: French
Fave Sports: Football / Tennis
Fave Male Singer: Michael Jackson
Fave Female Singer: Mariah Carey
Fave Film: The Nutty Professor / Armageddon
Fave Actor: Eddie Murphy
Fave Actress: Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe from Friends)
Fave Music: Everything
Fave Song: Without You - Mariah Carey
Fave Westlife Song: Angels Wings
Fave Color: Purple/ Violet
Fave Cereal: Rice Crispies / Weetabix
Fave Drink: Fanta Lemon
Fave Place: Home (Sligo)
Fave Perfume: Hugo Boss

Musical Career
• Imaginary Diva • Reason For Living • Crying Girl • You Don't Know • Never Knew I Was Losing You • Where We Belong • Singing Forever • I Won't Let You Down • You See Friends (I See Lovers) • I'm Missing Loving You • Miss You When I'm Dreaming • Reach Out
Personal Life
Feehily publicly came out as gay in the UK tabloid The Sun, and announced his long-term relationship with Kevin McDaid, a member of the now-defunct British boy band In an interview he said, "My life has got umpteen times better. My sexuality doesn't define me as a person, but it's a huge part of anyone to be open about it. It's changed my life totally as I feel so much happier and at ease. It's the best thing I've ever done." Unlike his band mates, for years Feehily did not discuss his private life. His manager Louis Walsh was unaware of Feehily's sexuality when he picked him for the band.
The pair have been dating since January 2005 after having met at a Cheerios Childline Concert in Ireland. In yet another interview, Feehily told the Sydney Morning Herald that despite the fact that the majority of Westlife's fans are female, there had really been no negative reaction. "I am so much happier now and I think our fans can see that," he said. "Through the years of getting to the point where I wanted to come out, I had to go through every kind of emotion, but I can honestly say that the day before I came out, I didn't care what the reaction was going to be.That was the hardest point to get to." Feehily said that while he did not intend on getting married right away, he is happy to know he could form a civil partnership in Britain with the recent passing of the Civil Partnership Act. They both say that when the time is right, they will look into having a civil partnership ceremony. In December 2007, Mark and Kevin appeared on the cover of Attitude magazine. They also did a joint interview. In this interview, Mark stated that he wants to grow old with Kevin, and that the pair believe that they will be together forever. Mark and Kevin also own a pet pug called Saffy.

Biography Of Mr.Shane Steven Filan

2010-05-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

SHANE FILAN

Full Name: Shane Steven Filan

Date of birth: 5th July 1979, 12:34 pm
Star sign: Cancer
Place of birth: Sligo General Hospital, Ireland
School: Summer Hill College, Sligo

Colour of eyes: Hazel green

Hair Colour: Brown

Height: 5ft 9

Inside Leg Measurement : 32

Chest : 3

Waist: 31

Shoe size: 9

Family: parents PeterFilan and Mae Filan, three brothers: Finbarr Filan,Peter Jr Filan, Liam Filan, three sisters: Yvonne Filan, Denise Filan, Mairead Filan

Previous Jobs: Hardware store

Any tattoos: No

Distinguishing Features: I got a scar on my head where I fell over and split it open when I was younger.

pets: A German Shepherd dog called Kaiser & loads of horses!

Describe yourself in three words: Level-headed, generous, romantic

Bad Points: When I'm watching TV, it's hard to get my attention

Left or Right Handed: Right

Hobbies: Horse riding, snooker, pitch and putt

Instrument: Guitar

Previous Bands: IOU

Likes: Sleeping, shopping, hot weather, girls, going out with his friends, horses (his family have a lot to do with the world of horses) and singing

dislikes: Insects, rude people, rain

Blondes or brunettes: either

Fave Body Part: Eyes and hands

Worst subject: Science

Best subject: English/Maths

Fave sport: Soccer, horse riding
Fave actor: Tom Cruise
Fave actress: Catherine Zeta Jones
Fave male singer: George Michael
Fave female singer: Mariah Carey

Most like to meet: Michael Jackson

Hero: Michael Jackson

Best movie ever: Titanic

Fave cereal: Corn Flakes

Fave food: Spaghetti, Mum's cooking, steak and chips

Worst food: sushi

Fave soft drink: Coca Cola

McDonalds or Burger King: Both

Fave place to chill: At home

Fave place to visit: Tenerife

Fave football team: Liverpool

Fave perfume, men's: Polo / Sport

Fave perfume, women's: Coolwater / Beautiful / Chloe

Fave clothes: Long sleeved shirts

Fave designer: Dolce and Gabbana

Fave colour: Black

Fave book: Anything by W.B.Yeats

Fave song: I Believe I can Fly by R Kelly, Take That - Back For Good

Fave Westlife song: What I want Is What I've Got

First record bought: Uptown Girl - Billy Joel

First concert: Status Quo in Sligo

Fave one-liner: Too many to mention

If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be? a horse

Rule of Life: "You only live once, so live a good life!"

