We’ll
Never Take Brian Back -
November 2006
Exclusive
Veteran boy band Westlife refuse to consider a return for McFadden after his
solo career hits the skids
By
John Dingwall
WESTLIFE
have ruled out any chance of any future reconciliation with former bandmate Brian McFadden, despite the fact they have recorded
and performed a track with his girlfriend.
The
Irish lads are on course to bag their sixth No.1 long player on Sunday, with The
Love Album outselling competition from Oasis and U2.
In
stark contrast, dad-of-two McFadden's solo career has faltered since he quit the
million-selling group in 2004.
At
the time, he claimed he wanted to spend more time with his family, but his
marriage to Kerry Katona crumbled, and McFadden fell into the arms of Aussie
singer Delta Goodrem, who sang with the lads on
Saturday night's X Factor.
Nicky
Byrne says McFadden has no chance of ever being allowed back into
He
said: "I still keep in touch with Brian, and he is keeping well, under the
circumstances.
"At
the time when Brian left, deep down in my heart, even though I didn't say it
publicly, I couldn't understand it
"When
Brian told us he wanted to leave and be a family man and look after his
children, I agreed with the sentiment but, knowing Brian, I couldn't really
believe he wanted to give music up and not sing again.
"In
fairness, he did go home for a while but, all of a sudden, his new album was
out. And that's when I started to worry if it was
pre-planned.
"So,
no, I can't see Brian getting back in the band. We are a different band now and
we've moved on. It's a difficult situation.
"He
has never said he wanted to come back but, if we were asked, we would say,
'absolutely not'.
"Maybe
at the time of the split, we might have considered having the five of us back
but, the longer we go on, the more of a band we are without
Brian.
"It's
not like the Take That situation. They split after
Robbie Williams left. We've already done three tours and three albums without
Brian.
"If
we go on like this, in time, people won't remember Brian was in the
band.
"Even
a reunion in years to come is most unlikely."
Nicky
also revealed he used to fight constantly with his former bandmate, accusing him of being unprofessional and failing
to turn up on time for engagements.
He
said: "I've had a few conversations with Brian about him leaving, and I'm
probably better mates with him now because, at the time, it was all about being
on time and being professional and getting the job done. I felt he was coming up
short, and me and Brian would have a go at each other
at times.
"Now
I realise Brian was having problems in his marriage,
which was something we didn't have the slightest clue about. And he just needed
to be at home to try to sort that out. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for
him, for whatever reason.
"The
Press were on his side when he left, and they wrote
Westlife off. The general feeling was that Brian had done a Robbie, and was
going to be the next big thing.
"It
was important to us, as a band, not to get the doubters get to
us."
Nicky,
26, has advised McFadden he should "disappear" until he can get himself some
decent songs. He believes it's his old bandmate's only
chance of making a comeback.
"Unfortunately
for Brian, it was too much too soon," Nicky explained.
"He
left us, his marriage broke up and it was too much. He suffered because of that.
He's a decent bloke, a quiet bloke. And I've said to him he needs to be quiet,
not make any comments, bury his head in the sand and make a really great
album.
"If
he can't write a great one himself, he should record some and make a
comeback."
On
Sunday, Westlife's The Love Album is set to top the
charts, outselling new collections by Oasis, U2, The Beatles and George
Michael.
Westlife's
latest album has sold 102,600 copies since Monday, compared to to just 88,700 for Oasis's Stop The
Clocks.
The
compilations by The Beatles, U2 and George Michael have sold 69,600, 35,700 and
28,600 respectively.
Nicky
beamed: "We have had eight albums in eight years, and we are still at the top of
our game."
To
promote the record, the group turned up on X Factor at the weekend, performing
an unlikely duet with McFadden's girlfriend Goodrem.
But
the band say the show, run by their long-time mentors Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, is unlikely to provide them with any
competition.
Nicky
said: "I've seen the odd show.
"Leona
has a great voice but, all in all, X Factor doesn't have the talent like last
year when, from day one, Shayne Ward stood out as the
star.
"He
was good looking. He was a great singer and a good dancer. He had everything. In
terms of the X Factor, he had that. I don't think this year has anyone like
that."
Nicky
believes their label boss Cowell and manager Walsh
have the golden touch when it comes to masterminding Westlife's career.
"I
don't think we'd be here and as successful as we are without Louis Walsh and
Simon Cowell," Nicky confessed.
"Individually,
they are both an encyclopedia of music and that includes all different
genres.
"What
has happened with Westlife is that we can't compare ourselves to any other band.
There's been no rock band, vocal band or pop band that has lasted in the charts
as long as we have, who have had albums back to back.
"If
you look at other bands in the
"But,
if we were selling that amount of records, we'd probably knock it on the
head.
"We're
just delighted to be having this level of success because, if the sales dropped,
we wouldn't do it.
"I'm
not being arrogant. I'm just telling you the harsh reality of our situation, and
we couldn't have done it without them.
"We
are just looking at facts. What our secret is that we have that other people
don't, well, I can't put my finger on it."
'Now
I realise Brian was having problems with his marriage,
which was something we had no clue about'
Credit/Source:
www.dailyrecord.co.uk