Nicky: It is going to be so scary, but we all know Westlife is over Byrne just doesn't know what the next step is after calling it a day
IN GOOD NICK: Westlife’s Nicky Byrne is looking forward to the future – whatever it may bring IT'S been a dramatic few weeks in the world of Westlife - and that's before they face into the emotional rollercoaster of their final shows this summer. Towering Mark Feehily recently announced his shock split with longtime English boyfriend, Kevin McDaid, a boyband-star-turned photographer. And The Voice of Ireland mentor, Kian Egan, got the best Christmas present ever when he and his gorgeous wife, Jodi, became first time parents to baby son, Koa. Shuffle caught up with Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan to find out how they will cope with the traumatic months ahead as they close the Westlife chapter after 14 years at the top of the charts. The boys admit that all the Westlife lads are "scared" of what lies ahead. "It's not like taking a break," Nicky Byrne points out."When we took a year off after Croke Park in 2008, I thought, 'I'll enjoy my life; I'll holiday, I'll do a little bit of work.' This is different: we're making a career decision that is final and that's going to be scary. "How we are going to face our final show I don't really know. It's easy to predict that we're all going to be sad and that we'll cry and hug each other. But it's the aftermath that scares us because we just don't know what lies ahead. "Waking up the day after our last show is going to be a really weird feeling. It's going to be like, 'OK, what are we going to do now?' None of us want to sit at home shining our golf clubs." Singer Shane Filan, sitting on the edge of a couch in a plush hotel room, nods in agreement. "It is going to be scary and it scares all of us, but we also know that Westlife has to come to an end," he says. "We're together 14 years as a pop group, which is bananas.We're wondering what else is out there in life, having spent half of our lives in a band. It's been amazing, but we also know there are other things in life that we'll never get to do unless we make the break and give it a go."
SIMPLY THE WEST: The forthcoming tour will be the last for Westlife, who have spent 14 years in the pop business
Shane reveals that all four members of Westlife want to remain in showbusiness - and he will be the first member to launch a solo singing career. Louis Walsh has already agreed to be his manager. "Shane is going to be huge as a solo singer," Louis tells Shuffle. Shane admits: "I know it's a tough world out there and we are all going to have to prove ourselves outside Westlife.There will be a lot of pressure on us because we'll all be under a microscope no matter what we do." Despite their apprehension about the future, the Westlife lads say they are also facing into the unknown with a sense of excitement. "We feel nervously excited that we have a challenge again because Westlife had stopped being a challenge," Shane admits. "In the last few years it was nearly like auto pilot. And while we loved doing the live concerts, the business side of running Westlife was draining the joy out of it for us.The business side is stressful." Filan and Byrne laugh at the reaction they got from some media people following the announcement of their split. "It's like when someone dies, suddenly we were great," Nicky laughs. "I remember reading stuff through the years - and you only remember the bad things - about us being a karaoke band or whatever. And, do you know, probably some of them were right. "But as soon as we said we were quitting, there was nostalgia for the group and loads of journalists and radio people were saying nice things about us. If we'd known they felt that way about us we might have stayed on." ............
Monday, 23 January 2012 Written by Jon Stickler
Another day and another Westlife tour date is announced, today the lads have confirmed a further show at London's O2 Arena for Saturday 12th May.
Westlife embark on their final ever tour together in May. They will play their final ever show together at Dublin's Croke Park in June. Since announcing the farewell tour back in the Autumn last year, Westlife have been forced to announce further dates nearly ever week to meet phenomenal demand to see the boyband live for the very last time.
Westlife UK & Ireland Tour Dates are as follows:
May 2012
Sat May 12th 2012 – The O2 Arena, London – NEW DATE Sun May 13th 2012 – Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield Mon May 14th 2012 - Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle Upon Tyne Tue May 15th 2012 - Liverpool Echo Arena, Liverpool Thu May 17th 2012 - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff Fri May 18th 2012 - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff Sat May 19th 2012 - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield Sun May 20th 2012 - NEC - LG Arena, Birmingham Tue May 22nd 2012 - Nottingham Arena, Nottingham Wed May 23rd 2012 - The O2 Arena, London Thu May 24th 2012 - The O2 Arena, London Sat May 26th 2012 - Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester Sun May 27th 2012 - SECC, Glasgow Tue May 29th 2012 – Odyssey Arena, Belfast Wed May 30th 2012 – Odyssey Arena, Belfast
June 2012
Fri June 1st 2012 - Odyssey Arena, Belfast Sat June 2nd 2012 - Odyssey Arena, Belfast Mon June 4th 2012 – LG Arena, Birmingham Tue June 5th 2012 - Nottingham Arena, Nottingham Thu June 7th 2012 - The O2 Arena, London Fri June 8th 2012 - LG Arena, Birmingham Sat June 9th 2012 - Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester Mon June 11th 2012 - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff Tue June 12th 2012 - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield Wed June 13th 2012 - Liverpool Echo Arena, Liverpool Fri June 15th 2012 - Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle Upon Tyne Sat June 16th 2012 - SECC, Glasgow Sun June 17th 2012 - SECC, Glasgow Tue June 19th 2012 – SECC, Glasgow Wed June 20th 2012 - Odyssey Arena, Belfast Fri June 22nd 2012 - Croke Park Stadium, Dublin Sat June 23rd 2012 - Croke Park Stadium, Dublin
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Westlife star Mark Feehily looks to solo future as band call it quits Jan 1 2012 By Beverley Lyons
However, it’s absolutely certain the summer will see the end of an era for one of Ireland’s most popular musical exports of all time, when Westlife call it a day.
The foursome – since Brian McFadden departed – find themselves contemplating life outside the band that’s taken them around the world for 14 years.
Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne have no idea which of them will go on to be solo superstars, and which – if any – will fade into obscurity, happily or otherwise.
Mark said: “I don’t think anybody could have predicted Cheryl Cole would have the most successful solo career out of Girls Aloud.
“It’s only when we all go off and make music that it will be a bit more apparent who will be successful or not.”
Mark is the guy most would put their money on. With one of the strongest voices in the band, striking looks, a likeable nature and having already written some of the material on previous albums, he appears to have a head start.
He admitted he’s keen to carve out a name for himself once the band finally stops performing, following a greatest hits tour in the summer.
He said: “I’ve been creative since I was 13 and recently I’ve been applying it a bit more. I’ve written thousands of songs but they are hidden away on a hard drive.
“In the last few years I opened up a bit more about them and presented a demo to Westlife.
“They were immediately recorded and the boys put some tracks on the Where We Are album.
“Our last album has four new tracks on it and I have written the last song we will release, Beautiful World.”
Mark, 31, is determined to continue with a musical career once he and his bandmates part ways.
He explained: “I’m a singer and will always want to make music. I didn’t want Westlife to end so I could make a solo record, but it is something I will do now.
“I’ve got a million ideas, a very creative brain. In order to be happy in life I’m going to have to create.”
Of course, Westlife are not the first boyband to split up, and the road ahead can be tough for members flying solo.
Having witnessed the hardships endured by members of East 17 and 5ive, after failing to relight the fires of success, Mark is determined that he and each of his bandmates are not headed for oblivion.
He asserted: “We’re all very driven people. If anything, we are more now that we have to push ourselves individually.
“Some people run off to the distance and you never see them again.
“They have a big stint at the top and then you see some random picture of them with a two-foot beard living in obscurity.
“We are more driven than ever. We are all just over the age of 30 now. A lot of people speak to us as though we are already dead but we are just moving on from Westlife.
“Each of us, hopefully, will have beautiful, flowery careers ahead.”
Most of his bandmates are champing at the bit to try their hand at new adventures but Mark admits Kian may take more time than others to readjust.
He explained: “The only person who wants to go off and completely get away and relax is Kian.
“He’s already a coach on The Voice in Ireland and he has just had a kid. Part of him wants to completely get away, step away from the business and enjoy his child.
“We took a year off three years ago and it was horrible for Kian because he suffered a terrible misfortune during that time.
“His dad passed away, which put a dark cloud over the year for him.
“He wasn’t able to relax and do a bit of soul searching like the rest of us.
“I think he’ll definitely relax and go away for a while, but Kian is also very driven.”
Making the final decision to split was not easy for anyone but it came after months of rumours about the band.
Mark is keen to reassure Westlife fans that there was never any animosity among them.
He said: “That is something we are stressing a lot.
“There was no incident or episode where someone said: ‘That’s it. I’m f***ing out of here’.
“There was no sensational moment. It’s something that manifested over years. It was more an idea of calling it a day and moving on to new adventures for all of us.
“Everyone’s mind was eventually on the same page.
“We’ve had an amazing 14 years but it’s time for something new. We didn’t want it to dwindle away and for the magic to have gone from it.
“The tour we are about to do, our farewell tour, is the biggest tour we’ll have ever done in our career.
“We are going out on top, not staying around like an unwanted guest at the end of the party.”
As Mark insisted that the boys’ plans to split are not a publicity stunt, quashing hopes that they have secret plans for a big reunion three years down the line, he revealed a new string to his bow.
Though his secret new project is still in its infancy, the excitement in his voice was clear.
He enthused: “I’ve been asked to write a musical by an amazing person in London.
“It’s somebody I really admire and it’s to do something like Boy George’s Taboo musical, which he wrote about 20 years ago. It’s an updated newer version and it’s not completely commercial mainstream – a jazz hands musical like Grease – but a bit more off the centre with a mixture of indie, pop music and Broadway.
“That’s always been something I’ve been interested in and I’m flattered that I’ve been asked to be involved with some people I really admire. But nothing exists yet.
“It’s all just talk but it’s very exciting to even be talking about it.”
Before anything can be done, however, the boys will lay to rest their collective status, their career together culminating in a farewell tour that will see them play 90 dates in the UK and Ireland.
Mark’s eyes twinkled, partly in sadness, part in excitement, as he added: “It’s going to be a sad day, but it’s also a celebration of 14 years together and 14 years of touring.
“It’s not all doom and gloom.
“We want to have fun and Scotland has an absolutely electric crowd who always scream very well.”
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On 3 March one of the world’s most successful boy bands, Westlife, will come to AsiaWorld-Expo for Westlife The Farewell Tour Live In Hong Kong 2012. After a phenomenal career that has spanned 14 years and numerous chart-topping hits, this is the final concert tour before the band splits up. Westlife’s farewell tour has been so well received that all tickets are now sold-out ............
Football’s Next Star, which is due to air this autumn, according to Celtic FC.
Nicky, who was signed by Leeds United when he was 16, is a fanatical Celtic supporter, and he played for the Hoops in the Legends match at Celtic Park against Manchester United back in August.
So he’s the ideal host for Football’s Next Star, which will be produced by Tyrone Productions for RTE Young Peoples Programmes, and it will feature 10 young footballers who will battle it out for one coveted place at Celtic’s prestigious Youth Academy. It’s every Bhoy’s dream! ..............
Westlife have added even more shows in June to their farewell tour next year and will be performing at Metro Radio Arena for a second date on Friday 15th June 2012. ‘The Greatest Hits Tour’ will see Kian, Shane, Mark and Nicky perform their 14 number one singles and hits in one spectacular live show for the very last time. Having sold over 44 million records worldwide, the aforementioned 14 number one singles and 7 number one albums, Irish super-group Westlife are celebrating over 14 years of success by also releasing their brand new single ‘Lighthouse’ on 13th November (physically 14th) with the release of their ‘Greatest Hits’ on 21st November. The single written by Gary Barlow and John Shanks is an instantly recognisable Westlife classic complete with soaring melodies, rousing lyrics and is one of four brand new tracks to feature on their album. The band said: “It’s almost hard to believe that we’ve been doing this for as long as we have. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and are looking forward to releasing our Greatest Hits album and performing them live on the tour as a special thank you to our fans who have supported us throughout our career.” 'After 14 years, 26 top ten hits including 14 number one singles, 11 top 5 albums, 7 of which hit the top spot and have collectively sold over 44 million copies around the world, 10 sell out tours and countless memories that we will forever cherish, we today announce our plan to go our separate ways after a greatest hits collection this Christmas and a farewell tour next year. The decision is entirely amicable and after spending all of our adult life together so far, we want to have a well-earned break and look at new ventures. We see the greatest hits collection and the farewell tour as the perfect way to celebrate our incredible career along with our fans. We are really looking forward to getting out on the tour and seeing our fans one last time.' Over the years Westlife has become so much more to us than just a band. Westlife are a family. We would like to thank our fans who have been with us on this amazing journey and are part of our family too. 'We never imagined when we started out in 1998 that 14 years later we would still be recording, touring and having hits together. It has been a dream come true for all of us.' Kian, Mark, Nicky and Shane
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Pop sensations Westlife are taking time out of their farewell tour of China to enjoy the top tourist sights.
The four pals posted a photo online as they posed in the famous Tiananmen Square in Beijing yesterday.
The band had performed before 15,000 fans in the MasterCard Centre in the city the night before. Band member Nicky Byrne tweeted: “Taking in the sights in China… Tiananmen square & the Forbidden City.’’
A spokesperson for the stars revealed Westlife are having the time of their lives in China. “They’ve really been bowled over by the country and the Chinese people — probably because they have more time to see the place this time.
“In terms of concerts, they said it’s the new America. There’s a massive population and a huge appetite for live music and they were amazed by the rapturous welcome they’ve received in China,” the spokesperson added. Westlife’s farewell tour of China is expected to earn them a whopping €5m.
The group will play in seven different cities for the final time in their 14-year history. The last Westlife tour is scheduled to visit the cities of Hangzhou, Chendu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong during the tour, which continues until March 3.
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Westlife join the team for Shay and Jane Given's Fashion Kicks charity extravaganza
March 06, 2012
Westlife will perform at the Fashion Kicks event organised by their friends, Aston Villa goalie Shay Given and wife Jane Westlife will perform at the Fashion Kicks event organised by their friends, Aston Villa goalie Shay Given and wife Jane
Footballer Shay Given and wife Jane have scored quite the exclusive as they gear up to host their huge charity event in Manchester – as manband Westlife will perform just a week before their big farewell tour kicks off.
Republic of Ireland and Aston Villa goalie Shay and glamorous wife Jane have raised over £1mn with their Fashion Kicks events over the past eight years.
And I can reveal they are planning their biggest event yet for this year – once again to be held at The Point at Lancashire County Cricket Club on May 1.
The couple have long been friends with the Westlife guys, and the Irish band have agreed to perform at the finale of the event just a week before they head out on their final tour before splitting after 14 years together and 26 top ten hits.
Jane says: “It will be the last charity event that Westlife will perform at together so we're just so thrilled they were able to support us and the charities.
“They want to go all out, so I know it's going to be a very special performance.”
The band's Nicky Byrne says: “This year will be a memorable one for us and it is gratifying to know as Westlife draws to a close that we have helped Shay and Jane in some small way over the years.
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Westlife announce girl group Vanquish as 'Farewell Tour' support
The boyband, who will embark on their 'Farewell Tour' of the UK and Ireland in May, confirmed that girl group Vanquish will open their shows.
Speaking about their appointment, the group said: "To be supporting Westlife on their final UK arena tour is an amazing feeling!
"We feel honoured to be part of this. We are going to bring fun, excitement and some powerful Vanquish pop songs to the tour. Can't wait to get on stage!"
The four-piece have been working with producers Rob Davis and Jorgen Elofsson for their debut album.
Between them, the producers have previously worked with the likes of Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez and Kylie Minogue.
Vanquish's debut single 'The Harder You Love' will be released in April.
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Filan eyes solo career as financial ruin looms Westlife star faces ?23m debt, but Louis Walsh says he'll bounce back
FIGHTER: Shane Filan, will be 'the next Michael Buble', says Louis Walsh Sunday April 08 2012
WESTLIFE singer Shane Filan faces losing everything in the property crash and is now set to relaunch his pop career in an attempt to revive his fortunes.
Filan, one of Ireland's biggest pop stars, is believed to be in debt for up to ?23m, according to well-placed financial sources.
The singer is reportedly in the process of cutting a deal with creditors by entering an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in Britain.
Sources say he has employed a leading firm of London accountants and is currently negotiating financial arrangements with his banks -- including Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland -- as a way of avoiding bankruptcy.
An IVA is a way of having debt written off if existing assets are sold to raise money for creditors.
It is understood in financial circles that Filan is attempting to keep earnings from the impending Westlife farewell tour out of the current negotiations.
This weekend his manager Louis Walsh, although refusing to be drawn on a figure for the Sligo man's total losses in the property business, confirmed that the singer was about to start afresh.
"He's wiping the slate clean and starting over," said Walsh. "He is going to be fine.
"He has a massive solo deal in the pipeline and is going to be a massive, massive star.
"He is set to make millions from the Westlife farewell tour. They have sold out two dates at Croke Park -- that alone is huge -- and then he will make millions from the solo career too."
The manager also said that he would be standing by his number one pop star and helping to get him back on his feet:
"I am 100 per cent sticking by him through this. He is facing up to it and doing it [in] a very honourable and honest way. And you have to respect him for that."
He added: "Shane has something that you can't buy, that no one else in Ireland has. He has a million-dollar voice. He'll be okay.
"We're meeting with record companies and I'm going to make him the next Michael Buble.
"I have big plans for Shane, there is huge interest and you know me when I say to watch this space. Shane's future is very bright."
