10pm, and the line outside Dublin's Mean Fiddler in Wexford Street, now under the newer snappier name of "Mobo" was growing rapidly. Mtv were near the entrance, filming some footage to show on the programme that was going to be made. They were interviewing some Swedish girls who had come all the way to Ireland, in the hope of meeting Westlife. They didn't even have tickets to the gig, yet they travelled half way across Europe to get here, and were hoping to get in. (Can anyone spell obsessed??) The next victim of the camera crew was (arrgghhh -no!) yours truly!! After answering some questions about who I was there to see, and giving the West of Ireland a good old plug, I made my way into the venue. (I don't know if I was ever shown on the final cut...I doubt it!)

The place was smaller than I had invisaged, and had an intimate feeling. The predominant phycadelic blue colouring of the walls and furniture was appealing to the eye, as was the long bar perfectly positioned alongside the queue for the cloakroom. Nearly an hour later, and jackets safely stored, it was time to P-A-R-T-Y!!

Camera crews ( Irish , I'm proud to say) were filming the crowd as they socialised, practising their dance moves. Phat's and Small came on stage at approxiametly 11pm, and the crowd went wild!! They entertained us with "Turn Around" and another of their hits, and played for us their brand new surefire hit, "Tonight". Sadly their set, though fantastic, only lasted just under 15 minutes, something that didn't particularly please the crowd. Now it was time for them to wait on Westlife.

It was an unusual waiting period--- in any similar situations I've been in (waiting on Westlife or some other young 'boy band' to appear) I've been surrounded by kids ranging from ages 2- 16, and I normally feel ancient! But these people were approx. 18-25 (with the odd 16 year old thrown in, I'm sure) I've never seen anything like it, and it was about time I had the chance to be in a crowd of people so excited about seeing Westlife, and not being the oldest one there!

Nearly half an hour later, Donna Air, and the gorgeous Richard Blackwood, the 'MTV Select' presenters came on stage to introduce themselves... and without much further ado, the introduced the band we had all been waiting on, WESTLIFE!!

Shane, Mark, Nicky Bryan and Kian stepped on stage, dressed all in black , with "diamonds" sparkling from their cuffs, lapels, and Nicky's cummerband. They opened their set with "Flying Without Wings" and rolled straight into the lively "If I Let You Go", their Summer Smash Hit. They followed it up with their version of the Extreme's "More than Words" one of the new additions to their set. Another new song, " No No" from the Album was also played, and gave the guys a chance to show off their well perfected and very sexy dance moves!! The crowd was in a frenzy- most had never seen Westlife live before and were now able to see what all the fuss is about!! "I had a dream", one half of the double A-side single they are releasing for Christmas was next up, followed by the song that made it for them in the first place- "Swear it again". Before we knew it, it was time for Westlife to wrap it all up, and leave the stage. Cries of disappointment from the audience cumulated, followed by chants of "more! more!!"

Within minutes, the 5 Irish lads on the brink of winning the world were back on stage. This time we were treated to the other half of their Christmas double A side- another old favourite, "Seasons in the Sun", and it was all drawn to a close with a final reprise of "If I Let You Go".

And that was it!! Fans , though in their late teens and early 20s swarmed to the doors in a desperate attempt to catch a glimpse of these guys as they left the building, and were packed into their tour van, off to prepare for their flight to Australia within the next few hours.

The dance music continued in the Mean Fiddler until 2pm, and even though the energetic crowd thinned out now that the stars were gone, a good night was still had by all.

It was a memorable night, and a good way to bring some of the MTV music awards atmosphere out to those unlucky enough to get tickets.

The Select Party has been shown on MTV a number of times, and I have been so unlucky as not to have seen it to date!! If anyone has info on broadcasting dates, please email me on sineadnim@hotmail.com Thanks a million!

PICTURES WILL BE SCANNED AND ADDED AT A LATER DATE (ASAP!)