All Loved Up – February 2007

 

From East to Westlife: Westlife Through The Years


Among all the boy bands that sprouted like mushrooms in the 90's, they are the only group to have lasted this long. They've managed to stay relevant at the top of the charts despite the public's frequently changing taste in music (and despite losing Bryan McFadden in 2004). Their secret? "With the right material, we have the potential to continue as long as we want," said Nicky Byrne in an exclusive interview with MYX Mag (see below). Take a look at the covers of their eight studio albums and see how the lads have reinvented themselves over the years.

Check out what Nicky Byrne of Westlife had to say about [West]life, love and the making of their eighth studio album in an exclusive interview with MYX Mag.

IT has often been said that love makes the world go round. This old adage holds true in the case of Westlife. Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne are self-confessed romantics--and that is partly why they decided to release THE LOVE ALBUM.


The Love Album is their eighth studio album, and it features covers of some of the world's most famous love songs. When MYX Mag caught up with Nicky via an exclusive phone interview arranged by Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Philippines), he said that the album will surprise people. "It's definitely different from all those compilations of love songs you see on TV all the time."


But why did they choose to do an album of covers instead of original songs? After all, they shot to fame in the late 90's via a slew of originals, including "SWEAR IT AGAIN", "MY LOVE", and "QUEEN OF MY HEART".


"The original songs we heard didn't quite fit the bill, but these classic love songs--songs that transcend time and cross generations--seemed perfect," he explained.


As he is a self-confessed romantic, Nicky was more than happy to talk about his wife Georgina Ahern, eldest daughter of Irish Prime Minister Bernie Ahern. He described his wedding day as the most romantic day of his life. "It was amazing because you want to do it loads of times, but you only ever want to do it once with that person, so you never want it to be over," he said.


According to Nicky, they first met in secondary school (i.e. high school), where they had a number of classes together. "I'd stare at her and she'd stare back at me--which is something she denies to this day," he laughed. Not only was she his first and last love, but Georgina was the first person to whom he'd ever given a rose. "In 1995, I stole a rose from the garden and gave it to her on Valentine's Day, he shared . The couple is expecting twins in a few months.


Speaking of roses, The Love Album includes a cover of Bette Midler's "THE ROSE". But the most striking track on the album is their version of "TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART". According to Nicky, American Idol judge Simon Cowell suggested that they record the Bonnie Tyler classic. "At first we were a bit sceptical about doing so, but it turned out great," he said.


Of their Filipino fans, Nicky remembers them as being "very caring" and "really really friendly."
We hope to see you all again, maybe in September," he said.

On love and [West]life: "it's unbelievable" We're all quite romantic."

Article from: MYX MAG Your Choice. Your Music.
[with the guitar chords and lyrics of the songs included on THE LOVE ALBUM.]
The magazine of the currently leading music channel in the Philippines.
By Julian B. Mauricio

For those who are in the Philippines: Don't forget to buy the said magazine for only 60 pesos and
THE LOVE ALBUM now for 375 pesos.

Watch their LOVE ALBUM that will be featured on Studio 23, 11:30 pm, February 21.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART is currently #8 and #4 in 2 radio stations [WRR 101.9 and YESFM 101.1 respectively]. Stay tuned for the video on MYX which is expected to be released later this month.

 

Credit/Source: MYX Magazine / Thanx Zea for typing it up