Both Filan and Walsh have been in talks with several record companies in London in recent days.
It is believed that at least four different labels are making a bid to sign the Sligo father of three and release his debut solo album at the end of next year.
As a source explained: "There's four, possibly five labels so far who have made it very clear that they want Shane.
"He already has loads of ideas about the kind of album he wants to make and the road he wants to go down.
"He and Louis have have had back-to-back meetings with the heads of the UK's biggest record companies and he has his pick of deals.
"It couldn't have come at a better time, just as he needs to start again. But Louis has taken him under his wing and will always look after him."
Sources say that the money-spinning Westlife farewell tour is set to net the band more than ?12m.
And Filan is thrashing out a deal so that this and all future earnings will remain untouched by his creditors.
The 32-year-old -- who has sold 43 million records worldwide with Westlife, one of the biggest boy bands of all time -- is currently being sued by Bank of Ireland for unpaid debts.
Filan auctioned off his James Bond-style Aston Martin for ?398,000 last September. He had bought it just two years earlier as a birthday present to himself.
A spokeswoman for the Westlife star said Filan would not be commenting.
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WE’RE more used to seeing them in smart suits but Westlife have donned the sweat pants to get in shape for their farewell tour.
The Mail can reveal that Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily have taken over a north Dublin dance studio in a bid to get festival fit.
The group have flown in a team of choreographers from London and are learning the gruelling routines that will make up the two-and-a-half hour show.
For the next five days they must watch what they eat and put in eight hours of intense rehearsals.
‘It’s the worst part of touring for them,’ said an insider. ‘They only have the week to get the steps and set list down completely. After that they will go their separate ways until the tour starts in May.’
Yesterday was also the first time that all four members have come together since it emerged that Shane Filan was in serious financial trouble. Shane’s property company Shafin Developments Ltd is believed to be in debt for up to [euro]23m and the singer is reportedly in the process of cutting a deal with creditors.
This was the firsttime he has been pictured on Irish soil since news broke three weeks ago. And Mark, Nicky and Kian all rallied around the singer.
A source said: ‘A couple of smart comments were made that were taken in good spirit by Shane because that’s the way the Westlife lads are.
‘But, to be honest, Shane is just happy to be back at work.’
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’M KIAN ON BEING A ROCKER AGAIN; Star wants to form new band.
Byline: MAEVE QUIGLEY
KIAN Egan has revealed he wants to form a rock band when Westlife split.
The star has always said he would rather move into band management after the group hang up their microphones.
But after being a coach on The Voice, Kian revealed he wants to launch his own group.
He said of a singing career after Westlife: “Coming into the show as a singer myself but in the background with Westlife, I always had a thing in my mind that no, I wouldn’t.
“But being around these people I kind of have a different attitude towards it.”
Kian, 31, plays a number of instruments including guitar and piano and was a former member of Sligo punk rock group Skrod.
He said being around singers such as Shane Filan and Mark Feehily made him doubt his own abilities as a vocalist.
But the other coaches on The Voice – Sharon Corr, Bressie and Brian Kennedy – have helped him get his musical mojo back.
He added: “I suppose when you are in one world and you are in a band like Westlife and are in a band with people like Shane and Mark who are amazing singers, your confidence gets put down.
“But then when you get around more musical people like Brian, for me as a musical person Brian has put a lot of confidence in me.”
After Westlife part ways, Nicky Byrne looks set to pursue a career in television while both Shane and Mark are going to record solo albums.
But Kian said: “I don’t think I would do a solo album, I think I would be in a rock band.”
And insiders said there’s a possibility he might ask one of his team to join him in his guitarladen endeavours.
One added: “It could be that Kian might have his eye on Graham [Dowling] as a member of his band in the future.”
Credit/Source: Irish Daily Mirror – Published on 18.04.2012
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Music guru Cowell offers Filan solo deal after Westlife split.
Byline: SAM HAMILTON
X FACTOR supremo Simon Cowell is hoping to tempt Westlife’s Shane Filan to sign with his label.
The music mogul, 52, has offered the band’s lead singer a big-money offer with Syco Records.
But Shane, 32, also has two other labels battling it out to release his debut solo album after the Us Against The World band go their separate ways this summer.
If he did decide to sign with Simon, it would be a thawing in the band’s frosty relationship with the pop guru after the group walked away from his label. A source said: “Shane was always the best singer in the band and it seems Simon realises that.
“It would turn a lot of heads if these two ended up working together. After Westlife go their separate ways, the only member of the band that Louis Walsh is going to be managing is Shane – and he has a great relationship with Simon.
“And while Simon can be a hard person to work with at times, he knows what he is talking about.
“With the X Factor it’s only when artists stop listening to him that they flop.
“So you’d be sure if Shane went with Simon, he’d definitely get a No1 album.”
Dad-of-three Shane will be heading straight to the studio after saying goodbye at Westlife’s final Croke Park gig with bandmates Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Nicky Byrne in June.
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WESTLIFE star Mark Feehily claimed The Voice coach Kian Egan isn’t mean in real life.
The gay star revealed he doesn’t believe Kian is the Mr Nasty character people have made him out to be.
But the 31-year-old admitted his friend isn’t as cruel in the recording studio with the rest of the band as he is on The Voice.
He added: “I actually think Kian isn’t that bad, and I think his comments are quite spot-on to be honest. But I do have to support him of course.”
And Mark, who recently split from fiance Kevin McDaid, feels the band’s split this summer is going to be “bittersweet”.
He said: “It’s quiet in terms of the Westlife stuff, but we’re always doing bits and pieces behind the scenes.
“We’ve got our final tour coming up which finishes in Croke Park. It’s bittersweet because it’s going to be the best gigs of our life, but after that we finish up for good.”
Credit/Source: Irish Daily Mirror – published on 31.03.2012
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Wives join Westlife on tour bus for Farewell gigs
Monday 2012
IT'S a case of 'all aboard' the Westlife bus this week as the chart-toppers are joined by all their partners on their last ever tour.
THE four crooners have kicked off their Farewell tour and will play a string of arenas all over Britain before bringing it to Ireland this summer.
But as proof that the boys have definitely grown up, this time around they'll be bringing all their partners with them on the tour bus.
Nicky Byrne's other half Georgina said being able to travel around with the band made it much easier for them as a family.
"I wasn't able to get over to Cardiff because I had to mind the boys," she explained.
"But we are all going to the London gig and going out on the road with them for the week. I don't know how rock and roll the lads will think it is but all the wives are going on tour.
Special
"We will be piling into the tour bus each night with them after the shows and heading on the road. It is the last time they will be doing this together, so it will be special," she said.
However, she won't be stuck for company either, given that Shane's other half Gillian will also be there, as will Kian's wife Jodi Albert.
Nicky, Kian Egan, Shane Byrne and Mark Feehily kicked off their tour last week at Cardiff Motorpoint arena, performing to almost 10,000 fans. They'll now spend the next few weeks taking to the stage in major venues all over the UK before building up to the grand finale of their Croke Park concerts.
Such was the demand to see them performing to their home crowd that promoters had to add an extra date to their Dublin gigs on June 22 and June 23.
Last November saw the chart-toppers confirming they were going their separate ways after more than 14 years together.
In that time, they have sold over 45 million records and clocked up some 12 number one singles in Ireland.
The group was recently voted the best ever boyband during a two-week poll of an MTV audience of some 12 million viewers.
They beat off a total of 32 groups to the coveted title including rivals like The Wanted and Disney stars The Jonas Brothers.
mfinn@herald.ie
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Westlife singer Shane Filan is set to make his first solo album with record company Universal, according to reports.
Shane Filan to sign to Universal The 32-year-old singer who is currently on Westlife's farewell tour due to end in Croke Park this June is believed to have signed a deal with Universal, despite the bands 14-year long career with Sony Music.
It is believed that Mark Feehily will also make a solo album, while other band mates, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne are set to focus on television.
Kian Egan recently judged the Irish version of the hit US show, The Voice. While according to reports in the Daily Star, Nicky Byrne is in talks with US show, Dancing With The Stars.
In an interview earlier today with 98FM, Kian said: "I have been in talks with Sky amongst other people aswell about other TV projects. Nothing is in the bag, nothing is finalised. I haven't signed any contracts or anything like that - it's all talk at the minute. I signed up with a big agency in the UK. It's looking good. It's looking like I will probably be doing one or two more things in the UK in the coming months and the next year or so but to be honest, I'm not chasing anything. I don't want to be running after anything - if something comes up that feels natural, then I'll go for it"
Nicky Byrne, who will be playing tonight in Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena alongside the band as part of their farewell tour has tweeted a picture of two fans that got his autograph tattooed on their wrists hours after he signed them.
Byrne took to Twitter to say: "Signed two girls wrists in Cardiff earlier.. Came back out of the Arena two hrs later and they've had them Tattooed !!!"
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FANS couldn't get hold of tickets for Ireland's most successful boyband's farewell tour fast enough when they went on sale last October.
After tickets disappeared within a matter of minutes, Westlife decided to give a few more of their beloved Birmingham fans the chance to see them perform their greatest hits one last time and added an extra date to their current LG Arena visit.
Having decided to split after 14 years performing together, 26 top ten hits, 11 top five albums which have collectively sold 44 million copies, the additional concert next Friday, June 8, will see Kjan, Shane, Mark and Nicky perform their 14 number ones, among others, in Birmingham for the very last time.
The band, the only group in British and Irish pop history to reach number one with their first seven singles, also boast an impressive history of awards from Smash Hits to Top of the Pops and countless Brit Awards.
"It's almost hard to believe that we've been doing this for as long as we have," said the band.
"We're incredibly proud of what we've achieved and are looking forward to releasing our Greatest Hits album and performing them live on the tour as a special thank you to our fans who have supported us throughout our career."
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Kian on Westlife swansong
Swansong ... Westlife By JENNIFER O’BRIEN, 2012 WESTLIFE are getting emotional as they embark on their €5million farewell tour tonight — and prepare to say goodbye to their boyband days forever. 2 comments And singer Kian Egan reckons there will be plenty of tears between the foursome after 16 years on the road.
He revealed: “It’s hard to believe that after so long together this will be the end.
“I don’t doubt that there will be tears — and lots of them to be honest! We want to go out with a bang and make this the best tour we have ever had.”
Kian, Shane, Nicky and Mark will take to the stage at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena tonight in front of nearly 10,000 fans.
And the rest of their farewell tour will see them take in dates all across the UK in May.
But the highlight will be their final gigs in Croke Park in June.
Kian, 32, said: “I think for a lot of the nights they are going to be kicking us off the stage. Especially the ones at Croke Park — we are not going to want to leave.
“They fine you a serious amount of money there if you go over time — something like ?10,000 a minute, but I know we are not going to want to get off that stage. It’s going to be so emotional.”
Kian showed fans another side of him when he appeared on RTE’s The Voice as a coach.
And despite being thrown into rehearsals for the tour straight after the show, he loves being back with Westlife.
Kian, who recently became dad to baby Koa with wife Jodi Albert, said: “Coming out of The Voice and straight into rehearsals is probably what bridged the gap for me.
“It’s exciting — we are bringing in a lot of songs that we haven’t done in a long time like I Have a Dream. There will also be a medley as fans seem to love that.
“The whole thing will be very high octane. We are going to try and bring in every element of Westlife’s career and make it a Greatest Hits to remember.”
The tour will be the last time the boyband perform as a four-piece after selling more than 45million records and 12 Irish No1 singles.
It has been eight years since Brian McFadden left the group and he now lives in Australia with his model fiancée Vogue Williams.
And despite rumours that Brian might come back, Kian insists it isn’t going to happen.
He said: “No. We love Brian, but he hasn’t been a part of the band for such a long time.
“For us it would be very weird to stand on the stage with him again, especially on our final tour.
“For us it’s kind of like, he left us, we didn’t leave him and for us, it just wouldn’t feel right. I just don’t think it would work.”
Boyzone and Take That have reunited after years apart and are among the biggest bands in the world again. But Kian can’t see Westlife reforming.
He said: “I would find it difficult to think that we would never step on a stage together again but to make an album and go back on tour... I find it difficult to think that we would get back together.”
Westlife were formed by Louis Walsh in 1998 when he took Sligo lads Kian, Mark and Shane from boyband IOU and put them with Dubliners Nicky and Brian.
Their first single Swear It Again shot in at No1 in April 1999. Looking back over their successes, Kian is glad he and the lads — who have six kids between them — made their families a priority.
He said: “I think we all have a lifestyle that’s very normal in a sense, we are only in the band six months of the year really anyway.
“Nicky is in Malahide bringing his kids to school every day and Shane is over in London bringing his kids to school every day.”
As for the future, Kian believes he and the other lads have made the right decision to go their separate ways. He said: “Shane has solo plans, Mark probably will end up doing a solo album, Nicky is making TV shows and I’m doing one or two things.
“It’s already kind of moving on. I do think that I have made the right decision.
“As people we need to feel what life is like without Westlife because we have never experienced it. We don’t know what the world is without Westlife
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Only a few weeks left now until Westlife are no more….they play Cardiff tonight and they only have about 2 or 3 days where they won’t be doing a show before the final concerts on the 22nd and 23rd of June at Croke Park.
So the next thing for the lads is figuring out what to do next – we know that Shane Filan will be focusing on a solo career as will Mark Feehily and it seems after his stint on The Voice of Ireland, Kian Egan has been getting some TV presenting offers over in the UK so are the rumours true?
Kian told 98FM “I have been in talks with Sky amongst other people aswell about other TV projects. Nothing is in the bag, nothing is finalised. I haven’t signed any contracts or anything like that – it’s all talk at the minute. I signed up with a big agency in the UK. It’s looking good. It’s looking like I will probably be doing one or two more things in the UK in the coming months and the next year or so but to be honest, I’m not chasing anything. I don’t want to be running after anything – if something comes up that feels natural, then I’ll go for it”.
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The Irish version of ‘Football’s Next Star’ has wrapped filming and is currently in post-production at Screen Scene in Dublin. Produced by Tyrone Productions for RTÉ, the show finished filming last weekend with scenes shot in locations including Dublin, Limerick and Glasgow. The show follows 10 talented young soccer hopefuls who battle it out to win a place at Celtic’s Youth Academy in Glasgow.
Westlife singer Nicky Byrne is the show’s presenter, with the format originally developed by Sky TV. The Irish version for Tyrone has been directed by Paul Golding (Strictly Come Dancing). Noleen Golding (OMG! Jedward’s Dream Factory) is the producer, while Patricia Carroll is the executive producer for Tyrone.
Eight 25-minute episodes of the series are scheduled to broadcast on RTE Two in September.
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SHANE Filan is to make his first solo album with Universal, despite Westlife enjoying a 14-year career with rival label Sony.
The 32-year-old is on the manband’s farewell tour but is already plotting a debut disc away from the group.
Mark Feehily, 32, is also expected to make an album, while bandmates Nicky Byrne, 33, and Kian Egan, 32, focus on television.
I’ve already revealed how Nicky is in talks with US show Dancing With The Stars.
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Westlife, Motorpoint Arena Tuesday 15th May 2012 in Entertainments By Chris Sharpe
What a fantastic night of entertainment!
The show opened with Glenn Cal, an Irish male singer who is very talented and performed really well.
An all-girl band, Vanquish, performed a variety of songs, and from their act it is possible they are the next Girls Aloud/SaturdaysŠ. perhaps!
Also on stage were the popular Lilygreen & Maguire.
This is the second time I have had the pleasure of seeing this duo (first time when they supported Olly Murs) and they have a great vibe, stage presence and are charming and charismatic. They gave a great show and if you get the chance I would highly recommend you catch them when the opportunity arises. Great young Welsh talent.
But the act everyone was waiting for was, of course, Westlife.
And despite technical problems which meant a break in the show for around 20 minutes or so the band are just WOW! They were amazing and performed all their best-known songs.
I love this band so much I can¹t wait to see them again next month in Sheffield, while Welsh fans have the chance to see the band at the Motorpoint with a couple of dates lined up next month.
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Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given took to twitter to thank his celebrity pals who supported his Fashion Kicks fundraiser in Manchester.
Warnock bid £10,000 to appear on stage on the night with Wesltife. And the 30-year-old Aston Villa defender even managed to upstage singer Shane Filan with his rendition of Mack The Knife.
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The evening - hosted by Shay and Jane Given, and said to offer a night of 'fashion, football, food and entertainment' - also attracted the attention of the recently-parted Westlife. Kian Egan's wife Jodi Albert looked fantastic having just given birth last December, while Shane Filan's partner and mother of his three children Gillian looked like a Sixites bombshell in yellow.
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Nicky Byrne attended with wife Georgina
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REVIEW: Westlife all fired up on final tour at Sheffield Motorpoint Arena Westlife performing at Sheffield Arena on their farewell tour.
Published on Tuesday 15 May 2012
FLAMING ’eck! Chart kings Westlife really were fired-up for the first of three goodbye concerts in Sheffield - when figures of Ireland’s fab four went up in flames to signal the end, writes Graham Walker
And that was just the start of this spectacular last production at the Motorpoint Arena.
After 14 years of pop domination, Kian Egan, Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Nicky Byrne finally emerged for real, opening with What Makes A Man and then took fans on a trip down a memory lane of hits, complete with synchronised dance moves.