Phrase that you use often: You know what I mean

Who Would You Have A One 2 One With? Michael Jackson

Most Impressive Person You've Ever Met: Mother Teresa

Musical career

Before Westlife, Egan and Feehily were with Filan in a band known as I.O.U. with other Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael "Miggles" Garrett. He partly written the IOYOU's song Together Girl Forever. For 6 months, Shane's mom, Mae Filan, tried to phone Louis Walsh (who is also the Manager of Boyzone). Eventually, she was able to speak to him and talked about his son's band. 3 of them are dropped, and the other 3, Shane, Kian and Mark joined ventures to finding 2 more slots for the band. Then they were joined by Nicky Byrne and Brian Mcfadden to form Westlife.

Filan, along with Mark Feehily, is the main lead singer (first voice) in Westlife. In most of Westlife's songs, Filan always start the song first. Their first album was released in November, 1999, titled Westlife. With Westlife, Filan has received twenty-eight platinum discs and sold 40 million records worldwide.

Filan has also co-written a few songs, along with the other band members, including: •Fragile Heart • Bop Bop Baby (Became a hit single and made it into #5 in U.K. singles charts) • I Wanna Grow Old With You • Don't Say It's Too Late • Love Crime • How Does It Feel • Crying Girl • Reason For Living • Miss You When I'm Dreaming He has also written songs for other artists, (together with his former bandmate McFadden): • Listen Girl sung by John Ostberg • Let Me Be the One sung by Simon Casey (the song written by only Shane himself) • Sei Parte Ormai Di Me sung by Il Divo Filan's recent appearance when he becomes Walsh's guest judge in the groups category of The X Factor. Among the four guest judges, he is the only guy.

Personal Life

Filan married his childhood sweetheart, Gillian Walsh (bandmate Kian Egan's cousin) on Sunday December 28, 2003 at Ballintubber Abbey, followed by a reception at Ashford Castle, Ireland.[4] Gillian gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Nicole Rose, at Sligo General Hospital on 23 July 2005. Their second child, a son, Patrick Michael, was born at Sligo General Hospital on September 15, 2008. On 5 July 2009(the day of his 30th birthday) Shane Announced that he and Gillian are expecting their third child, due in January 2010. Shane likes to play golf in his spare time, but loves horses much more. He and his family own more than 70 of them, and used to compete at horse tournaments. All of Shane's horses are named Carlton something (e.g. Carlton Flight, Carlton Clover Association of Ireland). A massive Manchester United fan, Filan and bandmate Nicky Byrne proudly wore their Man Utd scarfs as they were half time guests at Old Trafford for the game between United and Bolton Wanderers He and his eldest brother, Finbarr, have a company called Shafin Developments Ltd. They are hoping to expand its portfolio with the proposed construction of 63 luxury apartments at the rear of Lisroyan House, Knappagh Road, Sligo

