HISTORY

Westlife – Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Shane Filan - are the biggest vocal band in the world right now and their successes to date are unrivaled. In their nine years on top they have so far sold over 36 million records globally; had eight multi-platinum albums in the UK alone and scored a record breaking fourteen UK No.1 hits, behind only Elvis and The Beatles. Westlife have also picked up countless awards and appeared on hundreds of magazine covers around the world. They are the only recording artists to win the prestigious Record Of The Year an incredible four times, other top awards include two BRIT Awards and an MTV Europe Award. Westlife are also the biggest selling Arena act ever, holding the record for the most concerts held at Wembley Arena, an incredible 23.

Look back through the pages of pop history and you find that the average lifespan of a boy band is shockingly short. Westlife have outlived all of them: The Osmonds, The Partridge Family, The Jackson Five; New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys, Take That; *NSync, Boyzone and 5ive. So how did they do it? Through the strength of their voices (yes, all of them can actually sing!) the force of their personalities and an appetite for hard work. Rather than moving too far, too fast, Westlife have avoided burnout by growing with their fans and playing to their own strengths. They still do.

Westlife grew out of a band formed by Kian, Shane and Mark when they were performing in a local stage version of Grease in the west of Ireland. Originally a six-piece named IOU they were spotted by pop impresario Louis Walsh who groomed them as successors to his hit machine, Boyzone. Shedding three of the members and bringing in Bryan and Nicky, they first came to public notice as Westside, rapidly becoming the rising stars of the Smash Hits Tour in the winter of 1998 – helped by the fact that their management team now included a young man called Ronan Keating.



One small name change later (to avoid clashing with at least one US act performing as Westside) and they were on their way. First single Swear It Again went straight to number one in April 1999, swiftly followed by If I Let You Go and Flying Without Wings. Within a year they had made UK chart history with their fifth chart topper in a row, Fool Again. Before long they secured a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only band to have topped the charts seven times in a row. At the time of writing, the Westlife hit machine has notched up an amazing 14 number ones, plus 2 download number 1s.

In March 2004, Bryan left the band to pursue a solo career - again, many commentators predicted the end for the band, but again, Westlife confounded the doomsayers: they went straight out and performed one of their best ever received tours (the Turnaround tour 2004), and now have returned with Allow Us To Be Frank, and a renewed vigour that sees the boys aiming for plenty more years of music with Westlife. The Face To Face album became one of their most successful albums and they cracked into the Australian market with it going at the No.1 spot and staying there for weeks.

After fourteen UK No.1 singles and 36 million records sold worldwide, the biggest selling pop act of the last nine years, Westlife, triumphantly return to the UK charts with their new single “Home”, released October 29th through Syco Music/SonyBMG.

“Home” is a cover of the classic Michael Buble song, an emotive and heartfelt ballad, beautifully showcasing the smooth vocal talents of the band. With lush strings, soaring harmonies and an indelible melody, “Home” creates a sound that is both soft and mellow, yet still unmistakably ‘Westlife’.

The single will be followed by Westlife’s ninth studio album released in early November.

Since their launch in 1998, Westlife have become a total cultural phenomenon. After nine years they are still at the top of their game and continue to surprise and astound in equal measure. Their album released last year, “The Love Album” was the biggest selling album in 2006 for record label SonyBMG, selling 1 million copies. “The Love Album” was released in the UK in the same week as the Best of Oasis, Best of U2 and The Beatles Love Album, with Westlife beating them all to the No.1 spot.



back