Filan was born on July 5, 1979 to Peter and Mae Filan, and grew up in Sligo, a small town in the northwest of Ireland. The youngest of seven children, he has three brothers and three sisters: Finbarr, Peter Jr, Yvonne, Liam, Denise and Mairead. His parents owned a diner in Sligo named Carlton Cafe located on Castle Street and Shane used to work there as a waiter from a very early age.

Filan attended Summerhill College, a Catholic school, with Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. All three of them participated in a school production of Grease when they were about 12. The Hawkswell Theatre became a significant part of their careers, and as a big fan of Michael Jackson, Filan taught himself how to moonwalk.

2004

WESTLIFE'S KIAN BUYS SECRET LOVE PAD IN SLIGO; Star settles down.








WESTLIFE star Kian Egan has bought himself a luxury love pad to enjoy with stunning girlfriend Jodi Albert.

The seafront house in his native Sligo is just a few hundred yards from the plush home he bought for his parents.

The millionaire singer splashed out E340,000 for the five-bedroom house on a private estate in Strandhill in the last ...

 

 

 

Five minutes with... Westlife
Jun 22 2008 Wales On Sunday



OUR STORY
How did you manage to write a book between the four of you?
Nicky: Well, it was obviously difficult in more ways than one for the writer Martin Roach. He interviewed us separately and collectively. He also had to cater for four different personalities and four different people talking and telling the same story in different versions, but he did it effectively. I read the book and even though I know all the stories and I was in stitches laughing, it,s a milestone in our career 10 years on. Even if you, re not a Westlife fan, the book is a success story in the pop industry.
Kian: We all opened up Mark in particular opened up and said things he might not have said to members of his band. It,s sometimes easier to talk to someone outside the band about your story.

How did you feel when Brian McFadden announced he was leaving?
Nicky: My initial thought when he told us was that he was punking us. That was Brian,s personality. He was sitting beside me so I looked at him, smiled, laughed, and started checking him for wires because that would be a typical Brian thing to do. I respect him for doing it even though it was heart-breaking. I thought he was crazy. I offered him counselling, we were almost in relationships with each other in terms of how much time we were spending together so I thought maybe counselling might have helped us. But there were different things going on that we didn,t know about. Obviously there were things going on with his marriage that we didn,t have a clue about. But I think he made the right choice for him.
Shane: Brian leaving was a very big turning point within Westlife. I wonder whether we would be still be together if Brian hadn,t left, I don,t know. At the time it made us realise how lucky we were. It made us stronger as a group.

Three of you have known each other since school and Shane is married to Kian,s cousin. Is Westlife a family affair?
Shane: We known each other since we were 12, for more than 15 years, so it has been kind of like they,re family to a certain degree. We picked each other as mates so that is the backbone to a strong relationship, and when the others came they gelled with us straight away.

Were you worried about how people would react to news that Mark was gay?
Mark: I really didn,t give a damn what anyone thought that,s one of the key things that anyone that,s gay needs to realise before they come out. It,s getting to the point of not giving a s**t what anyone thinks that actually pushes you into it. Too many people care about what people will react like.

What will you do during your year off?
Shane: My wife is pregnant so I,m looking forward to having some time off. But I,m worried I,ll be bored after four or five months, not working. Even if you have a new baby it,s going to be a shock to the system after having a schedule for so long.

What do you think Westlife stands for today?
Kian: We ure not a political band, we ure not trying to make any big noise politically or in the music industry. We don,t try to sell ourselves as this credible, funky band that writes their own records and is making milestones in the music industry. We ure just four guys that sing great pop songs for pop fans.

 

 





After the last minute cancellation of their Arena show earlier this month due to two of the group falling ill, Westlife will be in town next week to honour the date. But it will be the last time we see them for a while, as the quartet plan to take at least a year off after the current tour. LISA WILLIAMS spoke to them about the break and their latest book Our Story...



How did you manage to write a book between the four of you?

Nicky: Well it was obviously difficult in more ways than one for the writer, Martin Roach. He interviewed us separately and interviewed us collectively. He also had to cater for four different personalities and four different people talking and telling the same story in different versions, but he did it effectively. I read the book and even though I know all the stories and I was in stitches laughing, It's a milestone in our career ten years on. Even if you're not a Westlife fan, the book is a success story in the pop industry.



Kian: We've all opened up - Mark in particular opened up and said things he might not have said to members of his band. It's sometimes easier to talk to someone outside the band about your story so we've told it as was. I'm not a massive book-reader but this one I read in three or four days - I couldn't put it down. I was quite taken aback with how fast I wanted to read it, even though I knew what was going to happen.