History Of Westlife

2010-05-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

ALL ABOUT WESTLIFE
HISTORY
Westlife is an Irish pop group formed on 3 July 1998. The group's original lineup comprised Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden. McFadden left in 2004. The group is the only act in UK history to have their first seven singles go straight to Number 1, and they have gone on to sell over 44 million records worldwide[1] which includes their studio, single, video, and compilation albums.Despite the group's worldwide success, they've only had one U.S. hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts: "Swear It Again," which made it to #20 in 2000.
Westlife were originally signed by Simon Cowell and are currently managed by Louis Walsh. In 2008, they were declared as Ireland's ninth-richest celebrities under 30 years old and 13th in general with 36 million euros as a group. In 2009, they dropped as 16th richest Irish with estimated 8 million euros each. They garnered 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history, tying with Cliff Richard and trailing behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The group has also broken a few top records, including "Music artist with most consecutive number 1's in the UK" and the "Biggest selling arena act in the Wembley Arena".
Though none of Westlife's members play an instrument full-time, Egan plays guitar on stage, and Byrne has been seen to play drums. Filan and Feehily sing lead vocals. Egan also is seen playing the piano in the videoclip to the song Angel. Over years of their career, Westlife's music has evolved from teen pop to a pop sound, with an emphasis on ballads. Most of the group's hits have been composed by experienced songwriters, most notably Steve Mac and Wayne Hector.
On 1 June 2008, Westlife marked their 10th anniversary with a concert in Croke Park, Dublin which saw more than 83,000 fans attending the special occasion. Music Week revealed on their website that Westlife is the official third top touring act within the years 2005–2008, while they were 7th top touring act of 2008.
Formation of Westlife (Westside)
Prior to becoming successful, Egan, Feehily and Filan along with fellow Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael Garrett, were part of a six-member pop vocal group called Six as One and was later changed to IOYOU. Managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh along with two other informal managers, they released a single titled "Together Girl Forever". Walsh, the manager of the 1990s boy-band Boyzone, was contacted by Filan's mother and came to know about the group. However, IOYOU did not meet Cowell's approval for a record deal with BMG, and thus changes were needed. Three members of IOYOU were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Byrne and McFadden were recruited. The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was re-named Westside but as the name was already taken by another band, it was later changed to Westlife. In Westlife - Our Story, Byrne revealed he was keen to change the name to West High but the others wanted Westlife. Brian also changed the spelling of his name to Bryan to make it easier to sign autographs. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Walsh. The band then released an EP titled “Swear It Again”, though only in Asia.
• Dreams Come True - World Of Our Own (1998-2002)
Westlife's first big break came in 1998 when they opened for the Boyzone and Backstreet Boys' concerts in Dublin. Later that year, they won the 'Best New Tour Act' award at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. In March 1999, the group released their first single, "Swear It Again" which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in UK for two weeks.Their second single, "If I Let You Go", released in August 1999 along with the highly acclaimed "Flying Without Wings" (their first 'Record of the Year'), released in October the same year, also followed suit. "Flying Without Wings" was also included on the soundtrack of the Warner Brothers film, "Pokémon 2000". The first album, simply titled Westlife, was released in November 1999 and peaked at #2 in the UK. Ironically, the album was the biggest chart dropper in the music history of UK, falling from #3 to #37. In December 1999, the double a side fourth single was released,"I Have A Dream"/"Seasons In The Sun", knocked Cliff Richard's "The Millennium Prayer" off the top spot and earning them the 1999 UK Christmas number-one single. The fifth and last single from the album, "Fool Again", also peaked at #1. Then, the group went on a short UK and Asian tour in support of their debut album before releasing a second album.
Coast to Coast was released a year after and was another #1 UK album beating the Spice Girls' Forever album. It became the country's 4th biggest selling album of 2000 and is Westlife's biggest selling album to date. The album was preceded by a duet with Mariah Carey on the Phil Collins' classic "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and the original song, "My Love" (the song that bagged their second 'Record of the Year' award). Both singles reached #1 on the UK charts. With this, Westlife broke an unexpected record of having their first seven singles debut at the top of the UK charts, tying with The Beatles. However, in December 2000, they failed to secure their eighth chart-topper in a row with their UK and Ireland only single "What Makes A Man" when kid's favourite, Bob The Builder's "Can We Fix It", was crowned as the Christmas number-one single of that year.[15] Outside the UK/Ireland territories, they have released "I Lay My Love on You" and "When You're Looking Like That" and gained chart success. In 2001, the boys launched their first world tour, "Where Dreams Come True Tour", unofficially nicknamed "The No Stools Tour" due to the group's reputation of performing while perched on stools.