The sing-a-long included highlights Uptown Girl, Queen of My Heart, When You’re Looking Like That, Mandy, You Raise Me Up, World Of Our Own and fitting finale, Flying Without Wings.
At one stage the band ended up soaring across the Arena floor on a makeshift spaceship, as they jetted in to party.
This was never going to be a sombre farewell.
Let’s face it, they had a lot to celebrate in an hour and 45 minutes, what with 26 top ten hits, including 14 number one singles, 11 top five albums, seven of which hit the top spot and over 44 million record sales, with 10 sell out tours.
It’s difficult to image Westlife getting booed, especially by their own fans. But booed they were at any mention that this was the end.
In truth it’s probably a well-earned break and when Shane insisted ‘this isn’t goodbye’, the roar of approval from fans almost raised the roof.
Westlife will be back in Sheffield for two final shows, on Saturday, May 19 and Tuesday, June 12.
Set list: What About Now; What Makes A Man; My Love; Safe; Uptown Girl; If I Let You Go; Ain’t That a Kick in the Head; Queen Of My Heart; Unbreakable; (Medley) I Gotta Feeling, Sex On Fire, Don’t Cha, Let Me Entertain You, Bohemian Rhapsody; When You’re Looking Like That; Mandy; Seasons in the Sun; Swear It Again; Home; Encore: You Raise Me Up; World Of Our Own; Flying Without Wings.
Related Articles Star treatment as Westlife fan Katie goes backstage in Sheffield
WESTLIFE fan Katie Taylor did not just get front row seats - she also went backstage to meet the band, thanks to The Star.
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WESTLIFE are gearing up for rehearsals for their final ever tour. Entertainment Editor Gordon Barr previews their two Newcastle shows.
WHEN Westlife take to the stage of the Metro Radio Arena on May 14 it will mark their 31st appearance there.
They hold the record for most shows at the venue but are not content with just 31 – come June they will make their 32nd trip there as part of their farewell Greatest Hits tour.
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FAREWELLS don’t always have to be sad. Richard Neale saw Westlife prove they can be entertaining, energetic and – most of all – fun.
THE fact the band known by some as “them boys who sit on chairs and sing covers” have lasted for 14 years probably says enough about their popularity and talent as any other statistic.
But for those who love a stat, the band have had 26 top ten-hits including 14 number one singles, 11 top five albums, seven of which hit the top spot and have collectively sold over 44 million copies around the world, not to mention 10 sell-out tours.
Westlife wow fans at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena
And while other boy bands from 14 years ago are consigned to grubby fading posters in former fans’ garages, the boys from Ireland have managed to keep their huge fanbase more than happy – while picking up a few others along the way.
And that is why, having already having performed at the Metro Radio Arena more than 30 times, the group have had to add an extra date to the city for their farewell tour.
And if it’s anything as good as the first date last night, fans will be in for a treat – as all those years of experience performing concerts were put to great use.
It’s a sad time for the boys and their fans but, after such a long time they wanted – and deserved – to go out on a high.
And that they did.
Shane has previously told “we know we can sing”. And for any who doubted that (nobody in last night’s audience obviously), Nicky, Mark and Kian proved his point, with favourites such as Uptown Girl and Flying Without Wings.
Not that they needed to of course. Their adoring fans were happy to take the lead and fill in the word, verse or chorus of any and all songs when requested.
Not that they always did what the lads wanted. “Welcome to the farewell tour” was greeted with a chorus of boos from a public who want more years.
But the night wasn’t about saying goodbye in a sad way.
“We want this to be fun” the full to bursting arena was told.
And it was.
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FAREWELLS don’t always have to be sad. Richard Neale saw Westlife prove they can be entertaining, energetic and – most of all – fun.
From the start the night was all fun.
A simple silhouette of the lads behind the curtain whipped the crowd into a frenzy – only for the curtain to reveal four burning effigies instead of the expected foursome.
During one break Nicky took time to read the banners – fully knowing they “always find a new level of depravity in the North East” but enjoying every saucy comment. And when one woman asked them to fit into a pair of huge over-sized bloomers the boys duly obliged. This group are still great friends – one of the reasons they want to give up now while they’re on top and happy. And they’re happy to have a laugh at themselves – surely the dance moves were a nod to those who have had a go at this aspect of their performing.
But who needs to dance when they can entertain so well – even covering huge modern hits like Black Eyed Peas’ Tonight’s Going To Be a Good Night and Bohemian Rhapsody (with obligatory horrible dance moves).
And for those fans sitting at the back, the “circle” was brought back – with the lads flying across the Arena, making sure the back row became the front row and everyone got a good look at them performing... now there are no health and safety considerations to worry about.
In 2002 Westlife stood on this stage on their first tour. It was called dreams come true – and they certainly did.
Nobody was sitting in their chair last night, and the tears were flowing as the famous four said their own personal farewells.
And fans will certainly be on the edge of their seats hoping one of the most successful boy bands of the last decade turn out again on the almost obligatory reunion tour sometime soon.
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Westlife have a devoted following whose admiration for the boys appears to the more casual observer to be somewhat out of proportion to their musical impact. True, the boys all have good voices, with Shane and Mark clearly some way ahead of the other two, as well as a decent line in banter and a sense of fun which goes down well with the enthusiastic crowd. What's not to like about Nicky reading out the rudest banners in the crowd? There's plenty of fire and fireworks, an obligatory journey above the heads of the crowd to visit the punters at the back of the Arena, and the excellent backing musicians are tighter than the buttons on Mark's jacket.
And yet - should a band which has been going 14 years really have to puff out the middle of a concert with a medley of other people's hits? Especially when a significant proportion of their own hits are already covers. It did up the tempo bit, but in that case why not play some of the bands' own livelier material?
Obviously none of this matters to 99% to those who were at the Arena, a venue which Westlife have already played 15 times. They came to hear the greatest hits, they got exactly that, and they went away happy.
And so, too, off went Westlife, into the night; with wistful looks over their shoulders, and a sadness borne of the knowledge that they will never perform in this fair city again. Oh, except for their added date in a couple of weeks' time.
Westlife will be back at the Capital FM Arena on June 5 as part of their Farewell Tour.
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Shane, Nicky, Kian and Mark announced last year that they will go their separate ways, after 14 years together.
But before they go they will play five dates at Belfast's Odyssey Arena, a city where they have performed 60 times previously.
It is the final tour for the band, which has sold more than 44 million records worldwide, and Westlife will play their last concert at Dublin's Croke Park next month.
Their closing gig will be screened at cinemas across the globe in countries including South Africa, Finland and the Netherlands.
The boys, who were originally signed by Simon Cowell and managed by Louis Walsh, have topped the UK charts 14 times.
Westlife started on the road to pop success in 1998 with five members, but in 2004 Brian McFadden left the group to focus on solo projects.
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There were a few tears flowing at the Odyssey Arena when Westlife took to the stage for very last time in Belfast last night
Twelve years, ten albums and 44million sales into their career, Westlife came to a crossroads earlier this year.
The group's original line-up was Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was part of the group until 2004. Westlife have sold over 45 million records worldwide which includes studio albums, singles, video release, and compilation albums. Despite the group's worldwide success, they only have one hit single in the United States, "Swear It Again", which peaked in 2000 on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 20.
The band were originally signed by Simon Cowell and are managed by Louis Walsh. The group have accumulated 14 number-one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history, tying with Cliff Richard. The group had also broken a few records, including "Music artist with most consecutive number 1's in the UK", which consists of their first seven singles and only behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. The band have 14 UK number ones and 25 top ten singles, consisting of 20.2 million records and videos in the UK across their 14-year career - 6.8 million singles, 11.9 million albums and 1.5 million videos.
On 1 June 2008, Westlife marked their tenth anniversary with a concert in Croke Park, Dublin which had more than 83,000 fans attending the special occasion. Music Week revealed on their website that Westlife are the official third top touring act within the years 2005?2008, while they were seventh top touring act of 2008.
Also in 2008, they were declared Ireland's ninth-richest celebrities under 30 years old and thirteenth in general with 36 million euros as a group. In 2009, they dropped as sixteenth richest Irish with estimated 8 million euros each. They were named as the fourth most hard-working music artist in UK by PRS in 2010.[5] In August 2011, it was reported in the Irish Examiner that the profits of the band's firm grew five-fold in 2010.
On 19 October 2011, Westlife announced they were to split after their Greatest Hits was released on 21 November 2011 it debuted in Ireland at number1 for 1 week and debuted and peaked at number 4 in the UK and a farewell tour in Spring 2012.
The band recently won the coveted poll of MTV.com Battle of the Boybands. After five rounds and competing with 32 boybands, Westlife won over 74% at the final round.
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Westlife record song for Niamh Curry's funeralContinue reading the main story Related Stories Winehouse shirt sells for £3,000 Cancer treatment battle girl dies About 300 people have paid tribute to five-year-old Niamh Curry, who died from a rare form of cancer.
Pop stars Westlife recorded a message of condolence and an acoustic version of their Number One hit Unbreakable for the funeral at Kettering Crematorium.
Niamh was well known in the county for her and her family's work campaigning for awareness and funding to treat her neuroblastoma.
Her charity, Niamh's Next Step, attracted support from Westlife.
'Amazing little girl'
When news of her death on 20 May was announced on social media networks, the group was so moved they recorded the song and a message that paid tribute to an "amazing little girl" who had been an inspiration.
They said they had been "very sad" to learn of her death.
Niamh was was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2010 when she was three. She underwent several bouts of medication, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and an operation to remove a tumour, but the cancer returned at the end of 2011.
Her family were due to take her to Philadelphia to receive specialist care in September but she developed an infection which gave way to severe pneumonia.
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Mark Feehily Celebrates Birthday During Westlife Show
Westlife star Mark Feehily was given an early birthday treat on Sunday (27May12) when he was serenaded by the audience at the group's arena show in Scotland.
The Irish singer turns 32 on Monday (28May12), and he has been given a night off from the band's The Greatest Hits Tour to enjoy his big day.
However, the crowd at the band's Sunday show at the Glasgow Secc venue treated Feehily to a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday during the performance, much to the star's delight.
In a post on his Twitter.com page, he writes, "Glasgow u were great, thanks for singing Happy Birthday to me 'n' all."
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Westlife singer Kian Egan admits that he's feeling nervous about the group's farewell gig in Croke Park.
Saturday Jun 2 2012
Singer Kian Egan confesses that he's already feeling nostalgic about the band's farewell gigs in Croke Park.
The 32-year-old, who became a father for the first time last year, says it?s not the singing that?s giving him butterflies, but the actual event itself.
?It?s just so huge ? it?s being broadcast in cinemas all over the world, with a live feed into all the cinemas in the UK, Ireland, Europe and Asia,? he says. ?It?s going to be in Australia and New Zealand. There?s even talk about showing it in America at the minute.?
The group will play two sell-out shows in Croke Park in three weeks time.
The ?Voice of Ireland? judge is also feeling emotional about the fact that this is the last time Westlife, who have been together for 14 years, will sing as a group.
?It does feel pretty sad knowing this going to be the last time ? we?re all sad about it,? he says. ?But I think at the moment we?re just trying to enjoy it and not dwell too much on it,? he told The Irish Daily Mirror.
But he is looking forward to spending more time with wife, Jodi Albert and son Koa.
?It?s going to be a bit of time for me to just spend with my family and not have work commitments pulling me away from them,? the singer says. ?It?ll be nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the memories as well and watch the DVDs of our gigs gone by and chill out with it all.?
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THE farewell concert by Irish pop band Westlife is to be screened live at the cinema in Galashiels.
The group, who announced last October they were splitting after 14 years, are set to bow out with a final concert at Dublin's Croke Park on Saturday, June 23.
The event will be beamed at more than 200 cinemas in nine countries including Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Norway.
The band, whose 14 UK number ones include 1999 hit Flying Without Wings, have sold more than 44 million records worldwide. Organisers said tickets for the concert sold out in minutes.
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Mark Feehily Celebrates Birthday During Westlife Show
Westlife star Mark Feehily was given an early birthday treat on Sunday (27May12) when he was serenaded by the audience at the group's arena show in Scotland.
The Irish singer turns 32 on Monday (28May12), and he has been given a night off from the band's The Greatest Hits Tour to enjoy his big day.
However, the crowd at the band's Sunday show at the Glasgow Secc venue treated Feehily to a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday during the performance, much to the star's delight.
In a post on his Twitter.com page, he writes, "Glasgow u were great, thanks for singing Happy Birthday to me 'n' all."
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Westlife singer Kian Egan admits that he's feeling nervous about the group's farewell gig in Croke Park.
Saturday Jun 2 2012
Singer Kian Egan confesses that he's already feeling nostalgic about the band's farewell gigs in Croke Park.
The 32-year-old, who became a father for the first time last year, says it?s not the singing that?s giving him butterflies, but the actual event itself.
?It?s just so huge ? it?s being broadcast in cinemas all over the world, with a live feed into all the cinemas in the UK, Ireland, Europe and Asia,? he says. ?It?s going to be in Australia and New Zealand. There?s even talk about showing it in America at the minute.?
The group will play two sell-out shows in Croke Park in three weeks time.
The ?Voice of Ireland? judge is also feeling emotional about the fact that this is the last time Westlife, who have been together for 14 years, will sing as a group.
?It does feel pretty sad knowing this going to be the last time ? we?re all sad about it,? he says. ?But I think at the moment we?re just trying to enjoy it and not dwell too much on it,? he told The Irish Daily
WESTLIFE PLAY their last-ever concert at Croke Park in Dublin, bringing to an end a massively successful 14-year career that saw them selling 44 million records and selling out arenas around the world
Nicky Byrne has joined Giovanni Trapattoni's critics in suggesting Ireland needs a new manager.
The singer insisted the time for 73-year-old Trapattoni to step down has come.
POP hunk Nicky Byrne thought his world had caved in when he was rejected by Everton as a teenager. The ex-Westlife star was set to sign for the Premier League giants as a goalkeeper before they decided against the move.
The 33-year-old will present the Irish version of reality series Football’s Next Star when it hits RTE screens next month.
And the doting dad of two believes his own experience will help him relNicky Byrne believes Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh is his biggest competitor on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Nicky Byrne considers Kimberley Walsh his biggest "rival" on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The Westlife star - who is partnered with newcomer Karen Hauer on the show - claims the Girls Aloud singer is his greatest competitor because they are both from band backgrounds and both experiencing a similar level of nerves.
He said: "When I was on tour with Westlife, we danced but we didn't have anyone judging us and it was all a bit of fun. This is completely different.
"Kimberley Walsh form Girls Aloud is in a similar position to me, only she went to stage school too. I love all the rivalry that is going on with Kimberley and I."
However, his dancing prowess has led him to get a nickname from his family - Glitterballs.
He joked: "My wife is buzzing with excitement. She will come to all the shows - we are very much a team.
"Her sister Cecelia nicknamed m Glitterballs and now that's the running joke in my family. I like to put a smile on their faces." ....ate to the youngsters vying for a professional contract.
Nicky explained: “When we were filming the show it brought back loads of memories because I know what they’re going through, I’ve been there.
“I know all about getting dropped and that’s because it’s happened to me.
“Everton were allegedly set to sign me because I’d done a goalkeeping course with Neville Southall and done well, and then I got dropped for the final and that was that.
“I was devastated. It’s tough, you think that’s that and your whole world is ruined but life is about disappointments and picking yourself back up. It happened with Leeds and in League of Ireland but you dust yourself down and move on.
“That’s why when we were filming this I was able to relate to the lads and empathise with them.
“I grew close to the guys and of course it was tough when they got eliminated but they’re all very talented guys with bright futures.”
Byrne was signed by Leeds United when he was 16 before moving into music. The RTE version of the UK reality show will see ten young footballers battle for one place at Celtic’s Youth Academy, headed by ex-footie star Chris McCart.
And Nicky revealed: “I’m very proud to say we really did unearth a true gem in our winner.”
FOOTBALL’S Next Star will start on Friday on RTE Two at 5pm.
WESTLIFE star Nicky Byrne has told of how his new show reminded him of the highs and lows he experienced during his time as a professional footballer.
Football's Next Star follows 10 young hopefuls as they battle for a year-long contract with Celtic's training academy.
Nicky said that watching the boys getting eliminated reminded him of the highs and lows of being a player: "It brought it all back.
TEARS
"When I played, there were plenty of tears back at the parents' house. There are highlights, walking out on the pitch, winning cup finals, that sort of thing.
"But there is a lot of rejection. But that's part and parcel of football. You get dropped like that. You turn up late and you get dropped. Your boots aren't clean, you get dropped.
"It's tough for the players and for the managers.
"I remember the feeling of sitting there in a dressing room and your heart pounding and listening to the manager call the team and you're not in it..."
Nicky kept his spirits up listening to Boyzone tracks.
"When I was at Leeds I became very patriotic; I had the tricolour over my bed and I was a big Boyzone fan.
I'd listen to a lot of their albums when I was in digs, purely to wreck the English lads' heads," the 34-year-old singer joked.
The football fanatic told the Herald he would love to see former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp manage Ireland.
The singer, who is starring in this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing, says current manager Giovanni Trapattoni has done a good job, but Rednapp could bring a bit extra.
Nicky made his comments during the launch of his new programme, his first solo TV project since Westlife decided to call it a day.
PASSION
Nicky's passion for football started at a young age. "I always wanted to be a footballer ever since I was six or seven.