How did you feel when Brian McFadden announced he was leaving?

Nicky: My initial thought when he told us was that he was punking us. That was Brian's personality. He was sitting beside me so I looked at him, smiled, laughed, and started checking him for wires because that would be a typical Brian thing to do. I respect him for doing it even though it was heart-breaking . I thought he was crazy. I offered him counselling, we were almost in relationships with each other in terms of how much time we were spending together so I thought maybe counselling might have helped us. But there were different things going on that we didn't know about. Obviously there were things going on with his marriage that we didn't have a clue about. But I think he made the right choice for him.

Shane: Brian leaving was a very big turning point within Westlife, I wonder whether we would be still be together if Brian hadn't left, I don't know. At the time it made us realise how lucky we were and how fickle the thing could be - that it could be over just like that. It made us stronger as a group.

Nicky: We only got bigger after he left which was a bit weird in a way. We never expected that - to even last would have been good but you actually out-do ourselves and keep getting better was really good.

What do you think of Louis Walsh's involvement in X Factor?

Kian: As long as what he's doing with Westlife what they've always done with Westlife then that's the important thing. I think Louis being involved has done nothing but good for us. He knows the people who run the show, the people behind the scenes and it opens doors. Contacts are a very big part of our industry.

Three of you have known each other since school and Shane is married to Kian's cousin. Is Westlife a family affair?

Shane: We've known each other since we were 12, so for more than 15 years so it has been kind of like they're family to a certain degree. We picked each other as mates so that is the backbone to a strong relationship, and when the others came they gelled with us straight away.

Do you have a favourite book?

Shane: I don't read that much but I've started reading a lot crime books by writers such as Paul Williams. His are books about crime in Ireland, all true stories. In general I like history, facts and public figures. I'm intrigued by JFK, for example.

Were you worried about how people would react to news that Mark was gay?

Mark: I really didn't give a damn what anyone thought - that's one of the key things that anyone that's gay needs to realise before they come out. It's getting to the point of not giving a s**t what anyone thinks that actually pushes you into it. Too many people care about what people will react like and that's the problem. For me I really didn't care what anyone thought and I don't mean that in any ignorant or aggressive way it was just the way it was.

What will you do during your year off?

Shane: My wife is pregnant so I'm looking forward to having some time off. But I'm worried I'll be bored after four or five months, not working. Even if you have a new baby it's going to be a shock to the system after having a schedule for so long.

What do you think Westlife stands for today?

Kian: We're not a political band, we're not trying to make any big noise politically or in the music industry. We don't try to sell ourselves as this credible, funky band that writes their own records and is making milestones in the music industry. We're just four guys that sing great pop songs for pop fans.

 

Football career
Before joining Sligo based band IOU, Byrne was a footballer who played for Home Farm F.C. and St. Clemintines Boys F.C. in North Dublin.
He became a professional football player, and joined Leeds United as a goalkeeper in 1995, and was a squad member of the FA Youth Cup winning team of 1997

He played for Leeds for two years, leaving when his contract expired in June, 1997. He played in a reserve game for Scarborough F.C. and in a trial game with Cambridge United before returning to join Dublin club Shelbourne. He then signed for Cobh Ramblers, then St. Francis F.C., all in Ireland's Eircom league.

 

 

 

WESTLIFE - WESTLIFE STAR BACKS GAY CAMPAIGN






WESTLIFE star MARK FEEHILY is spearheading a campaign to help fight homophobic bullying in Britain's schools.
The singer - who revealed he was gay in August 2005 - joined Stonewall's campaign because he was bullied as a boy.
He says, "It's not just individual bullying, it's the way kids in classrooms use the word gay to mean bad - gay trainers, a gay jacket they don't like - that needs to be tackled.
"People need to know that a throwaway remark at school will stab certain members of the class in the heart."
Feehily joins Sir Ian MCKellan, The Feeling star Dan Gillespie Sells, and Dannii Minogue in backing the nationwide campaign.



 

 

Pictures of Westlife

At 'This Is It' Michael

Jackson Premiere

 

 

 

 

Westlife call off big bash to jet away for Robbie's Soccer Aid


April 06 2010

Westlife have been forced to cancel the after-party they had planned to throw for their much anticipated Where We Are concert at Croke Park next June.

The pop foursome were due to host a bash for friends and family after what promises to be one of their biggest gigs ever.

However the Herald has learned the band will instead be hopping on a plane to Manchester to take part in Robbie Williams' World Cup Soccer Aid special the next day.