Westlife released World Of Our Own, their third album, in November 2001. "Uptown Girl", "Queen of My Heart" and "World of Our Own" were released as singles, as of which all peaked at #1 in the UK. "Bop Bop Baby" was also released as a single but it peaked at #5 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2002, Westlife went on their second world tour, the World Of Our Own Tour (In The Round)
Unbreakable - Departure of Brian (2002-2004)
The group released their eleventh UK #1 single, "Unbreakable", in 2002. Amidst rumours of a split, Westlife released their first greatest hits album in November that same year entitled, Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 zoomed all the way to #1 in the UK. The release was followed by the double a side single, "Tonight/Miss You Nights", which debuted at #3 in the UK. At this era, Because Films Inspire... made a TV Documentary titled as "Wild Westlife" directed by Iain MacDonald and starred by the group itself. It reveals how was their musical life on a daily basis and when on tour.[22] In 2003, Westlife went on to their third world tour, The Greatest Hits Tour, shrugging off rumours of a split.
In September 2003, Westlife released "Hey Whatever", which peaked at #4 on the UK Charts. Their fourth studio album, Turnaround, was then released in November, earning the group another UK #1 album. "Mandy", a cover of the Barry Manilow hit, was released in November 2003. Their version won them their third Record of the Year award in under five years. Their version of Mandy is also considered as the highest single leaper to the top (from #200 to #1) in the UK music history. "Obvious" was released as the final single from the album, charting at #3.
On 9 March 2004, just three weeks prior to embarking on their fourth world tour, Bryan McFadden left the group to spend more time with his family and work on solo projects. On that day, a press conference was held where all the group's members were present and gave emotional individual speeches. Bryan's final public performance as part of Westlife was at Newcastle Upon Tyne's Powerhouse nightclub on 27 February 2004. He subsequently began a solo career, deciding to revert the spelling of his first name back to its original 'Brian', he released his first solo single, "Real To Me" which entered the UK chart at #1 and soon after, he released his first solo album, "Irish Son" under Sony Music. He went on to release more singles with moderate success.
• Allow Us To Be Frank - 10 years (2004–2009)
Less than a month after McFadden's departure, the group kicked off their "Turnaround Tour". A live version from the said tour of "Flying Without Wings" was released as an official UK download, earning them the title of the very first UK Downloads #1. They then put out a Rat Pack-inspired album, Allow Us to Be Frank, peaking at #3. No singles were released in the UK from this album. "Ain't That A Kick In The Head", accompanied with a music video, was released as a physical single in other European countries. "Smile" and "Fly Me To The Moon", with music videos as well, were released as digital downloads only. Prior to the album release, Westlife scouted for "the perfect fan" to help promote their album from their one-season special show "She's The One", presented by Kate Thornton. After X Factor-style auditions, they found Joanne Hindley, who recorded "The Way You Look Tonight" with the group. To mark this special collaboration, a special programme was televised, showing auditions and live performances. Performers included Joanne, Westlife members' fathers and glamour model Katie Price, Il Divo and Kevin Spacey. Westlife continued to tour Europe as part of their "The Number Ones Tour", before taking a four-month break from work. On 4 May 2005, Westlife lost their battle for European trademark from the German trademark "West".In 2005, Westlife returned with their comeback single, "You Raise Me Up", which was taken from their Face To Face album. On 6 November 2005, both the album and the single were at #1 in the UK at the same time at the second week of the single. It was the first time that Westlife have held both top album and single position in the same week. "You Raise Me Up" was awarded as their fourth Record Of The Year in UK for 2005. In December that year, the group released "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", a duet with Diana Ross, as the second single and it debuted at its peak position of #2. Westlife then released a third single, "Amazing", which debuted at #4 and marked as the group's lowest-selling single yet. After that, Westlife embarked on the "Face To Face Tour", travelling extensively to the UK, Ireland, Australia and Asia. This tour marked the first time that Westlife have travelled to mainland China for a concert.
In late 2006, Westlife signed a brand new five-album deal with Sony BMG. Their eighth album, The Love Album, was a "love" concept album which consisted of popular love song covers. The album outsold other compilation albums by Oasis, The Beatles, and U2 in its first week of release and went straight to #1. The first single from The Love Album was a cover version of Bette Midler's classic, "The Rose", which became their 14th UK #1 single. This made Westlife the third act (along with Cliff Richard) in the UK to have the most #1 singles, tailing behind Elvis Presley (21) and The Beatles (17). Westlife then kicked off their eighth world tour, "The Love Tour", in Perth, Australia.[41] The group then went on to other Australian cities before moving on to South Africa, the UK and Ireland. Westlife staged their last major concert of 2007 at Bitts Park in Carlisle, England.[42]