"That's the great thing about working on this show. I felt like I've come full circle."
Nicky will be doing most of his training for Strictly in Dublin. Married to Georgina Ahern, he is proud dad to twins Rocco and Jay and they had their first day in school earlier this month.
The doting dad did not want to relocate to Dublin and told BBC bosses that, if he were to participate, they would have to let him stay in his home city.
Neil Lennon: I thought Westlife fans were there to see me not Nicky Byrne
NEIL LENNON has told how he went to greet female fans – only to learn they were really after Westlife star Nicky Byrne.
The Celtic boss revealed on an Irish chat show he was left red-faced by the gaffe outside the Hoops’ training ground.
Neil, 41, was with Nicky on The Late Late Show when he told host Ryan Tubridy: “One day I turned up and there was a large group of middle-aged women. So as you do, you show your manners and pull over for an autograph and they were all, ‘Neil, is Nicky Byrne here? I have taken the day off work to see him.’
“For security reasons, we could only let four or five in and we made Nicky get changed and train with some of the guys. It made these women’s day.”
Neil and Nicky were on the programme to promote RTE show Football’s Next Star – that will find a new player for the Hoops.
The singer will work with the club he supports to find the best prospect from thousands of hopefuls. He said: “With my football background, I thought this is a great opportunity for me to go back to my roots.
“And also since Westlife I have always wanted to get into TV.”
He said of his time working with the club: “Celtic has this old-fashioned homely vibe.
“You walk in and the women on reception come up and give you a hug and a cup of tea.”
But Lennon joked: “They don’t do that with me.”
Lennon revealed he finally feels safe again in Glasgow.
He said: “Glasgow has been my home for 12 years. I have a boy who is six years of age who loves life there and loves what I do in the football scene.”
..........Strictly Come Dancing pro Kristina Rihanoff has said she reckons Nicky Byrne is the celeb to beat.
Talking to Yahoo, the ballroom champ suggested that the Westlife star had the whole of Ireland behind him, and he didn’t even need to worry about dancing.
“The whole of Ireland is behind him. He could go out there, stand on his head and do absolutely nothing for 30 seconds and he’s going to be voted for another five or six weeks,” she said.
Kristina, who is partnered with Hollywood star Colin Salmon, added: “If he just puts left foot in front of the right. He’s a lovely guy, he’s a national treasure for Ireland and I think he’s going to be all right with or without the lift.”
FORMER Westlife star Nicky Byrne has told of how ending up in the bottom two on 'Strictly Come Dancing' has given him more focus and made him work harder to compete.
Speaking to the Irish Independent during a closed dance rehearsal in Dublin ahead of tomorrow's live round of the BBC show, the 33-year-old admitted he was disappointed with his performance.
He and his partner Karen Hauer (30) performed a waltz but did not impress the judges.
"It was a bit savaging last week," he said.
"We had the waltz down to a tee last week in Dublin and then I went to England, walked in for a run-through and I forgot it all as soon as I got on the floor. It's very intimidating being on the 'Strictly' set.
"That's why I'm working extra hard this week, to make sure I'm not in that position again."
The father-of-two will perform a version of the Cha Cha on tomorrow's live show.
In Westlife it was the four of us. Now it's just me... and I'm terrified
..A week after his savaging on Strictly Come Dancing, Nicky Byrne is bent on redemption. The problem, he claims, is that fans just don’t know the real him
They don’t come much bigger than Nicky Byrne. With Westlife he has sold over 50 million albums, filled Croke Park four times and pocketed a personal fortune believed to be in excess of €10m. He is married to the daughter of one of the country’s most notorious politicians and his sons, Jay and Rocco, are rivalled only by Jedward as Ireland’s most famous twins. But for all that, for the past decade Nicky has lived in a showbiz bubble, insulated from public scrutiny and acerbic comment – until last weekend. After performing a waltz on Strictly Come Dancing with his American partner, Karen Hauer, Nicky received something that his ego hasn’t experienced in over a decade – an utter bruising.
Smile: Nicky Byrne with lissom dance partner Karen Hauer ‘We had the waltz down to a tee last week in Dublin,’ he says. ‘Then I walked in for a run-through and I forgot it all as soon as I got on the floor. It’s very intimidating being on the Strictly set but Craig [judge Craig Revel Horwood] deemed the routine “poor” and the lift “illegal” and gave us a bit of a savaging.
‘I thought I went into it correctly and I got slated. I took all their comments on board. Obviously, they were very harsh for the first week. And we did an illegal lift and as a result we are right down at the bottom and, I suppose, rightly so. From then on, I decided I wasn’t going to give them a second chance to savage me like that again.’
The problem, Nicky complains, is that the judges and the general public don’t know the real him. To the 10 million BBC viewers, he is just one quarter of an ageing boyband.
‘Not everybody knows the cheeky performer that is Nicky Byrne,’ he laments. ‘The Westlife fans and the people who came to the live shows know that character. And I suppose, when I stepped out of the band and agreed to sign up to a show like Strictly, it was a chance for me to let all these people know who I really am. Because when we did shows, we sat on stools and we sang ballads. And I wasn’t the lead singer and, to the average person who wasn’t a Westlife fan, I was just some guy who was sitting at the end.
‘That never bothered me but mentally I had to make a decision that if I was out on my own, I had to change that perception for a lot of people and that it would take work. As famous as Westlife the brand name is, it only got me into the competition but it doesn’t allow for the personality.’
Nicky hopes last night’s performance of the cha-cha will redeem him. He spent all week in a dance studio in Dublin’s inner city, secretly practising the high-octane routine to LMFAO’s I’m Sexy And I Know It. I meet him just after lunchtime on Thursday and got a sneak preview of his number. Wearing loose-fitting grey tracksuit pants and a sweat-soaked navy and silver T-shirt, he bursts into a routine so fast and complex it would give Michael Flatley a run for his money. Afterwards, gasping for breath, Nicky flashes his trademark smile and asks: ‘What do you think?’
I have to say I’m impressed. After 14 years following Westlife, the most dancing I have ever seen him do is a glorified version of musical chairs with the band’s ever-present four stools.
‘The cha-cha is such a different dance,’ he says. ‘It is full of personality and that really suits me. I need to get that across to the public. If they get to know me, hopefully they will vote for me. It is a fast dance and there are over 100 more things that we have had to incorporate into the set this week. But there is also the chance to smile and be funny and sexy and hopefully, I can nail it on the night.’
Nailing it on the night was never a problem for Nicky the team player. Now, he admits he is consumed with fear.
‘The biggest fear I get is at the start, just before I go on, when I hear Tess and Bruce introduce us,’ he says. ‘That is the moment when I get that awful knot in my stomach. They play the opening video sequence and then that realisation that you have to go out on your own and perform hits you.
‘It’s like what I imagine it is like just before you go into a boxing match. You can’t show that fear when you go out on stage because you have to put on a show. My biggest fear now is that I will go completely blank and forget everything I have prepared. For the first time, I understand the sort of stress and pressure that Louis is under week in, week out – to be constantly told you are great or you are s***, to be scrutinised for every little thing you do or say. In Westlife, all four of us dealt with it. Now it is just me. It’s tough.’
For Nicky’s partner, 30-year-old Karen, the battle is merging the pop star with the dancer.
‘He is naturally a great performer and I want to keep the Westlife spirit that he has,’ she says. ‘But I need to mix that with the ballroom steps. The most difficult thing was to get him to smile. He has this Westlife pout, this look where he squints his eyes and looks longingly at the camera. That doesn’t work with dancing. It is this smooth criminal kind of look. We need to get him out of that and into the smiling ballroom dancer. If he can nail that, it will really help him.’
He has had plenty of support from home. It was his 34th birthday this week and all of Westlife wished him luck. Shane Filan will take his family to the studio next weekend to offer moral support. Kian and Mark are holding out in case Nicky makes it to the final. But the cornerstone for the former professional footballer is, as always, his family. Georgina is always at his side, scrutinising videos of the day’s rehearsals at home and cheering him on at weekends. It was she who convinced him to take part.
How does Georgina feel about him sweating and grinding with Karen?
‘She has been fine. She was the first person to push me towards it,’ he says smiling. ‘If you can do that show and that dancing and be half decent at it, the exposure can only be a good thing. She has been great. I go home and show her some of the moves on the phone and she gives me her feedback. She comes over every weekend to support me. Jay and Rocco are delighted. I am home every week and then they fly in after school on the Friday.
‘They are glued to the show – when I made the illegal lift, they called me on it. Jay said, “Why did you lift her when you weren’t allowed lift her?”
‘Don’t get me wrong, I was happy in Westlife. I was probably the one who didn’t want it to end – it just became inevitable. But I am very happy at the moment, waking up at home and being able to rehearse in Dublin. My head is in the right place and I am busy and I still have a buzz from the TV side of things. The pressure of live television has replaced the adrenaline rush of the concerts. I’ve yet to meet anyone who has done Strictly and said they regretted it.’
The aspect of the show he is least comfortable with is the wardrobe. Having been dubbed Glitterballs by Georgina on Twitter, Nicky has railed against the frippery – and told the producers he won’t wear spray tan.
‘I really have trouble with the fake tan, the heels and the sequins,’ he said. ‘I keep putting this block up about being dressed within an inch of my life. I have managed to ward them off with the fake tan and I have managed to keep the sequins to a minimum.
‘But as soon as you do the dress rehearsal on the Friday, you go back into the stylist’s room and take off your kit. Then an hour later, the wardrobe girls knock on the dressing room door to let you know that the powers that be want more sequins. You don’t want to go out there looking like a panto dame and I am doing my best to resist but it is Strictly and you have to look the part to a point.’
Nicky, still sweating profusely, breaks off to take a sip of water. He has been off alcohol for six weeks and has taken up kick-boxing for aerobic fitness. He is trimmer than I have ever seen him. Georgina, a fitness trainer by profession, looks after his diet. He says: ‘Food and fitness Georgina knows really well, so she helps me with all that. But I also have my own trainer, Pádraig Murphy at Involve fitness in Blackrock. He is a former Irish kickboxing champion so I do the pads with him. I will only spar with him because anyone else would kick the s*** out of me.
‘I have never trained as hard for anything in my life. I had to because it is so intense. I knocked the drink on the head as well. I wasn’t a big drinker anyway but I gave it up while I was training. I had a few beers after the show last Saturday but I really needed them after those comments. If you work hard you can play hard. I gave it up for about six weeks coming into the show and I feel now that I am in the best shape of my life.’
Karen returns with a fresh towel and leads Nicky back to the dance studio. Before he disappears, he again flashes his trademark smile and thanks me for making the effort to interview him. If the British public see only half of his natural charm, then he is in with a shot of waltzing away with the title.
Nicky’s kids feel the Byrne
NICKY BYRNE’S young children were distraught over the Strictly judges’ scathing criticism of their dad’s dance moves last week. Sharp-tongued Craig Revel Horwood called the Westlife star’s waltz “hideous” and scored him two out of ten.
Nicky’s five-year-old twin boys, Jay and Rocco, were watching horrified at home.
A show source said: “When Nicky went home after the show, his little boys were quite upset and asked him why the judges were picking on him.
“They said they thought Craig was a bully and didn’t understand why he was being so mean.
“Unfortunately, comments like that stick with kids.”
Bruno Tonioli also blasted Nicky’s routine, telling the singer’s partner Karen Hauer: “It looked like you were dancing with a cardboard cut-out.”
Strictly Come Dancing 2012: Nicky Byrne calls judges "savage"
Strictly Come Dancing star Nicky Byrne has branded the show’s judges “savage” for their comments on the series so far.
It’s fair to say that Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Toniloi and Darcey Bussell haven’t given Nicky the best of marks.
In Week 1 they penalised the Westlife singer for an illegal lift in his waltz, and week two saw the panel complain about his “boy band dance moves” in cha cha.
The low scores left Nicky bottom of the leaderboard, but fortunately his fans managed to help keep him out of the bottom two during Sunday’s results show.
Nicky said this week: “I was so nervous going into the first lie show. It probably wasn’t my best performance and standing in front of the judges afterwards was particularly savage, but I’ve just got to take it on the chin, pick up the pieces and start again.”
The popstar claimed that the girls were the ones to watch out for this year, as well as gymnast Louis Smith.
“I’ve always said that the competition to watch – not just for me , for everybody – is Kimberley, Louis and Denise. I think Lisa can really move too and she’s shown that in the first week,” he said.
Nicky added: “Obviously, because we come from two pop band that have been around for a while, there’s a friendly rivalry between me and Kimberley, but I wouldn’t say Kimberley is my only rival.”
Nicky: Cecelia's baby has made us broody
Saturday October 20 2012
Nicky Byrne has admitted that seeing his sister-in-law Cecelia Ahern with a newborn has made himself and his wife Georgina broody again.
The 33-year-old said he'd "absolutely love" to have another child in the next few years and introduce a little sister or brother to his twins Rocco and Jay.
And the household's been a little quiet of late with their sons just having started primary school.
"We've put the boys in separate classes which we thought could be a bit strange, but it's worked out great and they've relished it so far."
The father-of-two married his other half in 2003.
"Down the road, Georgina and I would definitely want another child, it'd be a great addition to the family," said Byrne.
"Cecelia's baby Sonny is so cute and he's been great for the boys." The singer is currently competing on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and insisted that he'd never have considered taking part on the show if it meant being away from home for rehearsals.
"I wouldn't have done the show if I couldn't train in Dublin. I met the guys from Strictly before the final Westlife tour and said that I'd have to be in Ireland for rehearsal sessions.
"In fairness to them, they looked at it and came back to say it was fine.
"So I train here and it's great. I get to see Georgina in the morning and bring the kids to school.
"I've been back and forth for 14 years and funnily enough in the later years of Westlife I had a lot more time at home, as busy as it all was. So I didn't want to go back to that. I didn't want my children starting school and me being over in England.
"I really thought: 'OK, if it doesn't work out, I'll take the hit and do something else.'
"I'm so glad it has worked out and was able to be achieved because it is such a buzz to be on a programme like this one."
'I've never known fear like I've felt on Strictly': Nicky Byrne says singing to millions in Westlife was a cinch compared to dancing on TV
..When Nicky Byrne was feeling miserable as sin following a verbal kicking from the BBC1 Strictly Come Dancing judges for an illegal lift during a waltz in his very first dance of the competition, dear old Sir Bruce Forsyth ? bless him ? went to seek him out backstage.
?He was so encouraging,? says Nicky, who?s more used to rapturous applause as one quarter of Westlife, one of the most successful boy bands in pop history. ?He said: ?Don?t let it get you down. It?s a journey. It?ll be fine ? just work hard.? ?
Which Nicky did, practising all the hours God sends with Venezuelan partner Karen Hauer to perfect his cha cha cha for the following week?s show. ?Nobody understands how nervous you are, going into that first night in front of ten or 11 million people,? he says. ?You?re being judged and you?re trying to remember steps in your head.
Having a ball: ?When we finished the waltz, I thought we did OK. I didn?t fall over or forget the routine. Then we stood there and got absolutely hammered.?
Craig Revel Horwood made such a fuss of the illegal lift you?d have thought they?d vandalised Strictly?s spray-tanning booth. They received a disappointing 17 points.
?There was a part of me that thought: ?This is week one. The judges are going to go hard.? OK, we did put an illegal lift in there and had we known it was as bad as it was going to be we wouldn?t have.
?Anyway, I was raring to go with the cha cha cha to show what I could do. It?s a bit more me. There?s a lot of hip movement involved and a chance to have fun. The final rehearsal went great. I thought: ?If I do that tonight I?m happy.? We were all set to go.?
But his cha cha cha was a disaster. Nicky and Karen hadn?t taken account of the noise of the applause. ?The song starts with eight beats, during which I was supposed to do three big moves. But the crowd started clapping and I couldn?t hear the beats of the music. Not only that, but I was waiting for the clapping to stop.
?I missed six of the eight beats, which is equivalent to missing the opening verse of a song and didn?t get to do the big moves at the start. The judges don?t see the rehearsals so they didn?t know they had been there and the people at home didn?t either.
?To everyone bar me it looked like I?d fluffed it. I was chasing my tail after that. I managed to get in a few moves but my heart was pounding. When we got to the judges, I didn?t mind being criticised. I couldn?t even say I was saddened. I was really, really p***ed off.
?I was just thinking, ?How could that have happened?? It was nobody?s fault. Inside you feel like you?ve let yourself down. That really stung me.?
Putting the right foot forward: Nicky Byrne and Karen Hauer practice their dance routine for several hours a day between Monday and Thursday Thankfully, last Saturday?s quickstep went off without a hitch. The theme for the week was Hollywood and Nicky impressed the judges with his fancy footwork dressed as Jim Carrey from Nineties movie The Mask. When they received 27 points, Nicky was cock-a-hoop.
?I had a good week. I wasn?t so nervous,? he says. ?Maybe it?s because I was playing a character and had a mask on. I was somebody else.?
Nicky, you see, is not entirely comfortable in the spotlight. For 14 years, he was ?the bloke on the stool at the end? (his words) in Westlife.
Fifteen months ago, he and fellow band members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan took the decision to call it a day after selling more than 45 million records with 14 No 1 hits and 26 top ten singles. They performed their last concert in Dublin in June.
?Outside the Westlife family, nobody really knows who you are,? he says. ?You?re one of four guys who sing ballads and wear black shirts. I saw Strictly as a chance for people to get to know the real me.?
