Westlife left dangling at gig
in set malfunction by Clemmie Moodie,
Daily Mirror 22/03/2011
WESTLIFE had a little sit down during a recent gig but it was anything but restful.
A set malfunction left
Nicky, Kian, Mark and Shane dangling above the crowd at Liverpool's Echo arena on Friday night.
I'm told: At one point, the boys sit down and start singing from a big swinging bar which transports them around the arena. Embarrassingly,
it broke down and got stuck.
A load of security guys had to manually lower the bar and help the lads to the stage.
They were mortified.
Pop sensations
Westlife
take centre stage
at Hamilton Park Mar 24 2011 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser MEGASTARS
Westlife will perform a concert at Hamilton Park in July.
The Irish supergroup, who have had 14 number ones and sold 44 million record worldwide,
are set to wow their fans at the Bothwell Road race track on Saturday, July 23.
Westlife will be the first of two major stand alone gigs at the course over the weekend.
The pop sensations, consisting of Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan, will play exactly a year after JLS performed at the venue to 13,000 screaming fans.
Organisers expect another sell-out for Westlife who will be supported by girl group Wonderland.
Vivien Kyles, chief executive of Hamilton Park Racecourse, said Westlife were a massive coup.
To say we are thrilled to welcome Westlife to Hamilton Park this summer is most definitely an understatement, she added For a group of their worldwide fame and appeal to choose Hamilton Park for a summer date when they are in such high demand speaks volumes for our growing reputation.
The JLS concert last year could not have gone any better but we are determined to keep testing ourselves as a venue which is why we will double to hosting two standalone concerts this year - and on the same weekend.
There has been a fantastic buzz in the office since Westlife signed up and we are confident that excitement will be shared by the Scottish public - and added to when we make our second announcement.
Westlife will be supported by Wonderland,
the girl group formed by Louis Walsh and Kian Egan.
Last year's JLS gig was one of the venue's highlights of 2010 that included live performances by Olly Murs and Alesha Dixon,
all combining to help Hamilton Park win the Lanarkshire Tourism & Leisure Award at the recent Lanarkshire Business Excellence Awards 2011.
The Advertiser revealed earlier this month that X Factor winner Joe McElderry will top the bill at Hamilton Park's Family Night with the Stars from X Factor on Saturday,
July 9. Tickets for Westlife went on sale on Monday on the Hamilton Park website (www.hamilton-park.co.uk) and via Ticketmaster (08444 999 990/ www.ticketmaster.co.uk) and ticketSOUP (0844 481 8898/ www.ticketsoup.com).
The Irish Independent reports
that Westlife star Nicky Byrne and wife Georgina were named Most Stylish Couple at the ceremony at the Shelbourne Hotel.
By Melanie Finn
Tuesday April 12 2011
Chart-toppers Westlife
will be adding to their bulging bank accounts after nabbing an exclusive gig in Dubai.
The Herald can reveal how the four Irish stars are being flown to the millionaire's playground to perform a once-off concert for the Jebel Ali International Hotel's 30th anniversary celebrations.
But the services of Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Shane Filan certainly don't come cheap -- they'll be picking up a rumoured 100,000 for their two-hour stint on stage.
Seeing them perform in the United Arab Emirates city isn't for those worried about their finances, either. Fans of the Raise Me Up crooners will have to fork out a cool 85 for the gig in the Jebel Ali International Centre of Excellence, which is in the heart of the glitzy city.
Speaking to the Herald backstage at their O2 gig in Dublin, Nicky Byrne spoke about how much the lads were looking forward to it. outdoor "We're going to Dubai on Thursday and we haven't been back there since 2005 so that will be a good one.
It's an outdoor gig, I think it's for about 6,000 or 8,000 people.
It's going to be great," he explained.
The four lads, who have been together for 13 years and have shifted 44 million records,
have just finished the Irish and UK leg of their tour, which included five sell-out gigs in the O2 Dublin as they toured their new Gravity album.
They have now entered a new phase in their career after they opted to leave Simon Cowell's label SyCo in favour of moving to Sony RCA. Nicky has since claimed that their former boss Simon Cowell was more interested in his own fame than the band.
"We signed to Simon back in 1998 and he was brilliant but then came the development of X Factor and American Idol.
"Simon became famous himself and his interests went that way rather than on Westlife.
We almost felt a little bit unloved with Simon Cowell, if I was to be honest,
" Nicky explained. However, the switch to Sony RCA after 13 years with Cowell is a good move for the band, Nicky claimed. "We need someone telling you that's going to be a hit or not. Simon got so busy and would do it at the very last minute and we needed someone who was on it all the time. hectic "We have that now at RCA. It's their job to put us in with the right producers and co-writers.
" However, Kian has admitted that their hectic schedule is starting to take its toll on the band members, the older they get. "It's getting slower, it's getting harder. We came straight off the tour and it's straight into the Greatest Hits phase off the back of this, it will be another whole whirlwind. It's not going to stop after this tour.
It's going to be pretty manic for the next year and a half," he explained. "When we finish this tour, we've got a few foreign gigs and then it's straight back into the studio.
Then we've got a load of summer shows and then the first single from the Greatest Hits coming in August so it's really, really fast this year.
Since we've left SyCo,
because of the way they did things, we really wanted to turn things on their head." Yet despite them revisiting some of their best-known hits from their lengthy career, he also ruled out any reunion with former member Brian McFadden,
whose future is now up in the air after his split from former fiancee Delta Goodrem. "I don't necessarily see it happening, it would have to be something really special and something small, not this big thing," he added.
mfinn@herald.ie
Westlife and Byrne
for royal event
Westlife and X Factor star
Mary Byrne
are among the headline acts to be confirmed for the Queen's first official visit to Ireland.