On 5 November 2007, Westlife released their ninth album, Back Home, which contained nine new original songs along with three cover songs. The album debuted at #1 on the UK Music Charts and it was also 2007's fifth biggest selling album in the UK. The first single released from the album was a cover of Michael Bublé's "Home", which peaked at #3 in the UK. "I'm Already There", not released as a single, managed to chart in the UK based on downloads alone following a performance on an The X Factor episode. On 15 December 2007, they had a two-hour show called The Westlife Show where they performed 10 of their songs, some voted by the fans through online and some from Back Home. It was hosted by Holly Willoughby. This time, Westlife together with Tesco brought out "The Definitive Westlife Quiz" that asked about the whole history about the boys. It was participated by thousands of fans worldwide. Months later, "Us Against The World" was announced and released as their second single in UK and Ireland. It peaked at #8 and is the group's lowest charting single to date. Before the release of the second single, they embarked on the Back Home Tour on 2008 February 25. This tour marked the first time that the group have traveled and performed to New Zealand, performing four sold-out shows in Auckland, Wellington, New Plymouth and Christchurch. Meanwhile, "Something Right" was released as the second single and "Us Against The World" became the third single in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Both songs performed well on several music charts.
To mark their tenth year in music, Westlife staged a special 10 Years Of Westlife sold-out concert at the world's thirty-third and Europe's fourth biggest stadium, Croke Park, on 1 June 2008. With a capacity of 82 300, it was the boy's biggest show to date. Shayne Ward filled in as a support act for the concert, which Kian described to be of a "pop extravaganza".Shane confirmed that a corresponding live concert DVD will be released. The group announced that they will be on hiatus for a year after their Back Home Tour and that there would not be an album release in 2008 as they would be spending more time on the production of their tenth album. On 16 June 2008, HarperCollins UK will release Westlife's autobiography, 'Westlife - Our Story', as part of their 10th year celebration. The book was said to be written by each group member for three months. It contains the life they have for the past ten years in the business. It features also some of the private pictures from the lads. As promised, the group's official website confirmed on 27 September 2008 the release of a DVD on 24 November 2008 entitled 10 Years Of Westlife - Live at Croke Park Stadium which went straight to #1 on UK, Ireland, South African, Hong Kong and New Zealand Music DVD charts.
As the group ended their successful Back Home tour, Louis Walsh announced in the show Xpose that 1 July 2008 is the official start of the longest hiatus of the group so far. He said that it will be a one-year break, from that day up to 1 July 2009. On 13 December 2008, while on a break, Westlife made an unexpected appearance on X Factor Final Performance Night where they performed "Flying Without Wings" with JLS. After the presentation, Shane and Nicky were interviewed on Xtra Factor with Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately of Boyzone. As JLS performed also "I'm Already There", Westlife's version of the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #63 while a new entry on Ireland Singles Chart at #47 due to extensive downloads only.
Before Christmas 2008, they wrote a letter to their website saying that 2009 was going to be the most exciting year yet for Westlife. With that, the fans of Westlife strongly speculated that one of the reasons is because of their possible collaborations with Leona Lewis and Britney Spears. While on a hiatus, Westlife was reported to have a closed deal for their upcoming 70-concert tour worth 10 million Euros by the end of 2009.
On the last week of January 2009, a DVD entitled The Karaoke Collection was released. It contains some of their music video hits. In 27 February 2009 issue of Herald Ireland, Louis revealed that Simon already picked three new songs which he reckons to be instant hits. Nicky spread the word last 8 March 2009 that Westlife will come back to music charts when they start recording in June 2009 when he received his VIP Style Awards as the Most Stylish Man on X-pose, TV3. On 18 March 2009, they won the Best Irish Pop Act on 2009 Meteor Awards for the ninth consecutive time. On 28 May 2009, they re-released Westlife - Our Story autobiography, adding their Croke Park experience and first time in a paperback edition.
Where We Are (2009-present)
Walsh has revealed that after a year's break with their friends and family Westlife will return to hit the charts once more in June when they work on their tenth studio album. Walsh also said that while he met up with Cowell they jointly managed to mastermind Westlife's comeback. At the time three songs had already been chosen which he believes will be big hits when they are released. Shane told the Irish Mirror that they want to make the next album one of their best.
The new album, Where We Are, was released on 30 November 2009 in the UK and peaked at #2 on both Irish and UK Albums Chart. The new single "What About Now", was released a few weeks earlier on 23 October 2009, with digital downloads being available the day before. The said single peaked at# 2 on both Irish and UK Singles Chart. Daughtry's original version of the song gained exposure on the audition rounds of The X Factor prior to Westlife's release. The tour in support of this album is called "The Where We Are Tour".
They were part of the Haiti charity single, "Everybody Hurts", an R.E.M. cover which was organized by Cowell. [57] It was officially announced by Music Week that they are the "2nd biggest selling artist" (trailing behind Robbie Williams) and "Biggest selling band of the decade" (beating Coldplay) in UK with 10.14 million album sales.
Various reports are spreading that the band and their management have decided not to release a second single from Where We Are, but no confirmation has been made as of this moment. According to these reports, a new album will be released at the last quarter of 2010 and the group saying they wanted it to be a sexy album
