Westlife are an Irish boy-band managed by Louis Walsh. They have sold over 34 million albums worldwide. Westlife have had 13 No.1 UK singles and had 7 albums including a greatest hits album.
They became the first ever boy-band to have 7 consecutive No.1s in the UK chart, and they even have a Guinness Record for this.
Westlife have won the Record of the Year four times with their songs Flying Without Wings, My Love, Mandy and You Raise Me Up. A cover of Westlife's "Evergreen" performed by Will Young broke the UK singles sales record by selling over 1.1 million copies in a single week...and it entered the charts as a UK #1 in Feb 2002.
History
Shane did his first proper stage show when he was 12 years of age, the show was Grease at the Hawkswell Theatre in Sligo. The 3 Sligo lads started to know each other by performing this which Shane acted the role Danny, Kian as Kenickie and Mark as Vince Fortaine, all 3 lads were studying at Summerhill College at that time. Boyzone's success really made Shane want to be in a pop group. His very first idea was with his friend Michael Garret and they thought of starting a four-piece and calling it SC4, after their school, Summerhill College. Then Shane asked Kian if he was interested and he just laughed at that time since Kian was really into heavy rock band then.
Later Shane, Kian and Mark joined 3 other members - Michael Garrett, Derek Lacey and Graham Keighron - from the same school and started off a group called IOU and release their debut (and last) single "Together Girl Forever" which was co-written by Shane and Mark. Shane's mom Mae Filan got in touch with the manager of Boyzone Louis Walsh, he came to hear their group in some Backstreet Boys songs. But Louis just thought of signing Shane, Kian and Mark to form a pop group, so Shane was in the hardest days of his professional life that he had to tell 3 of his friends from IOU that Kian, Mark and himself were out of the band and formed their own group. After some auditions, Nicky and Bryan were joined to the group and that's formed Westside, their previous band name. With Ronan Keating as their co-manager, they started to perform in public as the opening act of the By-Request Tour of Boyzone and they've won the Best New Tour Act Award in the Smash Hits Roadshow Tour.
Sooner they changed their name into Westlife, since they found that an American Group has already chosen this name -Westside. So they settled down with their new name and released their debut single "Swear It Again" in 19-April-1999, this single went straight to No.1 in UK single chart. (In fact they started off their business in Asia first by releasing the Swear It Again EP just in Asia in June 1999.)
Westlife
Kian Egan: Birthday and place of birth: 29th April 1980, Sligo
Starsign: Taurus
Status: Girlfriend Jodi Albert
Favourite Westlife track: What Makes A Man
His motto is: Treat people how you like to be treated
Shane Filan: Birthday and place of birth: 5th July 1979, Sligo
Starsign: Cancer
Status: Married to Gillian Walsh (Kian’s cousin), daughter Nicole
Favourite Westlife track: Flying Without Wings
His motto is: Everything happens for a reason
Nicky Byrne: Birthday and place of birth: 9th October 1978, Dublin
Starsign: Libra
Status: Married to Georgina Aherne (Irish priminister’s daughter)
Favourite Westlife track: World Of Our Own
His motto is: Smile, enjoy life, live every day like it's your last
Mark Fehilly: Birthday and place of birth: 28th May 1980, Sligo
Starsign: Gemini
Status: In a gay relationship
Favourite Westlife track: Can't Lose What You Never Had
His motto is: Wake up and breathe!
Bryan McFadden Birthday and place of birth: 12th April 1980, Dublin
Starsign: Aries
Status: Was married to Kerry Katona, daughters Molly and Lilly-Sue. Current girlfriend is Delta Goodrem
Favourite Westlife track: Can't Lose What You Never Had
His motto is: Live life today and deal with tomorrow when it comes.
Bryan McFadden left the band on 9 March 2004 to devote more of his time to his family.
Releases and UK chart positions
Albums
Westlife (1999) - #2
Coast to Coast (2000) - #1
World of Our Own (2001) - #1
Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits (2002) - #1
Turnaround (2003) - #1
Allow Us to Be Frank (2004) - #3
Face to Face (2005) - #1
Singles
Swear It Again - 12.04.1999 - #1
If I Let You Go - 09.08.1999 - #1
Flying Without wings - 18.10.1999 - #1
I Have a Dream and Seasons In The Sun - 13.12.1999 - #1
Fool Again - 27.03.2000 - #1
Against All Odds with Mariah Carey - 18.09.2000 - #1
My Love - 30.10.2000 - #1
What Makes A Man - 18.12.2000 - #2
Uptown Girl (charity single)- 05.03.2001 - #1
Queen of My Heart - 05.11.2001 - #1
World Of Our Own - 18.02.2002 - #1
Bop Bop Baby - 20.05.2002 - #5
Unbreakable - 04.11.2002 - #1
Hey Whatever - 15.09.2003 - #4
Mandy - 17.11.2003 - #1
Obvious - 23.02.2004 - #2
You Raise Me Up - 24.10.2005 - #1
When You tell Me That You Love Me with Diana Ross - 12.12.2005 - #2
