By JIM GRAY

In an exclusive interview with The Sligo Champion, Westlife star, Shane Filan has dismissed as ‘absolute rubbish’ reports that the band is splitting up and has said he sees no reason why they will not still be recording and performing together in ten years time.

While confirming that the band is taking a lengthy rest at the end of a gruelling world tour next July, Mr. Filan stressed that this did not signal the beginning of the end but rather a fresh impetus for a group that has already set staggering records of achievement over the past nine years.

He said that the break, which would be for no more than six or eight months, would allow band members time to ‘chill out’ with their families.

“I wouldn’t even call it a break; it’s a rest, a holiday, which we all need after nine years non-stop work”, he said.

“Both professionally and personally, the rest will be good for us. It gives us more time to prepare for albums and to get better songs, but also it gives each of us a chance to chill out with our families. Two of us have young families now, and that’s a factor.

“People sometimes forget that we have lost out on our late teenage years and our early 20’s to a large extent because we’ve been working so hard for nearly 10 years now. We haven’t had that much quality time with our families and friends, and we feel the time is right to do that now”, he explained.

The world tour which begins in Belfast next February and concludes the following July will mark the band’s 10th anniversary, making it a perfect time for a sabbatical. There will be no Werstlife album in 2008 and no tour until at least 2010, but the world’s biggest pop act will remain intact.

“We’ve done nine albums in nine years, which is a feat in itself. Most bands would regard an album every three years as good going, so there’s probably a shock reaction when we say we won’t be doing an album next year.

“But we’re at the stage where we don’t have to do an album every year. In fact, we believe the quality will be even better if we take more time, and that’s what we’re doing. The plan would be maybe to do six albums over the next ten years, rather than one every year.

“So that’s all it is, a fresh look at things. I would say it’s the beginning of a new chapter rather than the beginning of the end.

“I can say 100% that Westlife is not breaking up. I see no reason why we can’t still be here in ten years time. When you look at bands like Take That, who have come back bigger than ever, you can see there will always be a market for good pop bands”, Shane added.

Westlife’s new album, Back Home, described by Shane as ‘a great pop record’ will be released in Ireland on November 2nd, when the boys will perform on The Late Late Show. They’re also recording a Christmas special with Pat Kenny to be broadcast on RTE over the festive season and a special show for UTV, which will be screened on the same night as the X Factor final and Michael Parkinson’s last ever show.

Credit/Source: Sligo CHampion / Thanx Joanne for finding



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