ALL ABOUT WESTLIFE
HISTORY
Westlife is an Irish pop group formed on 3 July 1998. The group's original lineup comprised Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden. McFadden left in 2004. The group is the only act in UK history to have their first seven singles go straight to Number 1, and they have gone on to sell over 44 million records worldwide[1] which includes their studio, single, video, and compilation albums. Despite the group's worldwide success, they've only had one U.S. hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts: "Swear It Again," which made it to #20 in 2000.
Westlife were originally signed by Simon Cowell and are currently managed by Louis Walsh. In 2008, they were declared as Ireland's ninth-richest celebrities under 30 years old and 13th in general with 36 million euros as a group. In 2009, they dropped as 16th richest Irish with estimated 8 million euros each. They garnered 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history, tying with Cliff Richard and trailing behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The group has also broken a few top records, including "Music artist with most consecutive number 1's in the UK" and the "Biggest selling arena act in the Wembley Arena".
Though none of Westlife's members play an instrument full-time, Egan plays guitar on stage, and Byrne has been seen to play drums. Filan and Feehily sing lead vocals. Egan also is seen playing the piano in the videoclip to the song Angel. Over years of their career, Westlife's music has evolved from teen pop to a pop sound, with an emphasis on ballads. Most of the group's hits have been composed by experienced songwriters, most notably Steve Mac and Wayne Hector.
On 1 June 2008, Westlife marked their 10th anniversary with a concert in Croke Park, Dublin which saw more than 83,000 fans attending the special occasion. Music Week revealed on their website that Westlife is the official third top touring act within the years 2005–2008, while they were 7th top touring act of 2008.
Formation of Westlife (Westside)
Prior to becoming successful, Egan, Feehily and Filan along with fellow Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael Garrett, were part of a six-member pop vocal group called Six as One and was later changed to IOYOU. Managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh along with two other informal managers, they released a single titled "Together Girl Forever". Walsh, the manager of the 1990s boy-band Boyzone, was contacted by Filan's mother and came to know about the group. However, IOYOU did not meet Cowell's approval for a record deal with BMG, and thus changes were needed. Three members of IOYOU were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Byrne and McFadden were recruited. The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was re-named Westside but as the name was already taken by another band, it was later changed to Westlife. In Westlife - Our Story, Byrne revealed he was keen to change the name to West High but the others wanted Westlife. Brian also changed the spelling of his name to Bryan to make it easier to sign autographs. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Walsh. The band then released an EP titled “Swear It Again”, though only in Asia.
• Dreams Come True - World Of Our Own (1998-2002)
Westlife's first big break came in 1998 when they opened for the Boyzone and Backstreet Boys' concerts in Dublin. Later that year, they won the 'Best New Tour Act' award at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. In March 1999, the group released their first single, "Swear It Again" which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in UK for two weeks.Their second single, "If I Let You Go", released in August 1999 along with the highly acclaimed "Flying Without Wings" (their first 'Record of the Year'), released in October the same year, also followed suit. "Flying Without Wings" was also included on the soundtrack of the Warner Brothers film, "Pokémon 2000". The first album, simply titled Westlife, was released in November 1999 and peaked at #2 in the UK. Ironically, the album was the biggest chart dropper in the music history of UK, falling from #3 to #37. In December 1999, the double a side fourth single was released,"I Have A Dream"/"Seasons In The Sun", knocked Cliff Richard's "The Millennium Prayer" off the top spot and earning them the 1999 UK Christmas number-one single. The fifth and last single from the album, "Fool Again", also peaked at #1. Then, the group went on a short UK and Asian tour in support of their debut album before releasing a second album.
Coast to Coast was released a year after and was another #1 UK album beating the Spice Girls' Forever album. It became the country's 4th biggest selling album of 2000 and is Westlife's biggest selling album to date. The album was preceded by a duet with Mariah Carey on the Phil Collins' classic "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and the original song, "My Love" (the song that bagged their second 'Record of the Year' award). Both singles reached #1 on the UK charts. With this, Westlife broke an unexpected record of having their first seven singles debut at the top of the UK charts, tying with The Beatles. However, in December 2000, they failed to secure their eighth chart-topper in a row with their UK and Ireland only single "What Makes A Man" when kid's favourite, Bob The Builder's "Can We Fix It", was crowned as the Christmas number-one single of that year.[15] Outside the UK/Ireland territories, they have released "I Lay My Love on You" and "When You're Looking Like That" and gained chart success. In 2001, the boys launched their first world tour, "Where Dreams Come True Tour", unofficially nicknamed "The No Stools Tour" due to the group's reputation of performing while perched on stools.
