Westlife links!
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GET TO THE COMPLETE IRISH POP ONLINE INDEX RIGHT HERE!! ALL YOUR FAVE IRISH POP BANDS!!
" In the days before they were taught how to smile cheesily.......
Westlife as they were in the Begining----IOU !!" (Cheer Up Mark!!)
from IOU to Westlife---read the full story here!!!!!!!
Picture the scene. Summerhill College , Sligo, in the North West of Ireland were just after performing their final night of GREASE. 6 lads, -Mark Feehily (the class messer ), Kian Egan, (the local chippendale??????????!!!!!!) , Shane Filan (the rugby captain), and Michael, Derrick and Graham were sitting around a table, (lets just say , " slightly merry" will we?) singing away. Their voices were so powerful it was suggested that they should get something together , and take it a bit more seriously .
The lads laughed this suggestion off, but came back to thinking about it, and decided to form a band. The original name " 6 as 1" landed the lads with lots of slagging, but they kept going. They managed to get together the money to produce a CD single, called " Together, Girl Forever" which they released, and it got good airplay. An appearance o " Nationwide" , RTE's regional programme caught the eye of Louis Walsh, Boyzones Manager. He spotted the talent immediatly--and when Shanes Mother met Louis's Brother, they finally managed to arrange a meeting for the guys with Louis. He accepted that they had huge talent, but said he was too busy to take them on. He did manage to get them a slot supporting the Backstreet Boys when they came to Ireland in 1998 on St. Patricks Day. They went down a storm, and Louis quickly took them under his wing. It was then that things started to happen!!!! Derrick, Michael, and Graham (who later spent a short stint as Tour manager) left the band, and 2 Dubliners, Nicky Byrne, ("the Ronan Keating one") and Bryan Mc Fadden ("the David Beckham One")(as they were known as in the begining) joined the band. They signed contracts banning them to have girlfriends, get married, or have babies within the next 5 years) (That's one clause Louis left out of the Boyzone contract, I guess!).
IOU joined the 2fm/Kitkat Beat on the Street tour which toured Ireland in the Summer, and got their faces known all over the country. (you can read an Exclusive Interview with the lads live from Cork on this website) IOU obtained a record deal from BMG records, and started trying to come up with a new identity. Even back then they appeared in the papers regularly, the RTE guide, and on t.v. Shows such as Tx, Den tv, and T na G's Pop tv, (Mark has very good Irish, by the way!!). By this stage, Ronan Keating, Boyzone front man realised Louis was on to a good thing here, and decided to become part of this new team by becoming Co- manager. He gave the lads a support slot on the Boyzone tour of last September/October, and gave, and still gives them advice after all of their shows. The next big step was the SMASH HITS TOUR, where IOU, now known as WESTSIDE competed against My Town and A4 for the Best newcomers slot--which our guys won!!!! Westside now had really hit the big time--Previous winners of this award included Boyzone, Five, the Backstreet Boys, and emm..... the Carter Twins! (karaoke on!)
Westside were getting very popular with the English market at this stage, and appeared on many Tv shows and in many magazines in the not too distant future, such as Smash Hits, Big , Totp magazine, and on The Late Late Show, Live And Kicking, Kelly, and SMTV. They hald a launch party in Feburary in England, where they went down a bomb with the press. Plans for a single were announced, and it was to be " Swear It Again" , a favourite with the fans. Everything was going brilliantly, with the lads recording their Debut Album in Sweden, and the fans getting impatient on the single to come out. But then , a major hitch came into the plans. At least 8 other bands with the name Westside in them came out of the woodwork (have YOU ever heard of any of them?), and our lads had to change their name! After many dilemmas, and the band adamant that 'West' remain part of the name , WESTLIFE were born!!! The band are EXCELLENT performers, and voices sweeter than theirs can seldom be found!!!!!!
Their Debut single was FINALLY released, amid much hype, in Ireland, on march 27th, and it Rocketed to Number one, becoming the fastest selling Debut single ever!! Westlife did a PA , Tv, and radio tour around Ireland, and sold Dublins Virgin Megstore out of all of their copies of "Swear it Again" in the first day!!!
Westlife stayed at Number One in Ireland for 5 weeks, and secured the Number one Spot in England for two consecutive weeks!!! 2 months later, they're still in the Top 10!!!
Westlife's next single, due for Release Auguest 2nd will be titled "Let You Go" and its an "Uptempo ballad" Take my word for it---It's BRILLIANT!!!!
Westlife not only have Ronan Keating as their manager--they've managed to steal his Midas Touch!!
If you're going to the boyzone RDS concert May 30th--Westlife will be there--scream as LOUDLY as you can!!!
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