In turn, he has been enjoying the chance to get to know the other competitors in what?s been called the best Strictly line-up ever. ?I feel for Jerry,? he says of model Jerry Hall, who was voted off last week.
?We saw a side of her lots of people don?t see. She?s so funny. Her one-liners are priceless. The camaraderie backstage is really good. Everybody gets on, everybody buzzes, everybody?s nervous as hell and everybody?s tired.?
He adds: ?Some people get good marks and some don?t. I?ve been near the bottom of the scoreboard for two weeks, so I know how disheartening it is when everybody else is being clapped and getting high scores.
?Richard Arnold [the ITV Breakfast presenter who ended up in the first dance-off of the series] said to me: ?When you?re in that dance-off, it?s just horrible.? But we?re all going to have to face it. Thankfully, last week I had a good week. I knew I had more in me, which last Saturday showed. I can build on that. But it was a relief.? He chuckles. ?So, I?m still in it, but I?ve got an awful lot of work to do.?
Goodbye Mrs Robinson: Jerry Hall is the latest celebrity to be voted off Strictly Come Dancing He says the biggest thing about leaving Westlife is he feels out there on his own and exposed. ?That goes for sitting on the couch and being interviewed. In Westlife, there?s four of you. Four different views.
?Someone may be grumpy that day. Someone may be jokey. You support each other. When you?re on your own, you?ve got to be funny, interesting, intriguing. It?s not easy. It?s certainly taking me time to be the real Nicky Byrne.?
The real Nicky Byrne is actually thoroughly nice. During his ?bloke on the stool? days, he was always the warm, funny one with an easy line in banter.
Enjoying an early career as a professional footballer with Leeds United, Nicky was only 19 when The X Factor?s Louis Walsh approached him to join his new boy band, Westlife.
Nobody could have guessed how huge the band would become. Nor that Nicky would be a man with children of his own by the time Westlife decided their boy band days were over.
Today, Nicky is 34 and married to his childhood sweetheart Georgina, the daughter of former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. They have five-year-old twins, Jay and Rocco. He says of Westlife?s split: ?There was no major row that forced our hand so we could have done more years, but you have to know when the fire inside the band has burned a little bit.
Foursome: Nicky Byrne with wife Georgina and twin sons Rocco and Jay ?The line you always give is: ?We?ll know when the time is right, when the fans don?t want us any more and the market has gone.? Funnily enough, the fans did still want us.?
So why call it a day? ?The only times I was still really enjoying were the live shows,? he says.
?The discussions with the record company, decisions about the videos, the songs, were all becoming fraught. All of us knew the machine was starting to falter.
?You can only put yourself through that for so long. There?d been plenty of discussions about whether it was time to leave or not. Some people felt yes, some weren?t sure and some felt no.?
What about him? ?I knew it was time to move on and throw myself into something new. At that time, we were out of contract so everyone was a free agent. The label was banging on the door to offer us a new deal ? with good money.
?We?d been offered these before but we just couldn?t see ourselves signing another three or five-year deal and completing it. It had got to the point where we felt: ?Oh, it?s another album, another tour, another X-Factor performance.? It was too easy. We needed to go away.?
Tough decision, though?
?Yeah, I can remember the exact moment. My heart was sinking and I was thinking, ?This is it.? You?re scared in a way, but we knew it was the right thing to knock it on the head. So we took a deep breath and said: ?Let?s do it.?
?Louis was crushed. One of his biggest strengths was always keeping us together. There was no big fallout. There were arguments, but that?s life.
?We felt the quality of our singles was slipping. Our problem was that there was no Gary Barlow figure in the band and, towards the end, we weren?t necessarily the priority for other songwriters any more. That just happens.
?Louis assured us we?d be fine and were just going through a phase. When he knew how we were feeling wasn?t going away, he said: ?Let?s take a break for a year.? But we knew it was time to call it a day.?
The decision was made in summer 2011 when Westlife were part-way through their 11th major tour. Nicky had arranged to fly from Switzerland to meet his family for a holiday in Portugal. ?I was on my own, and when you?re alone there?s a lot of time to think about it. I knew the timing was right for all of us.?
When they broke the news to Simon Cowell, who had steered them with Louis through their 14 years, he shook their hands.
?He told us it had been a great time and for us to hold our heads high. He said: ?If there?s anything I can do for you, let me know.?
?It?s no more than you?d expect from Simon. If I did need guidance or advice, he?s at the end of a phone call.?
Westlife promised fans a farewell album and tour, which ended in an emotional concert in Dublin in June. Nicky says: ?We all cried ? us, our wives, the crew. It was a lifestyle for us all. My fear was waking up the next morning and thinking: ?Oh no, it?s over.? But I never got down. It had been a fantastic ride and it was time to get into something else. I?d given everything I had to the band.?
Now he has ambitions to be a TV or radio presenter. ?I?m the sort of person who has to get up in the morning and work. We all enjoy family time, but you still need to have a function.
?I look at Dermot O?Leary and think: ?That?s where I see myself going.? But, for now I?m knee-deep in Strictly.?
When producers approached Nicky to take part, he says he was encouraged by Georgina. There was, though, one proviso: the twins were starting school in Dublin so Nicky, a devoted father, wanted to share this precious time.
So he rehearses in a studio in Dublin from Monday to Thursday, then travels to London for the show on a Friday, where his wife and sons join him after school. Last week, they watched him on TV sporting Jim Carrey?s Mask make-up. ?They were very excited my scores were higher,? he says.
I wonder what they made of his first-week hammering? ?Jay said: ?Why did you lift her when you weren?t allowed to lift her, Daddy?
........Strictly Come Dancing 2012: Nicky Byrne wants to show fans who he really is!
Westlife star Nicky Byrne has said he hopes Strictly Come Dancing 2012 will let people get to know who he really is.
The singer hasn’t got off to the best of starts in the ballroom, but is more concerned about showcasing his personality than his footwork.
Speaking to the Daily Mail today, Nicky said: “Outside the Westlife family, nobody really knows who you are.
“You’re one of four guys who sing ballads and wear black shirts. I saw Strictly as a chance for people to get to know the real me.”
Nicky really has been struggling so far, and admitted he’s felt like he’s let himself down.
“I missed six of the eight beats, which is equivalent to missing the opening verse of a song and didn’t get to do the big moves at the start,” said Nicky about his disastrous cha cha two week’s ago. “The judges don’t see the rehearsals so they didn’t know they had been there and the people at home didn’t either.
“To everyone bar me it looked like I’d fluffed it. I was chasing my tail after that. I managed to get in a few moves but my heart was pounding. When we got to the judges, I didn’t mind being criticised. I couldn’t even say I was saddened. I was really, really p***ed off.”
He added: “I was just thinking, “How could that have happened?” It was nobody’s fault. Inside you feel like you’ve let yourself down. That really stung me.” ....Westlife's Nicky Byrne has been one of the main eye candy sources on this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
HUNK Nicky Byrne has revealed that show bosses forced him to have a spray tan because he looked too pale.
The singer, who danced the rumba with Venzuelan professional Karen Hauer, 30, last night, was desperate to avoid the tanning booth.
Westlife star Nicky, 34, said he had no choice in the matter.
“I knew about the spray tan coming into Strictly. Obviously I had to wear make-up for TV things we did with Westlife but I’d never had a spray tan before.
“I was told you just stand there and pictured myself standing there in some sort of sun bed.”
.............Karen’s not sorry for illegal lift
STRICTLY dancer Karen Hauer isn’t sorry about the illegal lift in her first routine with Westlife singer Nicky Byrne. The Venezuelan pro was slammed by judge Craig Revel Horwood after she chose to incorporate the risky move into the pair’s waltz.
But last night she hit back and said: “I don’t think it was a mistake. We take risks as performers and artists and it was a learning experience.
“I am new to this so I had to learn the ropes. It was just a shame Nicky did a great waltz and all of the focus was on those two seconds where my feet left the floor.”
Nicky backed up his partner: “It’s better to be talked about than not be talked about – not that we did it on purpose.
“In the aftermath we did think, ‘Well, that was a disaster’. But then it was one of the highlights of the weekend because everyone was talking about it.
“In that respect it was good and we survived it. It was week one and no one had to leave the show, so we were quite lucky.”
Strictly star Nicky Byrne reveals Celtic boss Neil Lennon turned down request to appear on BBC show
4 Nov 2012 THE Westlife singer insists he tried to get pal Lennon to put his name forward for the dance show but was told there would be "no chance" of it happening.
Neil Lennon and Nicky Byrne on The Late Late Show STRCITLY Come Dancing star Nicky Byrne has revealed how he tried to get Neil Lennon on to the show next year.
The former Westlife singer is pals with the Hoops boss and presented reality show Football’s Next Star, which gave young Irish footballers the chance to win a place at Celtic’s Youth Academy.
Nicky, 34, who danced the rhumba to Aerosmith’s I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing last night with Venezuelan beauty Karen Hauer, told how he had been delighted by the support from the Glasgow club and their youth coaching staff.
He said: “I was on a chat show with Neil in Ireland and I was trying to get him to do Strictly next year. He just had a little laugh and said, ‘Absolutely no chance.’
“I’ve had massive support from Celtic and the backroom staff. Everybody’s been texting me, including Chris McCart, Tommy McIntyre and Greg Robertson, who looks after the younger lads.
“I’ve heard the Celtic website has been putting my number up to vote. That’s brilliant.”
Nicky also revealed how Westlife manager and X Factor judge Louis Walsh put the rivalry between their two shows to one side to wish him luck – but told him Olympic gymnast Louis Smith would win.
Nicky said: “I met him at a party three weeks ago. He said to me, ‘Do you think you’ll win it?’ I said I’d give it a good shot and he said, ‘Louis Smith will win’.
“He’s great fun and he said the positives are I’ll be able to dance when we do a reunion.
“He said he knows genuinely how hard you have to work on Strictly and wished me luck.”
Nicky, who trains in Ireland to be close to his wife Georgina and twin sons Rocco and Jay, five, was delighted yesterday when his boys attended a dress rehearsal for the first time.
I’ve learned to have a thick skin; Westlife’s Nicky Byrne, 34, talks about Strictly Come Dancing, his hopes for the future and the precious time he now gets to spend with his family…
What have you enjoyed the most about Strictly? I’ve just loved the whole thing. It’s a great bunch of people and I’ve been taught something that doesn’t come naturally to me. My only experience of dancing was getting off the stool at the key change in Westlife!
Were you pleased to be paired with Karen Hauer? Yeah she is great, she’s new and she is ambitious. I think she was under a lot a pressure too because of that illegal lift in week one.
You had a couple of bad weeks to start, how did that make you feel? Under a lot of pressure! When you mess up, the dancers tell you to throw yourself into it but it’s hard. It didn’t look as bad on TV as it was in front of the judges.
How have you found the judges’ criticism? I’ve learned to have a thick skin. I take it on board but I don’t lose any sleep over it. I was embarrassed, not because of what the judges said but because I knew I had gone wrong. I felt bad for people at home watching, they must have thought I was just like a really bad drunk dad at a wedding. Thankfully the public saved me.
Is the Strictly training schedule a shock to the system? I’m quite fit in terms of aerobics so the walking and dancing I don’t find physically hard but I find it hard on my feet. The blisters are terrible and the arches in my feet ache from being in high heels. I’ve never experienced pain like that before. I can totally sympathise with all those women going out on the town on a Saturday night, I don’t know how you do it.
How do you keep fit normally? I train with a guy in Ireland who is an ex Irish kick boxing champion. So I box quite a lot and do a lot of weight training. I train at least three or four days a week.
Who do you think will win Strictly this year? Kimberly has a great chance to go all the way. I’m not sure if she’ll win but I think she’ll be in the final. Denise is fantastic, she should probably win it, she is the best dancer by a mile. I think Louis is certainly going to be up there, Dani is a great dancer, and Lisa has proved she can do really well too.
What have you found more challenging, performing in front of thousands of fans with Westlife or dancing on Strictly? So far, definitely performing on Strictly. In Westlife there were four or five of us and we worked together. We were able to have bad gigs and we got away with it because no one was really judging us. The fans were mostly young girls who fancied us. In Strictly you’re watched by adults, on probably the biggest show on television, and it’s a big jump. We’re dancing in front of top notch dancers and 12million people on TV. I’m on my own, totally exposed, doing something I’ve never done before.
Do you keep in touch with all of your old mates from Westlife? Yeah they’ve all been in touch to say good luck on Strictly. We spent 14 years together and now we’ve gone our separate ways. I feel like you need to give people space and that goes four ways. I’m not sure meeting up so soon and trying to continue like everything was the same would have been a good idea. It’s not like we’re on the phone every day and that makes it all better when you do meet up.
Is there a Westlife reunion on the cards? No that’s definitely not on the cards.
Do you see your family more now or has the Strictly training got in the way? Amazingly I arranged for my training to be in Dublin so it’s brilliant. My twin boys Jay and Rocco are just in primary school and for the first time in my life I actually feel like I’ve got a bit of structure, a bit of nine to five. I get up and have breakfast as a family and either Georgina, my wife, or myself with drop them to school then I’ll head into work or training and then I’m usually home by seven and we have dinner and put them to bed.
What did your boys think about seeing you on the show? They love it! I recently presented a show in Ireland called Football’s Next Star, the one Jamie Redknapp did in the UK, and they were like ‘Ok Daddy’s going to be a TV presenter’. So when they saw me on Strictly they were like ‘Oh Daddy’s dancing now.’ I think I’m confusing them a little bit. But they are loving it and they give it loads in front of the TV when I’m dancing. One of them had tears in his eyes when I was getting bad comments from the judges.
Are their any signs of them following in your football, singing or dancing footsteps? Whatever they want to do I’ll be happy. If I had a choice I’d love it if they wanted to get into football, but whatever makes them happy you know. You just got to show them the ropes and let them make their own decisions.
What have you got coming up next? Nothing in concrete but I’d love to present TV or radio shows, or interview people on a chat show. There has also always been a dream inside me to do a bit of acting. The beautiful thing is, the world is my oyster. We were so confined in Westlife and rightly so, none of us were venturing off doing separate projects, we had that kind of unity. Now we are out there on our own and I am able to accept shows like Strictly.
Credit/Source: Sunday People
Strictly Come Dancing star Nicky Byrne has revealed that Louis Walsh has told him he will not win the competition.
The Westlife singer said his former manager had predicted that Olympian Louis Smith will take the title.
Byrne told The Sun: “Louis asked me, 'Do you think you'll win it?'.
“I said, 'Well, you see... ' and he said, 'No, you won't. Louis Smith will win it'.”
Nicky added: “I was like, 'Cheers, Louis'. But that's just him. He said to me afterwards, 'Listen, well done. The positive is you'll be able to dance when we do our reunion'.”
He claimed that Louis was hoping that Westlife would reunite in the future following their split in the summer.
Nicky said: “He is obviously convinced we are going to do a reunion. And then he said to me, 'Genuinely, I know how hard you need to work with Strictly, so the best of luck with it and hope it goes well'.
Strictly's Nicky Byrne given fake tan order 04/11/2012 - 09:02
Strictly Come Dancing contestant Nicky Byrne has revealed that show bosses ordered him to get a fake tan after branding him 'too pasty'.
The Westlife singer, who performed the rumba with partner Karen Hauer on Saturday night's show, admitted that he had tried to avoid the process until show producers stepped in.
"I’d never had a spray tan. On week one I could hear the fake tan lady coming down the corridor saying 'next is Nicky', so I ran out the door into my car," he admitted.
"But then the following week the make-up artist said 'Nicky you’ve got to get a spray tan' and I was like 'No, I'm fine thanks'.
"But she said 'No, no – it's come from upstairs, you're looking too pasty and white. You have to get one'."
Nicky also revealed that his former manager Louis Walsh has told him he is unlikely to win the series - and is tipping one of his rivals for success instead.
"He said to me, 'Do you think you'll win?' I said, 'I’ll give it a good try. "He replied 'No you won't, Louis Smith will win'."
"I was like, 'Cheers, Louis', Nicky added. "But that's just him. He said to me afterwards, 'Listen, well done. The positive is you'll be able to dance when we do our reunion'."
...........The Westlife singer said that his former manager Walsh had predicted that Olympic medallist Louis Smith will be crowned the winner for 2012.
Byrne claimed that Walsh is hoping for a Westlife reunion in the future following their split in the summer. He also has hopes that the X Factor judge will be allowed to attend a Strictly live show if possible.
"He is obviously convinced we are going to do a reunion. And then he said to me, 'Genuinely, I know how hard you need to work with Strictly, so the best of luck with it and hope it goes well'.
"We will hopefully hook up on one of the Saturdays. I'd love him to come down but I don't think ITV will let him."
Speaking about his time on the show so far, Byrne revealed that his wife Georgina Ahern holds no jealousy towards his dancing partnership with Karen Hauer.
He said: "Georgina is very supportive and wants me to do my best. I don't think I'd be here if dancing with Karen was an issue.
"We've all got jobs to do and everyone is very professional. I've heard people have got together in the past but, no disrespect to Karen, it's not for me.
"I don't even feel sexy when I dance because I'm too busy counting. I could be dancing with anyone and all I'd be thinking is '1,2,3,4'."
