The eponymous debut album Westlife, released in November 1999, is now quadruple platinum in the UK, 12 x platinum in Ireland, with five million plus copies sold worldwide. From it came an unprecedented five UK Number 1 singles; Swear It Again (March '99), If I Let You Go (August '99) and Flying Without Wings in October that year, which stunned listeners with a maturity of style previously unknown in a boy band. Pundits proclaimed the strong vocal harmonies as something akin to Boyz II Men, but the public didn't bother with talk. They went with action, voting Flying Without Wings 1999's Record Of The Year instead.

Next, the double A-side cover I Have A Dream/ Seasons In The Sun slid easily into the history books as the Christmas/ Millennium Number 1 and remained at the top spot for a further 2 weeks, while fifth title Fool Again claimed another first place in March 2000. Bryan McFadden, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan surpassed the Guinness World Record as the most successful new chart act of all time achieving five consecutive Number 1's with their first five singles... why stop there?

Westlife have gained a rapidly building US fanbase (Swear It Again peaked at Number 2 in the Billboard Sales Chart and reached Gold status with sales over ½ million), the lads are surely set to be the only European pop band to conquer the land since The Spice Girls.

Westlife's superstar pedigree was confirmed in September 2000 when the Mariah Carey collaboration Against All Odds broke their even their own record personal best as the sixth Westlife single to reach UK Number 1. Mark, a lifelong Mariah fan, was impressed "It was beyond all my wildest expectations" he says.

Against All Odds was one of 17 tracks included on the band's second album Coast To Coast, released with fanfare on November 6th 2000, and as such heralded a brand new Westlife era.

"I think musically we were ready for the second album" says Kian. "We're happy with what we've accomplished and we're ready to try for something more!"

With that in mind, Westlife were reunited with the recording and writing talents which helped launch their phenomenal success. Summer 2000 was spent commuting between the Stockholm studios of Cheiron (N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears) and working with Steve Mac and Wayne Hector in London.

"We're very happy to be working with both sets of producers again. They keep impressing us with their ideas and we're comfortable with how they work - it's like we've grown up together" says Shane. "On the whole, this album is a big step up for us, both vocally and musically".

"We've kept our classic ballads but recorded a lot of upbeat stuff too" agrees Kian. "The idea is that after you've listened a few times you can stand back from your expectations and say ''Wow! this actually IS really good!''

Faster songs include Somebody Else, Lay Your Love On Me and When Your Looking Like That. "We wanted to do some great uptempos" says Shane "and I'm sure we will surprise a lot of people".

"My favourite track right now is My Love" says Bryan. The song was the October 2000 single and an anthem of strings and waterfall voices. "We wanted an epic sound" agrees Shane. "Something we could imagine on football terraces". No surprises for guessing which spot it hit on the UK charts

Angel's Wings is another crowd pleaser which will win fans of all ages. "It's written about a baby being born but could relate to many things" says Mark "and I'll enjoy singing Tell Me What Makes A Man. It's so much more than a simple pop song, and great fun to sing".

The Westlife UK & Ireland Arena Tour began on February 9th 2001 at Newcastle Telewest Arena and finished a remarkable 38 sold out dates later on April 17th in Birmingham's NEC. The mammoth trek across the country took in week long residencies at Wembley and Glasgow's SECC, and included a poignant nine night stay at Dublin's The Point depot - home of the greatest turning point in Westlife lore.

It was one rainy St Patrick's Day - in 1998 to be precise - that an unknown Sligo pop group named IOU (Westlife's original name) first graced the stage at The Point, Dublin's biggest pop venue. Supporting The Backstreet Boys, it was the West Coast lads' biggest gig by far, and a long way from the school show Grease where Shane, Kian and Mark sang together for the first time. Aftershow singalongs produced instinctive harmonies and IOU were soon entertaining interval audiences then doing community gigs around town.

A local TV show brought IOU to the attention Louis Walsh, pop Svengali, and an invitation to fill the BSB support slot was issued. After the show, Louis was impressed "he said 'I can't see you up there and not manage you!'" recounts Shane, and core IOU members Shane Kian and Mark were signed to RoLo management, a first venture for Louis Walsh and Ronan Keating. Louis introduced new members Bryan, fresh from Billie Barry's stage school, and Nicky, ex football apprentice at Leeds united, to the ranks of the newly named Westlife.

Of course, all of that was in the early days; before the record deal, before the ten Number 1 singles, before the sold-out tours, MTV awards, Record of the Year awards and multi-platinum albums. That was when they were nowt but down to earth, up for a laugh, nice, normal lads.

RCA's A&R Consultant, Simon Cowell, reflects to when he offered Westlife a deal on the spot "When showcasing them I instantly knew they were going to be a very successful band. They have surpassed my expectations. The great thing is that after all of their achievements they have remained down-to-earth. They are a great bunch of guys to work with".