Westlife released World Of Our Own, their third album, in November 2001. "Uptown Girl", "Queen of My Heart" and "World of Our Own" were released as singles, as of which all peaked at #1 in the UK. "Bop Bop Baby" was also released as a single but it peaked at #5 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2002, Westlife went on their second world tour, the World Of Our Own Tour (In The Round)
Unbreakable - Departure of Brian (2002-2004)
The group released their eleventh UK #1 single, "Unbreakable", in 2002. Amidst rumours of a split, Westlife released their first greatest hits album in November that same year entitled, Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 zoomed all the way to #1 in the UK. The release was followed by the double a side single, "Tonight/Miss You Nights", which debuted at #3 in the UK. At this era, Because Films Inspire... made a TV Documentary titled as "Wild Westlife" directed by Iain MacDonald and starred by the group itself. It reveals how was their musical life on a daily basis and when on tour.[22] In 2003, Westlife went on to their third world tour, The Greatest Hits Tour, shrugging off rumours of a split.
In September 2003, Westlife released "Hey Whatever", which peaked at #4 on the UK Charts. Their fourth studio album, Turnaround, was then released in November, earning the group another UK #1 album. "Mandy", a cover of the Barry Manilow hit, was released in November 2003. Their version won them their third Record of the Year award in under five years. Their version of Mandy is also considered as the highest single leaper to the top (from #200 to #1) in the UK music history. "Obvious" was released as the final single from the album, charting at #3.
On 9 March 2004, just three weeks prior to embarking on their fourth world tour, Bryan McFadden left the group to spend more time with his family and work on solo projects. On that day, a press conference was held where all the group's members were present and gave emotional individual speeches. Bryan's final public performance as part of Westlife was at Newcastle Upon Tyne's Powerhouse nightclub on 27 February 2004. He subsequently began a solo career, deciding to revert the spelling of his first name back to its original 'Brian', he released his first solo single, "Real To Me" which entered the UK chart at #1 and soon after, he released his first solo album, "Irish Son" under Sony Music. He went on to release more singles with moderate success.
• Allow Us To Be Frank - 10 years (2004–2009)
Less than a month after McFadden's departure, the group kicked off their "Turnaround Tour". A live version from the said tour of "Flying Without Wings" was released as an official UK download, earning them the title of the very first UK Downloads #1. They then put out a Rat Pack-inspired album, Allow Us to Be Frank, peaking at #3. No singles were released in the UK from this album. "Ain't That A Kick In The Head", accompanied with a music video, was released as a physical single in other European countries. "Smile" and "Fly Me To The Moon", with music videos as well, were released as digital downloads only. Prior to the album release, Westlife scouted for "the perfect fan" to help promote their album from their one-season special show "She's The One", presented by Kate Thornton. After X Factor-style auditions, they found Joanne Hindley, who recorded "The Way You Look Tonight" with the group. To mark this special collaboration, a special programme was televised, showing auditions and live performances. Performers included Joanne, Westlife members' fathers and glamour model Katie Price, Il Divo and Kevin Spacey. Westlife continued to tour Europe as part of their "The Number Ones Tour", before taking a four-month break from work. On 4 May 2005, Westlife lost their battle for European trademark from the German trademark "West".In 2005, Westlife returned with their comeback single, "You Raise Me Up", which was taken from their Face To Face album. On 6 November 2005, both the album and the single were at #1 in the UK at the same time at the second week of the single. It was the first time that Westlife have held both top album and single position in the same week. "You Raise Me Up" was awarded as their fourth Record Of The Year in UK for 2005. In December that year, the group released "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", a duet with Diana Ross, as the second single and it debuted at its peak position of #2. Westlife then released a third single, "Amazing", which debuted at #4 and marked as the group's lowest-selling single yet. After that, Westlife embarked on the "Face To Face Tour", travelling extensively to the UK, Ireland, Australia and Asia. This tour marked the first time that Westlife have travelled to mainland China for a concert.
In late 2006, Westlife signed a brand new five-album deal with Sony BMG. Their eighth album, The Love Album, was a "love" concept album which consisted of popular love song covers. The album outsold other compilation albums by Oasis, The Beatles, and U2 in its first week of release and went straight to #1. The first single from The Love Album was a cover version of Bette Midler's classic, "The Rose", which became their 14th UK #1 single. This made Westlife the third act (along with Cliff Richard) in the UK to have the most #1 singles, tailing behind Elvis Presley (21) and The Beatles (17). Westlife then kicked off their eighth world tour, "The Love Tour", in Perth, Australia.[41] The group then went on to other Australian cities before moving on to South Africa, the UK and Ireland. Westlife staged their last major concert of 2007 at Bitts Park in Carlisle, England.[42]