On his chances of winning the show, he added: "I am very competitive and I want to do well but this is definitely the biggest challenge I have ever taken on.
"It's not that I think I can't win but I'm up against brilliant people. Denise van Outen is great and Kimberley Walsh is fantastic.
"Louis Smith is also really good and one of the favourites. There are at least five people above me at the moment. But who knows with this show? Anything can happen..............
During his time in Westlife he reigned at the top of the charts, but unfortunately Nicky failed to emulate that success on the dance floor and recently has only ruled the bottom of the leader board. Tonight he faced the music and was evicted from the competition following a fierce dance-off with Denise Van Outen.
This week’s Strictly Come Dancing had a special twist in which the dancers had to blend together two different styles of dance into one ‘dance fusion’, which of course added extra pressure to the celebrities. And with it being the quarter final, the competition was as tough as ever. But it proved too tough for poor Nicky as the judges decided it was his time to go.
Nicky and partner Karen had earlier performed an electric American Smooth/Quickstep to Olly Murs’ ‘Troublemaker.’
Predictably Craig unleashed a tirade of criticism, saying to the pair: “There wasn't any bounce - your posture was awful in the American Smooth,” before adding “I suspect that we're going to be seeing that dance again.”
The other judges provided some better news; Bruno said that Nicky “always gives 110% and I commend you for it.” Meanwhile head judge Len added “I though you came out and did a good job”
The judges scored Nicky and Karen a rather low 27 points, with grumpy Craig giving only five points. Unsurprisingly this score was booed by the audience.
Joining him in the dance-off was Denise and James- a shock contender for everyone considering that the pair has topped the leader board on countless occasions.
The pair had danced a Jive/Quickstep and it started off so well, but unfortunately Denise got her heel stuck in her dress and this didn’t go unnoticed by the judges. Bruno said, “You were going at the speed of light. Apart from that moment when you caught yourself, it was superb.”
Although the pair scored a commendable 35 points, this was still not enough to keep them out of the bottom two, and the upset was evident to see on Denise’ face.
When it came down the final dances, both couples gave it their all, but the judges had unanimously opted to save Denise and James.
Although disheartened, Nicky graciously accepted his fate. He went on to say that Strictly is “the biggest and best show in the world!” He then thanked the judges for their advice, the people backstage and of course his partner Karen- who had remarkably come a long way in the show considering it was her first year.
A tearful Karen also thanked the other celebs and the professional dancers, before adding that she couldn’t have asked for a better celeb in Nicky whom she said had “blew me away.”
..........Nicky Byrne has confessed he'd love to get into acting, and is eyeing a role in the West End.
The Westlife star and Strictly Come Dancing contestant revealed he has even considered a career in Hollywood.
Nicky said: "Acting is definitely something I'd consider. I did an acting course in New York about five years ago and I made a decision that one day I'd go to the States and try to get an agent. But times change. Now I'm married, with twin boys..."
But he added he's be interested in starring in a musical.
"Probably something like Grease, that'd be pretty cool. The songs and characters are so well known."
Westlife have decided to call it a day after 14 years, but Nicky insists he, Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan will always be friends.
He said: "There are many reasons [why we split], but 14 years is a long, long time. You've got to remember that we started when we were kids, did everything we were told, and then what happens when you grow up is you develop your own opinions, and that changes things.
"I share a serious bond with the lads, and we'll never lose that bond. I like to think we'll be able to keep in touch and pick up the phone at any point."
Strictly viewers last night saw Nicky going through to next week after coming joint second on the leader board this week and getting three nine points from the judges, who said it was jus best performance yet.
Press Association
...........Nicky Byrne thinks his Strictly Come Dancing chum Michael Vaughan is just like David Beckham
The Westlife star and cricketing pro have struck up a real bromance during their time on the hit BBC1 show and Nicky has nothing but good things to say about his new pal.
He told Metro: ‘Michael Vaughan is the David Beckham of cricket. He’s got everything. He’s got talent, he’s got personality.
‘All he needs now is an underwear range and his poster on the side of buses.
‘He’s got everything. He’s great fun, he really is.’
.................Nicky: “It was brilliant. It took us time coming but it just goes to show what hard work does you know. We were that close to going home last week and then this week I just thought ‘we have to go for this’. This dance has so much character that you just really have to embrace it, smile and go for it. I was so delighted that I could do it justice basically.”
Karen do you think that being in the bottom two last week gave you and Nicky the motivation and drive to fight this week?
Karen: “Definitely. I mean being in the bottom two was the worst thing that could have ever happened but it really was the best thing for us because it gave us even more oomph and more fire and so when we went into that studio it really was ‘work, work, work’ with not that many breaks.”
..............Karen Hauer is the newest member of the Strictly Come Dancing professionals as she partners Westlife singer Nicky Byrne. However, the Venezuelan pro certainly stood out from her peers on Saturday night's show as she raised temperatures in a very risque dress. The 30-year-old dancer left little to the imagination as she performed the Argentine Tango in a tiny lace dress.
...........At one point she wrapped her legs around Nicky, nearly flashing her derriere to the cameras as they performed to Adele's James Bond theme song Skyfall, ending up with a score of 30. ...........
Nicky, the ninth celebrity to leave this year's competition, said it had been "so much fun" to be part of the "biggest and best show in the world".
None of us 'absolutely minted' after Westlife, admits Nicky Byrne
THEY sold more than 50 million albums, racked up 14 UK number ones and toured the world.
But none of the former members of Westlife are "absolutely minted", according to bandmate Nicky Byrne.
The 34-year-old, pictured right, has revealed how they all made poor business decisions and handled finances badly starting out.
"We have all lost money. We were all very foolish with money in the early days, we all bought cars and watches – the silly things.
"I don't think any of us were lucky," said Byrne.
The biggest financial meltdown was suffered by Shane Filan, who was declared bankrupt in a UK court earlier this year for outstanding debts of up to €23m.
However, his bandmate revealed how their income had dropped off by the end of their 14-year career.
"We did very well out of Westlife but everybody lives and spends," he said.
"In the early days we earned great money, and in the latter days it was all gone.
"We all looked after it as best we could but none of us are absolutely minted," he added.
The father of two revealed how he found life after Westlife "very strange", but said 'Strictly Come Dancing' helped him move on.
"Having been in Westlife, I thought we had got to a level where we had done it all. "But no, the fanbase for 'Strictly' is phenomenal. This was a different league and a different ballgame. Everywhere you went, people wanted to talk to you. I found it overwhelming," said Byrne.
Voted off 'Strictly' earlier this month, the former popstar said he now wants to move into TV presenting.
"At this time of the year we would usually be very busy promoting an album. I'm not the sort of person who likes to sit around and do nothing."
WESTLIFE'S Nicky Byrne has already started the next chapter in his life, completing filming on his new soccer show.
Fans of the Dublin singer shouldn't be too sad about the prospect of never seeing him live in action again, following the band's split after 14 years.
The Herald can reveal how he has almost finished work on his first big TV gig for RTE, Football's Next Big Star.
"I've filmed the whole show, it's all done and dusted so it's just a matter now of doing some voice-overs for it," he said. "It should air around September-time and I really enjoyed doing it, it was right up my street."
The curtain finally came down on the chart-topping group after a pair of sell-out gigs at Croke Park where they performed to 160,000 fans.
Nicky, who was signed to Leeds United for two years, fronts the show looking for the next big thing in football.
The show is being produced by Tyrone Productions, the company that made OMG! Jedward's Dream Factory.
The overall winner of Nicky's show will be given the chance to get a coveted pro contract with Celtic.
"Celtic is steeped in history and has such strong ties to Ireland, with Neil Lennon, Roy Keane, Robbie Keane and Anthony Stokes to name but a few, which shows that this is really an opportunity of a lifetime," said Nicky.
From thousands of aspiring hopefuls, just 10 boys will be handpicked to move to Celtic's prestigious Youth Academy in Glasgow, Scotland, for a month of challenges. The final 10 will face a month of intensive training at one of Europe's biggest clubs.
The one showing the most potential will be chosen by Celtic boss Neil Lennon to win a shot at joining the club.
Trials for hopefuls were held in various locations around Dublin and Limerick last March.
- Melanie Finn, Showbiz Editor
...............
Westlife is over, but my Nicky's not quite ready for the pipe and slippers yet
Friday July 06 2012
AFTER the madness of Westlife's final gig, I've had an easy week getting ready for a family holiday in Portugal.
Myself and Nicky are heading off with the kids for some quality time. I don't know how long we're going for, we're just going to play it by ear.
Obviously my sister Cecelia is expecting her baby, so we'll be coming back for that. I'm really excited about it and I can't wait for lots of hugs and cuddles with my new nephew or niece.
.......
Nicky Byrne is acclimatising to domestic life after Westlife, and accompanied his wife Georgina Ahern to the launch of the website her.iein Pink nightclub on Thursday evening. “We’re into the second week now since it all ended. It’s nice to be at home and I’m doing a lot of training.”
Byrne said that although he played professional soccer for Leeds United for a while, he’s not training in the beautiful game at the moment. “I’m boxing training and weightlifting.” He’s also cleaning. “I cleaned out the garage today, which I wanted to do for a long time. It’s nice to be around the house and to take the kids to summer camp.”
Ahern is one of the weekly contributors to the new website. “It’s all very light-hearted. It’s not rocket science and is all common sense,” she said. The Byrnes are heading to Portugal this weekend and are due to holiday at Parknasilla in August.
Monday Jul 9 2012
HE is only out of a job two weeks, but ex Westlife star Nicky Byrne has revealed he has his eye on a career in TV, and wants to be the new Dermot O’Leary.
“I’ve always been interested in interviewing people as opposed to being interviewed,” the singer who previously had a career as a professional footballer has said, as he considers his future options.
The dad of two has revealed that he has not been short of offers in the weeks since the band played their final concerts in Croke Park.
“There is nothing in stone right now although I have had a lot of interest,” Nicky said as he revealed that he would like the be Ireland’s answer to Dermot O’Leary or Ryan Seacrest.
Nicky, who has in the past presented shows on 2FM said: “Radio stations especially in Ireland say they would love to get me on. I would love to do something in radio, but what exactly, I’ve no idea. Priority-wise, TV is really where I want to be.
And The Voice of Ireland host Kathryn Thomas had better watch out, as Nicky says his ultimate job would be a presenting a talent show in Ireland
“Shiny floor, prime time, your Dermot O’Learys, Ryan Seacrest of this world – I do look at them with a bit of envy and think I’d love to do a job like that, presenting a big, big show.
“Right now it’s loads of meetings – I’ve met with the guys from ITV, I’ve met with the guys from BBC, I’ve met with RTE and loads of different people like that.
“Meetings are meetings – they excite me but at the end of the day you have to turn them into something in stone. Until that day comes they are just meetings.”
Westlife star Nicky Byrne says he’s contemplating working in the UK.
The band recently performed their farewell gig to a sell-out crowd in Dublin.
Now Byrne – who has two children with Georgina Ahern, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s daughter – says he’d go to Britain for a TV presenting gig.
He’s hoping to fill Dermot O’Leary’s spot on the X Factor – but Dermot is confirmed for this season’s show.
But the former Westlife star says he might commute back and forth, if he won the job. ............
Westlife split not a big deal
NO DRAMA: Nicky and Georgina POWER couple Nicky Byrne and Georgina Ahern made their first public appearance since Westlife split up when they popped along to help launch the yummy mummy's latest venture. Georgina is one of the columnists on the new www.her.ie website, which is aimed at Irish women. The couple will soon go on a family holiday to Portugal with their five-year-old twin boys Jay and Rocco. However, Georgina tells us that she and Nicky are not reeling from the demise of Westlife. "It's so bizarre, it doesn't feel very different at all," she insists. "Life is quite normal. After any of the Westlife tours we normally take a break anyway, so it's not as dramatic as people may think."
.............Westlife’s Nicky Byrne says father-in-law Bertie Ahern did his best for country
Monday Jul 23 2012
Westlife singer Nicky Byrne has leapt to the defence of his father-in-law, Bertie Ahern.
Nicky, who married Bertie’s daughter Georgina in 2003, says that the former Taoiseach did his best for the country.
“There’s no big house. There’s no Porsches. There’s no anything like that. It’s not there and if it was, believe you and me, it would have been found,” he told the ‘Sunday Independent’s Life magazine.
He said: “Plenty of people have opinions on Bertie for lots of different reasons but, you know, it’s one of those where he was in power for so long.
“Unfortunately, with the economic crisis that Ireland is in, the whole world is in it, but people will only look at what’s going on in their own backyard.
“I’m sure Bertie probably feels he made some mistakes, but, actually, not many more mistakes than previous people before him. Or people that will make them in the future. Or probably people that are making them presently. But it’s just that he was there at the time.”
The singer also said that he found it sad that his father-in-law was painted as being “corrupt”.
He said: “You just have to hold your head high and say ‘I know him as a person. He’s a lovely guy and he is 100,000% committed – always has been – to Ireland. ‘
“You know that’s the sad part for me. Because out of anyone, some of the stuff that would be painted of him as being like a corrupt politician or anything like that when he enjoys the simple things.
“That would be something that I would know and I think most people around him would know. The way it happened is the way it happened, it can’t be changed.”
Nicky said that Bertie has not spoken about whether the Mahon tribunal fall-out had damaged his legacy and ruined his retirement.
He said: “He’s a very private person and he wouldn’t speak about those things.
“As a son-in-law, married to his daughter, knowing him so well, he was married to that job. There’s not a politician in the country that gave more time and effort.
“I can only look at it from a personal point of view. He did his best. He was there for long, he was popular for long. He did his best. And it’s a real shame how it ended.”
Nicky revealed that his father-in-law dotes on his three young grandchildren.
He said: “He spends a lot of time with Rocco and Jay [Nicky and Georgina’s twin sons] and little Robin [Cecelia Ahern’s daughter]. Bertie’s always stayed loyal to his constituency.
“He was always the type of politician for whom grassroots was the most important thing. So he still lives in Drumcondra, still walks around. He’d have a close-knit social network.”
..............Westlife Call Boy-Band Breakup 'Strange' After 14 years together, 'It just hits you that you keep telling yourself that we are not going to do this again,' Nicky Byrne tells MTV News. ..........LIFE MAGAZINE
Past Life
In their first post-Westlife interview, Nicky Byrne and Georgina Ahern discuss their career and family plans for the future with Liadan Hynes, while Nicky reveals the tension that caused the end of Westlife, the smooth charm of Simon Cowell and sympathy for his father-in-law Bertie Ahern.
“Everywhere I’m going, mates, family are going ‘Ah, how’re you enjoying retirement? Are you singing on Tuesday?’”, Nicky Byrne says with a smile. When I met him and his wife Georgina, he is one and a half weeks into retirement, and, so far, he seems unfazed.
“At the moment, I’m not feeling any different,” he says. “We’ve done so many long tours in the past, and it’s always a bit sad when they’re over, but usually you’re back in touch within a couple of weeks. But say the first week and a half, you wouldn’t be in touch with anybody. So doing nothing this time a week after isn’t any different.”
In fact, Georgina, if anything, seems a little bit more shaken than Nicky. “It’s funny,” she says. “I mean, it’s been a long time coming, obviously. Like, they were happy, so it wasn’t a sad thing. The whole tour, everyone was like ‘Oh, it’s so sad’, and I was like ‘It’s not really hitting me, am I really hard?’” she jokes. “And then, as the week got closer, I was, like ‘Ooooh’”, she gasps in mock of fear. “I was really kind of treasuring the moments, and Nick was like ‘Why’re you getting all soppy now? You told me it was grand’”, she exclaims laughing.
Georgina says it’s a little bit scary that Westlife is over, but mainly it just seems right. “It’s funny, it does feel strange. But it’s natural, we’re older, things have to move on. Our boys have to move on. It’s good. It definitely will be different, but we have had months, and days, together. Our life has been very normal. Even though he has lived as a superstar, a pop star, at home, our day-to-day stuff is very normal. That’s not going to change, and so it’s not a frightening feeling. Does that make sense?” she laughs. They may look a bit like the Beckhams – at one point on the shoot, when someone points out similarities, Nicky jokes that he’s available for Adidas campaigns – but they’re decidedly more down to earth.
The Byrne’s marriage is known as one of the strongest in showbiz circles and Nicky obviously still has eyes only for his wife. “She gets me and I get her”, he says. “And that little bond and that little click is there.” They first met when they were both 12, in Business Studies class in first year at school. Nicky still remembers the first time he ever saw G, as he calls her.
“I was sitting there, far wall, over there, second desk down,” he gestures, “and she was at the far wall, over there, first desk up.” He fancied her from the minute she walked into the room. “Just these massive big blue eyes,” he says. “Her hair was real long, down to her bum. She had it in a ponytail. I just thought, ‘Wow! Didn’t know who she was, where she was from, knew nothing about her.’”
Possibly alone out of everyone, Georgina had the ability to quell Nicky’s natural exuberance. “I don’t know if any other lads are like this but I’m always quite outgoing, always up for banter with anybody and everybody”, Nicky says. “But with Georgina, I always felt that obstacle. In any other class, I’d be messing with the lads. Come into the classes that I share with G, it was just, like quiet. It was just like, she’s gonna think I’m an absolute…you know.”