The boys will line out at Manchester United's Old Trafford alongside a number of celebrities on June 6 to take on a team of football heroes including Alan Shearer and Jamie Redknapp.

Robbie, who has been organising the event for four years, said he chose the date as it falls just five days before the World Cup kicks off in South Africa. A source close to the group said: "The boys were disappointed when they heard that the two dates were falling so close together.

"After a big gig like that in their home country and in front of their Irish fans, they would generally have had a few drinks to relax, but this time they'll be sticking to water so that they're on top of their game the next day.

"Nicky, in particular, would take it all very seriously and wouldn't want to let his teammates down when he gets out onto the pitch."

The dad of two (31) is a former professional football player, who was signed to Leeds United for two years as a goalkeeper, before he returned to Dublin and forged a pop career.

He and his bandmates will join celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, comedian James Corden and cricket player Brian Lara for the match.

 

 

Not even torrential rain could keep Westlife 22,000 screaming fans away as they played to a packed stadium.

The Irish pop group sang a collection of their hits, including Flying Without Wings and Fool Again at the July Racecourse in Newmarket.

With four costume changes, and their trademark bar stools, the band kept up the tempo with a rendition of I have a Feeling by group, The Black Eyed peas.

A spokeswoman for the racecourse said: It was a complete sell-out and fantastic concert.

The guys talked to the crowd and sang a mix of their old and new songs and the crowd went wild.

November 19 2009
Westlife dedicated their performance at the Childline concert to Stephen Gately.

 


WESTLIFE paid an emotional tribute to fellow boyband star Stephen Gately dedicating their headline show to his memory at the Cheerios Childline concert at Dublin's 02 arena last night.

The Irish popstars gave a riveting performance at their first homecoming gig since playing to 82,000 adoring fans at Croke Park last summer and helped raise €400,000 for the Irish children's charity.

And for disappointed fans who couldn't get tickets to see last night's sold-out show, the band revealed they were in talks for another gig here next summer.

 

 

 

L-R Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily Shane Filan and Kian Egan of Westlife arrive for the 'Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women Of The Year Awards 2010' at Banqueting House on November 2, 2010 in London, England.

MCFADDEN WILL NEVER REJOIN WESTLIFEIrish pop stars WESTLIFE have dashed rumours former bandmate BRIAN MCFADDEN is planning to rejoin the group.
MCFadden quit Westlife in 2004 to pursue a solo career. When that failed, he moved to Australia with fiancee Delta Goodrem and embarked on a career as a TV and radio personality.
It was recently rumoured he may rejoin his former bandmates - but Westlife singer Kian Egan insists the door is closed on a reunion.
He tells Angry Ape, "No. He doesn't live in this country and he's not in the music industry anymore. He has a new life in Australia. We're all still very good friends, but he left Westlife for a reason."

LOUIS WALSH AWARDED MAYOR PERSON OF THE YEAR IN DUBLIN 2009

Shane Filan with his wife Gilian Filan and Nicky Byrne with his wife Georgina Byrne. Louis Walsh is awarded Mayor Person of the Year 2009 at the Citywest Hotel - Dublin, Ireland - 13.02.09

 

 

Kian Egan leaving his car, carrying his dog - Dublin, Ireland - 29.01.09

 

 

Mark Feehily has revealed that Kian Egan can be violent when drunk.

The Westlife singer, who is in the Irish boyband with Egan, Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne, said that Egan once bit his ear.

Feehily told Jonathan Ross on his chatshow: "[Kian] bites everybody - he bit my ear and nearly took the lobe off."

Talking about when bandmate Brian McFadden left the group in 2004, Feehily said: "When Brian left, we... thought we'd slowly fall apart."

Byrne added: "Managing to survive brought us closer together

 

• Reeds gemeld
   

   
   
  
  
  
  Westlife member Nicky Byrne devastated as his dad dies suddenly aged 4/11/2009
  
  
  Westlife star Nicky Byrne was devastated last night after his father collapsed and died of a heart attack.
  
  The singer broke down in tears when he discovered his beloved dad - also named Nicky - died suddenly at home in Swords, near Dublin.
  
  His wife Yvonne called medics but it was too late to save the 60-year-old.
  
  Pop hunk Nicky, 31, called his dad his 'best friend in the world' and the pair set up a karaoke business together before he hit the big time.
  
  Last night a friend said: "Nicky is distraught. It's a huge shock. He and his dad were very close."
  
  Nicky's band mates arrived at their home to express their sympathies. Westlife has cancelled a regional radio tour planned for this week.
  
  

   

  Westlife Video Shooting in Iceland