On 5 November 2007, Westlife released their ninth album, Back Home, which contained nine new original songs along with three cover songs. The album debuted at #1 on the UK Music Charts and it was also 2007's fifth biggest selling album in the UK. The first single released from the album was a cover of Michael Bublé's "Home", which peaked at #3 in the UK. "I'm Already There", not released as a single, managed to chart in the UK based on downloads alone following a performance on an The X Factor episode. On 15 December 2007, they had a two-hour show called The Westlife Show where they performed 10 of their songs, some voted by the fans through online and some from Back Home. It was hosted by Holly Willoughby. This time, Westlife together with Tesco brought out "The Definitive Westlife Quiz" that asked about the whole history about the boys. It was participated by thousands of fans worldwide. Months later, "Us Against The World" was announced and released as their second single in UK and Ireland. It peaked at #8 and is the group's lowest charting single to date. Before the release of the second single, they embarked on the Back Home Tour on 2008 February 25. This tour marked the first time that the group have traveled and performed to New Zealand, performing four sold-out shows in Auckland, Wellington, New Plymouth and Christchurch. Meanwhile, "Something Right" was released as the second single and "Us Against The World" became the third single in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Both songs performed well on several music charts.
To mark their tenth year in music, Westlife staged a special 10 Years Of Westlife sold-out concert at the world's thirty-third and Europe's fourth biggest stadium, Croke Park, on 1 June 2008. With a capacity of 82 300, it was the boy's biggest show to date. Shayne Ward filled in as a support act for the concert, which Kian described to be of a "pop extravaganza".Shane confirmed that a corresponding live concert DVD will be released. The group announced that they will be on hiatus for a year after their Back Home Tour and that there would not be an album release in 2008 as they would be spending more time on the production of their tenth album. On 16 June 2008, HarperCollins UK will release Westlife's autobiography, 'Westlife - Our Story', as part of their 10th year celebration. The book was said to be written by each group member for three months. It contains the life they have for the past ten years in the business. It features also some of the private pictures from the lads. As promised, the group's official website confirmed on 27 September 2008 the release of a DVD on 24 November 2008 entitled 10 Years Of Westlife - Live at Croke Park Stadium which went straight to #1 on UK, Ireland, South African, Hong Kong and New Zealand Music DVD charts.
As the group ended their successful Back Home tour, Louis Walsh announced in the show Xpose that 1 July 2008 is the official start of the longest hiatus of the group so far. He said that it will be a one-year break, from that day up to 1 July 2009. On 13 December 2008, while on a break, Westlife made an unexpected appearance on X Factor Final Performance Night where they performed "Flying Without Wings" with JLS. After the presentation, Shane and Nicky were interviewed on Xtra Factor with Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately of Boyzone. As JLS performed also "I'm Already There", Westlife's version of the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #63 while a new entry on Ireland Singles Chart at #47 due to extensive downloads only.
Before Christmas 2008, they wrote a letter to their website saying that 2009 was going to be the most exciting year yet for Westlife. With that, the fans of Westlife strongly speculated that one of the reasons is because of their possible collaborations with Leona Lewis and Britney Spears. While on a hiatus, Westlife was reported to have a closed deal for their upcoming 70-concert tour worth 10 million Euros by the end of 2009.
On the last week of January 2009, a DVD entitled The Karaoke Collection was released. It contains some of their music video hits. In 27 February 2009 issue of Herald Ireland, Louis revealed that Simon already picked three new songs which he reckons to be instant hits. Nicky spread the word last 8 March 2009 that Westlife will come back to music charts when they start recording in June 2009 when he received his VIP Style Awards as the Most Stylish Man on X-pose, TV3. On 18 March 2009, they won the Best Irish Pop Act on 2009 Meteor Awards for the ninth consecutive time. On 28 May 2009, they re-released Westlife - Our Story autobiography, adding their Croke Park experience and first time in a paperback edition.
Where We Are (2009-present)
Walsh has revealed that after a year's break with their friends and family Westlife will return to hit the charts once more in June when they work on their tenth studio album. Walsh also said that while he met up with Cowell they jointly managed to mastermind Westlife's comeback. At the time three songs had already been chosen which he believes will be big hits when they are released. Shane told the Irish Mirror that they want to make the next album one of their best.
The new album, Where We Are, was released on 30 November 2009 in the UK and peaked at #2 on both Irish and UK Albums Chart. The new single "What About Now", was released a few weeks earlier on 23 October 2009, with digital downloads being available the day before. The said single peaked at# 2 on both Irish and UK Singles Chart. Daughtry's original version of the song gained exposure on the audition rounds of The X Factor prior to Westlife's release. The tour in support of this album is called "The Where We Are Tour".
They were part of the Haiti charity single, "Everybody Hurts", an R.E.M. cover which was organized by Cowell. [57] It was officially announced by Music Week that they are the "2nd biggest selling artist" (trailing behind Robbie Williams) and "Biggest selling band of the decade" (beating Coldplay) in UK with 10.14 million album sales.
Various reports are spreading that the band and their management have decided not to release a second single from Where We Are, but no confirmation has been made as of this moment. According to these reports, a new album will be released at the last quarter of 2010 and the group saying they wanted it to be a sexy album