After three years, he got a friend who shared the same bus to “put in a good word”. “Never been more, like, heart pounding,” Nicky says of the nerves while he waited to hear, only to be devastated the next morning when he was told she’d turned him down. Luckily he mentioned it to a mutual friend a year later, she used it out and came back to say, “She’s interested. She said she’ll meet you.” He punches the air, hissing “Yes”, at the memory. The day before Nicky’s 16th birthday, they both attended a house party. “So, sat on the couch, snogged in the corner. That was it,“ he says matter-of-factly. “Never broke up once.”
So the end of Westlife will be Nicky’s first big break-up. The couple agree that it has been coming a while.
The split was a mutual decision, less a result of arguments, or solo glory-hunting that growing ‘been there, done that, what’s next?’ attitude among all ‘the lads’, as Nicky refers to the men he says became his best friends over the years.
When I last met Georgina, her twin sons, Jay and Rocco, now five, were just about to start Montessori. Her ability to travel with Nicky was clearly about to be severely curtailed, and you did wonder weather this would signal the end of Westlife – with Nicky, it’s clear that family comes first.
“It’s different when you have a baby,” Georgina says. “You can bring them to a hotel, you can have loads of toys. But now they need friends, they need to play football. It actually made me realise, on this tour, that we couldn’t – I couldn’t – do what we’ve been doing any more. Because it wouldn’t be fair on them. A rainy day in a city; there’s only so much you can do.”
She and the boys joined this tour for the first week or two – they love the tour bus and the socialising at gigs, she says – but after one hotel arrival at three in the morning too many, she realised it wasn’t going to wok, and went home, deciding instead to visit Nicky at weekends.
It’s a time of chance for all their family. The boys will start school in September and Georgina herself has just started working as a columnist for a new website – www.her.ie – writing a healthy-living column, full of tips and anecdotes from her own life.
“I’m not going to be trying to even pretend that I know everything,” she says. “It’s just common sense, and why I like things and why I’m trying them, and a girl’s perspective. I often get worried, because I’m sure people in the industry will think, ‘What’s she doing? What does she know?’ But it’s just common sense. My point of view, my hobbies, speaking out loud. It’s nice to have something.”
It’s important to her, though, that her schedule allows for the boys to be her main priority. “I still would like to kind of treasure it,” Georgina says. “But it’s good for me to gain a bit more experience and confidence in something. Where I’m going to go I don’t know, but things will hopefully naturally build up.”
The pressure may be on now to see what each member of Westlife does next, but Nicky seems completely at ease with this new phase of his life. “Personally, for me”, he says, “I always knew I’d do something when the band ended. I’m not worried. Everybody started to feel a bit like, ‘We’re getting older, this is getting harder.’ We actually started to doubt ourselves. Were the songs as good as they used to be? Were we enjoying it as much as we used to? And the answers to those questions were, no and no.”
With age comes confidence, and he paints a picture of a group of adults beginning to buck slightly against their management, despite how glowingly he speaks of Simon and Louis.
“When we started off, we were kids. It was ‘Jump, ‘How high?’,“ Nicky says. And although the band began to have their own opinions as they matured, they still felt that they had little say in the decision-making. “Louis and Simon would always say, ‘Well, I hear you, lads, but I still believe this is the way’. And even though the majority of us might have said, privately, ‘I still believe we are right’, we would go with what they felt.”
In March 2011, in an effort to quell their mounting dissatisfaction, Westlife moved from Simon Cowell’s label Syco, to RCA. “We felt things weren’t great, so maybe if we shifted over to another label within Sony, things would change,” Nicky says. We still felt there were cracks there, and we were trying to constantly fill them.”
One problem was the X Factor approach adopted by the record company. Choose one single and “promote the arse out of it”, as Nicky puts it. The routine went: break for Christmas, tour from around February, break for the summer, record an album in August, pick one single, and promote it solidly until Christmas. It worked well in terms of spending time with the family, however. “In the later years, they had it so sussed,” Georgina says, rather delightedly. “They were only in the UK from September to December – it wasn’t like they were travelling the world.”
Creatively though, it got a little uninspiring. “Over the last few years the record company started to pull the second single from us,” Nicky says. “At the 11th hour, Simon Cowell or somebody would go ‘Actually, we’re worried about this song, we don’t think it’s going to do well.’ That added to our own individual feeling of ‘what’s going on here, where are we actually going?’”
Although Louis, whom Nicky describes as a close personal friend, was always the more hands-on when it came to managing Westlife, Simon Cowell had been there from the beginning, at their first audition in 1998.
Nicky can’t say enough about Simon. “He’s the most suave businessman you’ll ever meet,“ he says. “You walk out of the room, and you just think that they must have put something in the air conditioning, because you went in there saying ‘No, no, no, no, no’ and you came out of there going ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’. He would have made the best politician in the world. He nevre raises his voice. Everyone has their say. We’d be all sitting there facing him. He’d be listening, nodding. And then he’d light a cigarette, and say ‘Guys, I just don’t want us to fall into the trap of…’ and then he starts to gradually undo everything you’ve said,” Nicky smiles, mining the action of unpicking stitches.
“While Shane might be talking, he’d look at me, or one of the other boys, and he’d give you a little wink. And you’re thinking ‘What, what’s the wink about?’ You know? And what it was, he made you feel special.”
The band had nearly split before, after the disappointing Rat Pack tribute album. “The first five, six and seven years of the band were the most exciting. You were constantly breaking records. All of the dreams were coming true. We lost the excitement about year seven or eight. I think we were probably contemplating where we’d go then. I think that was just after Brian left. We did an album called Allow Us To Be Frank. It was the best fun. But it didn’t perform like a Westlife album performed. I think we were very honest with each other in a scary kind of way when we sat down, a bit Toy Keanesque. ‘Lads, this was terrible. What do we do next? Is it time?’”
They took four months off. Nicky and Georgina went to America, and he enrolled in an acting course in New York. “In my mind, mentally, I was preparing for something after the band,” Nicky says. “It was just a taster. I wanted to do in where nobody knew me. I’ve always enjoyed movies, but you could be absolutely terrible, so I didn’t want the embarrassment of doing it in Ireland or England or anywhere.”
When the management persuaded them to do You Raise Me Up, on the album Face To Face, Nicky thought it would be Westlife’s last outing. “I even think that the record company were feeling it, too. I remember at the photo shoot for the album, we were arguing for a song called Amazing, which is like a Backstreet Boys number, and Louis and Simon wanted You Raise Me up. The main marketing man said something to me like ‘Why don’t you just let us make the decision on this lads? Cause you never know how it’s gonna go’. And we all kinda felt ‘Shit, we could be dropped here.’ You know, Westlife, seven years in, all the albums, the records, but that’s what it boils down to. You’re only as good as your last album. Now we never mentioned those words, but I could read between the lines. I remember going out for dinner with Georgina, it was summer 2005, and kind of having a mini ‘this could be it’.”
At that time, nobody was prepared for the end of the band. Luckily, You Raise Me Up was a massive success. “All of a sudden the record company were like ‘Ah, there’s legs in this yet.’ They gave us a big fat cheque, they signed us for three albums”, he laughs.
This time around, Nicky’s more than ready for freedom. Leaving the bubble of a boyband – he joined Westlife when he was 19 – doesn’t phase him. “I think that comfort zone is gone. When you’re in Westlife, you’re completely protected by a security blanket which was Westlife. Nowadays, when you do an interview, that’s gone. Because, all of a sudden, you’re sitting there on your own and you’ve got to be all of it – serious, funny, interesting – and I think that’s a whole new ball game for every one of us.”
Success at such a young age can make moving on a daunting prospect, but Nicky says he’s not feeling the pressure. “It’s more a realisation than a worry. Back in ’05, when I had that brief moment when I though the band was splitting up, that was more of worry. That was ‘Oh, this is finishing. I’m only 24 or 26, whatever.’ I was thinking
‘Oh god, what now? What will I do?’ But I think nearly eight or 10 years on, you kind of go ‘You know what, I’m 34 in October. If I had’ve been a footballer, I would have been retiring at this point.’ Plenty of people have gone before me and faced this in their lives.”
I wonder whether he’s ever discussed the workaholic who faced retirement having reaching the pinnacle of his chosen field, in a different, but equally all-consuming career.
“I’ve never discussed it with him,” says Nicky, “but I’ve certainly looked at it and thought, you know, I’ve seen somebody go from not having a second to think to having obviously a lot of time on his hands.”
And how does he cope? “Well, he spends a lot of time with Rocco and Jay”, says Nicky, “and little Robin [Cecelia’s daughter]. Bertie’s always stayed loyal to his constituency. He was always that type of politician who, grass roots was the most important thing. So he still lives in Drumcondra, still walks around. He’d have a close-knit social network.”
Is Bertie the kind of father-in-law Nicky would go to for advice? “Oh, he is. Absolutely.” Nicky says emphatically. “Plenty of people have their own opinions on Bertie, because of lots of different reasons, but, you know, it’s one of those where he was in power for so long. Unfortunately, with the economic crisis that Ireland is in, the whole world is in it, but people will only look at what’s going on in their own backyard. And I’m sure Bertie probably feels that he made some mistakes, but, actually, not much more mistakes that previous people before him. Or people that will make them in the future. Or probably people that are making them presently. But it’s just that he was there at the time.”
Nicky, who has known Bertie since he was a teenager, says that, of course, Bertie is family, so he can’t help but feel defensive, but he’s philosophical about the whole thing. “For me, looking at that, you just to hold your head high, and say ‘I know him. I know him as a person. He’s a lovely guy, and he is a hundred thousand per cent committed, and always has been, to Ireland.’ You know, that’s the sad part for me. Because out of anyone, some of the stuff would be painted of him as being like a – what would you say? – like a corrupt politician, or anything like that, when he enjoys the simple things. D’you know what I mean? There’s no big house. There’s no Porsches. There’s no anything like that. It’s not there and if it was, believe you me, it would have been found. So that’s the hard part. But that would be something that I would know, and I think most people around would know. The way it happened is the way it happened, it can’t be changed.”
Has it ruined his legacy or his retirement? “He’s a very private person and he wouldn’t speak about those things. But the best way to put it is you just feel a bit of ‘Ah well, the way it ended wasn’t great.’ As a son-in-law, married to his daughter, knowing him so well, he was married to that job. There’s not a politician in this country that gave more time and effort than him. I can only look at it from a personal point of view. He did his best. He was there for long, he was popular for long. He did his best. And it’s a real shame the way it ended. But, sure, that’s life.”
As for his own second act, Nicky is raring to get going and quite clear on what he wants to do: “TV’s where I want to be. Presenting big shows, live shows.” Never one to the let the grass grow under his feet, he has already had meetings with TV agents, RTE, UTV, BBC, and is soon to meet with Sky. Right now, there are definitely no plans for a Westlife reunion. “You never say never,” Nicky says. “ I would hate to think that I’d never sing with the lads again. However, there are no plans. I think we all need to breathe, live, do our own thing.”
So the last word to Georgina. Do they plan to expand their family now? “I know I said I definitely would, but I wouldn’t really want a big family,” she says. “We would want one more, definitely. The boys are great, it’s very fun, it’s very busy.”
Credit/Source: LIFE magazine / Verena / Chrissy & Maya
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FORMER WESTLIFE singer Nicky Byrne and his wife Georgina’s twins Rocco and Jay will be split for school after spending everyday of the last five years together.
The five year old’s proud mum Georgina (32) said there would be “lots of tears shed” when they have to say goodbye at the school gates.
Georgina explained that the twins will be put into separate classes so they can have their own circle of friends.
“They really enjoy being a twin and they’re so close but everybody needs their own circle of friends and to find their own way to develop their own individuality,” she said.
“I’m really close to my sister, but I still have my own friends and my own things going on.
“We have told them they’re going into their own classes but I don’t know if it sank in.
“They haven’t spent a day apart since they were born but you can’t make a big deal out of it because you don’t want to frighten them either.”
“It is a massive milestone in any mum’s lives,” said Georgina, who is a daughter of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
“You’re sad that it’s the end of their babyhood in a way and the start of a whole new chapter.
“I’ve had much quality time with them over the summer and then they were in Montessori before this so it won’t be a massive shock.
“But even at their graduation from that, I was tearing up so I know this is going to be really emotional for me.”
Nicky and Georgina celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary this month.
The family have been spending lots of quality time together since Westlife split up – and were holidaying in sunny Portugal last month.
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You Raise Me Up - Nicky Byrne joins line up for BBC's Strictly Come Dancing
Tuesday Aug 28 2012
FORMER Westlife star Nicky Byrne is expected to be announced as one of the contestants in the BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, which starts next month.
WHEN Westlife called it a day in June, Nicky said he’d like to appear more on TV, and it seems he has got his wish, as the Dublin based dad-of-two has reportedly signed on to appear in the next season of the BBC One show, which rivals X Factor for viewers every weekend.
He is said to join fellow contestants including Girls Aloud member Kimberly Walsh, former supermodel turned actress Jerry Hall, British Olympic heroes Steve Redgrave and Victoria Pendleton and ‘Great British Bake Off’ judge Paul Hollywood, who are all said to have signed deals for the show, which runs every week until Christmas. Former Daytime TV presenter Fearne Britton is also expected to be one of the contestants.
Nicky is said to be delighted with the offer, even though it means time apart from his boys and wife of eight years Georgina Ahern, who works as a personal trainer.
According to a UK paper: “Nicky's management think it will be great for him and he is really excited about it.
“He's done lots of dancing and loves to perform but he's never done anything like this before.”
Shortly before Westlife parted Nicky said that he saw his future in TV, and in particular primetime shows:
“Shiny floor, prime time, your Dermot O’Learys, Ryan Seacrests of this world – I do look at them with a bit of envy and think I’d love to do a job like that, presenting a big, big show.
The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ launch show goes out on September 15 and the first live show is on October 5.
Harry Judd the drummer from McFly won last year’s series.
- Independent
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Westlife star Nicky Byrne joins Strictly Come Dancing Byrne is the third celebrity to reveal their involvement in Strictly
Westlife member Nicky Byrne has confirmed he is to compete on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.
The 33-year-old revealed he would be one of the contestants while appearing as a guest on The One Show.
Byrne also said he was apprehensive about the costumes he would need to wear for the show.
"We were over last week and we met all the contestants and we met all the wardrobe girls who had plenty of fun putting some stuff on us.
"They made us put on this sequined diamante vest, with no material only diamantes and I thought, you're never going to see me in that."
Chart-topping Irish band Westlife called it a day earlier this year with a farewell tour marking their 14 years together.
Tuesday September 11 2012
FORMER Westlife star Nicky Byrne (right) has been busy perfecting his dance moves ahead of taking to the floor as a contestant on the BBC show 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
The 33-year-old singer has been busy in rehearsals in recent days along with the 13 other stars of the BBC1 Saturday evening favourite hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly.
The Dubliner joked he was "delighted" to have made it through the first few days of rehearsals. He used Twitter to reveal he was hoping the "group dance" was coming together for the first show next Saturday. The boyband star told BBC's 'The One Show': "I'm excited, scared to death. Most of my dance career has been spent sitting on a stool with Westlife."
The full line-up for the show was unveiled yesterday with other stars including British silver Olympic medallist gymnast Louis Smith and gold-winning track cyclist Victoria Pendleton; TV presenters Denise Van Outen and Johnny Ball; Jerry Hall, the ex-wife of Mick Jagger; and former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan.
Other hopefuls include former 'This Morning' presenter Fern Britton, 'Eastenders' actor Sid Owen, and 'James Bond' actor Colin Salmon.
Another contestant, Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, said rehearsals had been fun but painful.
Irish Independent
.........Nicky Byrne With fellow Irish cutie, One Direction’s Niall. ............
A star studded line-up has been revealed for this year's Strictly Come Dancing including Westlife's Nicky Byrne.
Nicky Byrne is a singer/songwriter and one quarter of famous Irish pop band Westlife, one of the most successful bands of the 1990s and 2000s. The group sold over 45 million records worldwide, accumulated 14 number-one singles in the UK and Ireland, had 26 top ten singles over their 14 year career, performing for the last time together in June 2012.
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Name: Nicky Byrne
Age: 33
Twitter: @nickybyrneoffic
Famous for: Singing in Westlife
Nicky became a professional footballer at the age of 15, playing in goal for Leeds United from 1995-97. Changing tack, he auditioned for the group that would become Westlife in 1998 and remained with the band until their split in June 2012.
During Byrne's time with Westlife, the group notched up 25 top ten UK singles, seven number one albums and sold more than 45 million records worldwide. When the group announced their final show in Ireland, all 85,000 tickets sold out in five minutes, necessitating the band to schedule a second goodbye show, which was screened in 200 cinemas around the world.
While still a member of Westlife, Nicky tried his hand at TV presenting, guest-hosting an edition of CD:UK with Cat Deeley in 2002 and presenting the closing ceremony of the 2003 Special Olympics. Byrne won the Soccer Aid charity football match in 2010 alongside his Westlife bandmate Shane Filan and the Rest of the World team, and has also appeared on the likes of A Question of Sport and All Star Mr and Mrs.
As a man whose pop career lasted for 14 years and saw him dancing up a storm on stages all over the world, Byrne could well be set for success in Strictly 2012...
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Byrne hopes for Westlife support
Westlife singer Nicky Byrne would like his bandmates to support his stint on Strictly Come Dancing.
The 33-year-old Irish star will be showing off his moves in the upcoming season of the BBC dance show and hopes that at some point, his former colleagues will come and cheer him on.
"I don't know but I hope so. It would be great if they could, although we've only broken up two months now so I don't even know where in the world everybody is. It would be good if they come down," he said at the show's launch.
Nicky said he has always been tempted of the thought of appearing on the dancefloor.
"It's something that I always thought in my head, 'maybe one day'. Now that I'm here, it feels strange, especially walking the carpet without the lads. It's weird but it's going to be a good challenge," he added.
The singer - who said he's "here for a laugh" - has already been bonding with the other male contestants including Olympic gymnast Louis Smith, cricketer Michael Vaughan, actor Colin Salmon and ex-EastEnders star Sid Owen.
"A few of the lads - Louis, Vaughan, Colin and Sid, we've all been hanging out together and having a good laugh. We've been swapping stories and all," he said.
The next series of Strictly Come Dancing begins on BBC One on September 15.
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....Nicky Byrne has revealed that it was seeing Harry Judd win last year that really pushed him to say yes to Strictly Come Dancing.
Can anyone else not wait to see this man in sequins?!
Speaking exclusively to omg! Nicky said it was watching Harry in the previous series that inspired him to give it a go this year.
The Westlife star says: "Seeing what Harry Judd did was one of the reasons I did the show. Seeing what he did, he was absolutely brilliant so fair play to him. If I was half as good as he was I'll be very happy."
But what do his Westlife band mates make of his decision to don the sequins? He confessed all the boys are happy for him but one member in particular was extra excited.
Nicky says: "Shane was buzzing a bit like Cheryl was to Kimberley, he was like "you've got to do it! I'll come down for you, I'll help you out, waving on the front row"
And does Nicky reckon the other lads will come down to cheer him on?
"It's very different for us in the sense that we've only just split up so the lads might have other things on. I'd love them to come down and hope they do."
Nicky looking gorge on the red carpet. Nicky also talked about his incredible fanbase but admitted it will take more than dedicate fans to win the show:
"Twitter exploded when we were announced. But it's not just about that — you're learning something new, the fan base won't make you win the show. "
Well, we have a sneaky feeling they will
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Former Westlife star Nicky Byrne says he can handle any criticism the Strictly Come Dancing judges throw at him - after working with X Factor supremo Simon Cowell for so long.
The Irish singer, whose group split earlier this year after a 14-year career during which he was signed to one of Simon's record labels, is in the latest series of the BBC dance show.
And he insisted he has developed a thick skin after working with TV's Mr Nasty for years.
Nicky laughed: "I've been signed to Simon Cowell for 14 years so I know exactly what it's like sitting in an office getting criticism.
"But this scenario is different - we don't really know this kind of dancing. They're the pros and you take it and then you walk away and that's how you learn."
The 33-year-old singer insisted Simon and Westlife manager Louis Walsh bear him no grudges for signing up to Strictly, which is a direct rival to their ITV talent show The X Factor.
Nicky said: "No, not all. I spoke to Louis yesterday, it's all good. He said 'I know how difficult Strictly is and all the time you've got to put in. I wish you all the best and we'll hook up for dinner after one of the shows on Saturday night'."
Nicky added: "I'd love him to come down but I don't think that's going to happen."
Westlife became famous for performing most of their 14 number one hit ballads while sitting on stools.
Nicky said the boyband did dance during their live shows, but admitted his moves from those days were unlikely to impress the Strictly judges. He said: "If we were being judged after a Westlife concert we wouldn't be getting any sevens or eights or anything good."
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STRICTLY star Nicky Byrne is insisting on having his midweek dance rehearsals in Dublin so he won't be away from his family.
Before signing up to this year's hit BBC series, the former Westlife singer (33) told bosses this was the only way he could participate in the show.
With twin sons Jay and Rocco (5) starting school, the doting dad wanted to stay at their Dublin home with wife Georgina -- and BBC bosses agreed.
He will now fly over to London every Thursday for the duration of the series -- and his family will see him at the weekend for the live shows before returning home together on Mondays.
Delighted dad Nicky was bursting with pride at seeing his sons attend their first day at school.
"They're happy and healthy, coming out of school buzzing," he told his week's RTE Guide. "They're talking to each other about what they have done all day. It's kind of surreal at the moment. When they walked down in their uniforms, I looked at them, and all I could see in my head was when they were born, they were six weeks early and they were in an incubator, and now they're walking down in their shirt and tie, saying 'Daddy, how do I look?'"
................Nicky Byrne has been voted as an early favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing 2012 by our readers.
In our first popularity poll of the new series, the Westlife singer topped the vote of the fourteen celebrities by an impressive 29% of the vote.
Model Jerry Hall was a perhaps surprising second with 22%, while Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh completed the top three with 14%.
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Former Westlife star Nicky Byrne has revealed that the latter years of Westlife saw plenty of in-house fighting. Although he has no regrets about the 14 years he spent with the band, according to the RTE Guide, the time had come for them all to move on.
He said: “We’d done it all, we’d the best of times and the worst of times. Battered each other – obviously not physically – but argued like hell.
“Probably more so in the latter years but that’s part of relationships, isn’t it? We had a laugh. We earned a few quid. We weren’t unique, but what was unique was that we lasted so long. I don’t know how we did it.”
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Nicky Byrne has revealed that he feels "exposed" without his former Westlife bandmates next to him on Strictly Come Dancing.
Byrne talks about Strictly challenge The singer confessed that he felt petrified when he arrived on the dancefloor during the launch show.
Digital Spy quotes Byrne as saying: "When I walked on the floor I thought, 'Holy s**t, what have I signed up for?'.
"You are totally exposed and this is the first time I've done something out of Westlife.
"This is something with such media interest and out of my comfort zone, it's the toughest thing I could have picked."
However, Byrne added that he is looking forward to the challenge of doing something new in training every day.
He explained: "It's actually a long while since I've done something like this where I'm genuinely excited about what I've got in store during the day.
"All the celebrities are riding a crest of the wave at the moment."
Byrne has been partnered with new professional dancer Karen Hauer on the BBC One talent contest, which will return on Friday October 5.
.............Louis Walsh reckons the new series of Strictly Come Dancing is brilliant, or so Nicky Byrne has claimed!
The Westlife singer said that the X Factor judge and his former manager was loving the series.
“It’ll be fun,” Nicky said. “I actually spoke to Louis last night and he was saying Strictly is brilliant.”
Nicky also promised his fans many more revealing outfits!
He said: “It’s exciting. The guy shave said I’ve got away lightly so far – thee a re lot more sequins to come, apparently!
“I’ve never had a spray tan in my life but everyone tells me I’m going to love it, so watch this space!”
Nicky previously admitted that he was feeling “exposed” on the show without his Westlife bandmates.
Speaking to DigitalSpy, Nicky said: “When I walked on the floor I thought, ‘Holy s**t, what have I signed up for?’
“You are totally exposed and this is the first time I’ve done something out of Westlife.”
............Nicky Byrne: I’ll get Irish team all the way to World Cup final
NICKY Byrne has told how he hopes his new TV show will turn the Ireland football team into a world-beating side. The ex-Westlife singer, 33, hosts a new show called Football’s Next Star, which sees him scour the country in search of fresh talent.
And he reckons some of the youngsters he’s found are capable of turning Ireland’s footballing fortunes around — but only if gaffer Giovanni Trapattoni moves on first.
He said: “It’s everybody’s dream to see Ireland in a World Cup final, isn’t it?
“The whole country would shut down for a week like in 1990 and we were only in the last eight then. I’m not sure even if Football’s Next Star can guarantee something like that but our winner is definitely good enough to go all the way to Ireland’s first team if he keeps his head and has a bit of luck.
“Although, I think Trapattoni may need to move on pretty soon so we can see more of these young lads blooded through.”
Nicky — who is focusing on a career in TV since Westlife’s split — is also starring in Strictly Come Dancing.
And he revealed how he’d love to do his own bit for Ireland by winning the competition.
He told TV Now: “It is an absolute joy to be a part of. It’s one of the biggest shows on TV. I’m loving it! Hopefully I can do Ireland proud and bring that Glitter Ball back across the water.”
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NICKY Byrne's former bandmates in Westlife are backing his bid for glory on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Training for the past week with US dance partner Karen Hauer, the 33-year-old said he has been inundated with requests for tickets for his first live show, on October 5.
However, the singer is keeping the best seats for his former bandmates.
"I have spoken to Shane (Filan) and he has his name down to come and watch us. Kian (Egan) has texted me too. Their support is good to have, and if they come along, it will be a big positive for me," said Byrne.
The father-of-two is counting on their support as he revealed that after 14 years together, he feels strange performing without them.
"I'm super-exposed because the boys are not around me. At the same time, it feels like I have joined a new family. I'm excited and that's a good sign," he said.
Westlife are no strangers to 'Strictly Come Dancing', having appeared on the BBC dance show several times throughout their career.
"We performed on it three times as Westlife, and we were always curious about what it would be actually like to dance on it as a contestant.
So it's always been in the back of my mind, really. Now here I am, and the buzz is brilliant," added Byrne.
..............Strictly Come Dancing 2012
Nicky Byrne wants Westlife dance moves in his routines!
Westlife’s Nicky Byrne has joked he’ll only be comfortable with his Strictly Come Dancing routines if there’s a stool involved!
Perhaps hoping to make it to props week, the singer said he was secretly wishing that pro dancer Karen Hauer incorporates the famous Westlife signature dance move into their dance.
“With Westlife we never took the dancing seriously and are more or less taking the mickey with all of our gyrating and pelvic thrusting,” said Nicky.
Although we’re not sure his army of female fans see it that way.
He laughed: “The only thing we perfected was standing up from our stools on the key change.
“If Karen puts a stool not he stage I might feel more comfortable.”
But while Nicky was joking about, it seems Karen wasn’t too sure how to take the comments.
She said: “He has the experience to handle the pressure of going on stage- though I am a bit worried about that now!”
WESTLIFE INSPIRED BY RAUNCHY FANS Nicky Byrne of Westlife.
The band's next album will be one for the bedroom
WESTLIFE have been inspired by their raunchy fans to make their next album one for the bedroom.
After seeing the crowds wave filthy banners at them on their current arena tour, the Irish lads want their fans to make sweet music to what will be their 11th release.
Nicky Byrne, told me backstage at their sell-out O2 Arena gig: The banners have become raunchier and most don,t leave anything to the imagination.
Liverpool and Sheffield are definitely the dirtiest crowds. So the next album is going to be one for the bedroom with lots of juicy and sensual tracks.
Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky expect a baby boom across the nation, thanks to their new album.
Mark added: You can listen to it while you conceiving. Lots of people have called their sons and daughters after us already.
We in meetings this week for the next album and have lots of ideas as we want to get out by the end of the year.
Nicky admitted: Touring is our baby. When we promote a single it,s normally a big ballad so we limited to what you can do with the live performances.
So touring is like getting out of school on our summer holidays where we can go daft
Shane revealed he will once again pair up with manager and X Factor judge Louis Walsh, 57, for the TV show's new series.
He said: If we have a new single out we love to perform on the show too.
02 Nov 2009
westlife's shane filan - Interview
Love them or hate them, you can't dispute Westlife's popularity and success. 14 consecutive number one singles, a dozen number one albums, sell out tours, and they're still going strong after more than ten years.
Now they're back, and we caught up with frontman Shane Filan....
How's it going? Are you fed up of doing all these interviews?
No, not at all we're officially back on the bandwaggon, we're totally back.. The single's out and the album is out a month from now. We're very excited about talking about this album. It's a slightly different sound, but it's still pop music and it's very exciting for us and the fans. It's a great album and i'm very, very proud of it. I think the first single is a very good indication of what the album is like.
What have you been doing for the last 12 months?
We have been hanging out with our families, playing golf, chilling out, Nicky set up a girlband (I bet they mean Kian) and his twins are running around the place now, my wife had a baby, some of us travelled, so we've been doing all the things we haven't been able to do properly over the last ten years really. We played a huge gig at Croque park in Dublin, which was one of the highlights of our careers, so we finished on a high there.
How are you going to top the Croque Park gig?
We've got some big ideas, we want to tour Asia and some of the places we've never been to on a world tour. We're rushing to meet our agents now to thrash out ideas. That is why we're so excited about this album, we know it's going to be a really good album and we are spoilt for choice with singles. We made a pact as a band that we wouldn't record a song unless we thought it was good enough to be a single, so it was probably annoying for the record company, but as a band, we've never come together so well on an album. We've really worked closely with Simon Cowell on this album. We never thought he'd still be so in to us, but he is, he's been very involved and he's so proud of this album. When you have Simon behind you, you just feel a good buzz there, and we feel we've done something special. It's a great pop album.
You mentioned a different direction, can you expand on that?
A different direction might be a bit wrong. I think it's still pop music, but there's a different variation on it. One massive thing is we worked with different producers, who we've never worked with before, and new song writers. There are thirteen songs on the album and twelve of them are originals. There's more tempo, more rocky songs, some more american songs, some darker songs on there with darker lyrics. It's the best production we've had on any other album. The strings, the music is just on another level. Even if you're not a Westlife fan but you're a music fan, you will recognise the quality on this album.
You apparently said in the papers that your X Factor appearence would determine the next 18 months of your career. How do you feel now you've done it?
I think the next 18 months might be good!! We were very happy with the performance, we felt it went really well, Louis and Simon were delighted and they'll always tell us honestly what they think, even if it's to say we could have done something better. They were literally jumping up and down, they were so pleased with it.
How many albums are you contracted to do? How long will Westlife be around for?
We only have one studio album left on our current contract, so renegotiations will be happening shortly. As a band, we've done ten albums but we want to do twenty. We don't see ourselves splitting up, ever. We're very proud of this album and I think it's going to be hard to top, but we'll take each album on at a time. We'll give it a good old try. Instead of doing an album every year, we think we'll make one every two albums, and keep making pop music. We will never desert our fans, and fans of what we are, but we will still have a dabble here and there with what we do. We'll experiment, like What About Now - it sounds like a Weslife song, but it has a slightly different sound and it's more uptempo.
None of you have done anything solo - will that change?
No, I don't think it will. We're not that type of band. We're all individually very happy, we have no hidden agenda's in the band. If someone wants to do something different we'll always encourage it, Nicky might present at an awards show, Mark might want to sing a song on his own and Kian may want to do something I don't know, but as a band, when we're singing we're there as a four. It's always been that way since Brian left and it always will be. They say the grass is always greener, but I don't think it is. You need to have someone with you, it would be a fairly lonely life doing this all on your own. We're successful and happy, why ruin that? We have a great life, we're all great friends. Two or three of us might go for a drink together or go to the cinema, you know, we have a great craic outside of Weslife, we're all great friends, so Westlife will continue as it is.
2010
Tenth time lucky: Westlife picked up the award for Best Pop Group yet again
Brit Boy Band Westlife Bids Farwell: Journey through the Years
Westlife in 2003 Irish boyband Westlife (From L-R) Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Bryan McFadden attend a news conference for "Hong Kong Harbourfest" October 23, 2003.
Westlife in 2004 Members of the Irish band Westlife arrive for the World Music Awards at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, September 15, 2004.
Westlife in 2006 Irish pop group Westlife (from L-R) Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne pose for photographers during a news conference to promote their last album "Face to Face" in Taipei March 10, 2006
Westlife in 2008 Irish group Westlife pose at The South Bank Show Awards at Dorchester Hotel in London January 29, 2008.
Westlife in 2009 Pop diva Donna Summer performs with Irish band Westlife during the final act of the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo December 11, 2009
Weslife in 2011 Irish pop band Westlife perform at the Convention Centre during the visit of Queen Elizabeth in Dublin May 19, 2011
It’s Westlife’s final farewell tour this weekend and we’re set for an amazing gig at croker. If you were lucky enough to get a ticket, you’re going to have a ball or you may be checking the lads out in one of the cinemas around the city. Lawson, The Wanted & Jedward are supporting the lads. But what happens after the final farewell, will the lads stay in touch.
Kian Egan revealed to 98fm that behind the boy stroke man band Westlife are bessies and they always will be….
Record-breaking farewell for Westlife at Manchester Arena is a piece of cake The Diary by Dianne Bourne
June 12, 2012
Westlife stars Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne receive their 33 cupcakes at the Manchester Arena to celebrate their 33 gigs here Westlife stars Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne receive their 33 cupcakes at the Manchester Arena to celebrate their 33 gigs here 1/3 Play Slideshow
It was undoubtedly a bittersweet moment for the Westlife lads as they performed for the very last time at the Manchester Arena at the weekend.
But arena staff made sure it was the sweetest finale – by presenting the Irish manband with 33 cupcakes to celebrate their record-breaking 33 gigs there over the years.
The foursome - Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan, are to split after this farewell tour following a hugely successful 14-year music career.
Arena spokesman Matt Ward said: “It was a genuinely emotional night for the boys. They adore their Manchester fans and you could tell it was really hard work saying goodbye to everyone.
"We couldn't let the occasion pass without a celebration though and the specially-commissioned cupcakes really put a smile on their faces.”
Kian and Nicky couldn't resist taking a swift bite out of the cupcakes before heading on stage – but When You're Looking Like That who can blame them?
mark - AT THE PINK ICE BALL 2007 
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performs with Irish band Westlife during the final act of the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo December 11, 2009