Two thousand guests have been invited to a special ceremony during the British monarch's trip, with Irish President Mary McAleese set to be the guest of honour at the event on May 19. Chart-toppers Westlife and former supermarket worker Mary are on the bill for the evening,
which organisers have described as "a roll call of the best of Irish entertainment". Ambassador to Ireland Julian King is to host the so-called "return event" - an evening of fashion, music and theatre at the Dublin Convention Centre in the city's docklands.
"This is the first State Visit to Ireland, our closest neighbour," the Ambassador said.
"We wanted to mark this historic occasion, and to reflect the huge support and interest there has been in this visit." He added: "We have put together a programme that showcases the best of British and Irish fashion, and brings together on one stage some of the finest performers working in Ireland today.
"It promises to be a memorable occasion, an opportunity to celebrate the Queen's visit, but also the love of music, the spoken word, fashion, and design that people from across our two countries share.
" The return event is standard practice during a State tour when the visiting country arranges a special occasion for the host country.
The evening is expected to be shown live on RTE television.
Louis Walsh
was said to have been "left seething" after Michael McIntyre gave him advice on how to manage Westlife.
The music mogul was a given the advice from the comedian while guesting as a judge on the panel of Britain's Got Talent.
McIntyre told the Irishman that Westlife needed to have a "change of style", says the Daily Star.
Michael said to Walsh: "Westlife, they are a bit serious aren't they?
Are they that emotional?
"Why don't you do an up-tempo number with them?
"Sometimes you've got to take a risk, Louis.
" Louis snapped: "We have done up-tempo numbers and taken risks. "But ballads work.
" Walsh later told a source: "I don't think Westlife need Michael's help.
"But if he's going into the pop business, I'll get out my joke book and become a comedian."
top Irish music rich list The Irish Entertainment Rich List:
1. U2 (+500m)
2. Michael Flatley (237m)
3. Denis and Caroline Desmond, concert promoters (205m)
4. Enya (94m)
5. Moya Doherty and John Colgan, Riverdance (80m)
6. Van Morrison (56m)
7. Bob Geldof (35m)
7. Chris De Burgh (35m)
7. Westlife (35m) ******
Monday May 16 2011
WESTLIFE'S
Nicky Byrne
fulfilled a lifelong dream when he got the chance to lift the FA Cup.
Before joining Westlife, Nicky (32) played football professionally as a goalkeeper with Leeds Utd.
Despite his success with the boyband, Nicky has always had a longing to lift the famed FA Cup -- and he finally got the chance thanks to Manchester City's victory over Stoke on Saturday. CATWALK Members of the team later brought the cup to a charity event,
organised by Ireland and Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given, which Nicky was attending.
Nicky attended the annual Fashion Kicks event at Lancashire County Cricket Club alongside his glamorous wife Georgina and proudly posted pictures of himself and his wife holding the Cup. The Dublin singer is a keen supporter of the glitzy event and even performed at last year's bash with his Westlife bandmates.
In order to support their friend and teammate Shay, 15 members of Manchester City's first team squad took to the catwalk for a fashion show staged by Selfridges.
Among the big names joining the sportsmen on the ramp was British supermodel and actress, Lily Cole, who modelled the store's Spring/Summer collection. X Factor winner Alexandra Burke was also lined up to perform at the star-studded event, which raised funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Nicky and Georgina enjoyed a lavish feast at the bash, with Shay arranging for some of the finest chefs in the UK and Ireland from the Academy of Culinary Arts to prepare a meal for his guests. - LORNA NOLAN
05/25/2011
Deuriemikke Carnival is proud to present
the world renowned Irish pop group Westlife and their show-stopping spectacular.
On the day the line-up boasts home-grown acts Watershed, Lianie May and many more.
The sensational groups will be performing live at the Carnival on Saturday 17 September 2011,
at Supersport Park in Centurion.
The Irish pop stars, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan, have released 11 albums with over 44 million sales up to date.
The Kings of Balladeers have garnered 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history making history with their first seven singles going straight to number 1 and going on to sell over 44 million records worldwide.
The Official Charts Company announced that Westlife is the second biggest selling artist and biggest selling band of the decade beating Coldplay in the UK with their 11million album sales.
Westlife's success has been most apparent in their homeland and the UK; however the South African crowd has always shown love and great admiration on their numerous tours to SA. Fellow band member Markus Feehily recently updated on his twitter site recently: South Africa, we are coming in September, baby! The Deurmikke festival is a best-in-class/family affair event that listeners look forward to every year.
It also provides the opportunity to see a fantastic line up of local artists right here on home ground in Centurion. Together with South Africa's top talent, the festival is proud to present an all-day family celebration. Tickets are available at www.ticketbreak.co.za
Westlife
are returning to South Africa in September.
The Irish group will join the likes of Watershed and Lianie May at the Deuriemikke Carnival on Saturday 17 September at Supersport Park in Centurion.
Westlife's success has been most apparent in their homeland and the UK although their repeated visits to South Africa underline their support base in South Africa.
The quartet - comprising Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne, and Shane Filan - have released 11 albums and has had over 44 million sales up to date.
They've garnered 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history, with their first seven singles going straight to the top of the chart. The Official Charts Company announced that Westlife are the second biggest selling artist and biggest selling band of the decade, beating Coldplay in the UK with their 11million album sales.
Tickets to see Westlife at Deuriemikke are available at www.ticketbreak.co.za.
Westlife confirms
one-night performance in Vietnam Last updated: 9/5/2011 10:50 Westlifes Gravity Tour in Londons O2 stadium.
After a month of rumors since Mark Feehily first talked about a show in Vietnam on his Twitter in July, two local media companies have officially announced that the famous Irish boy band will perform in Hanoi on October 1.
In a press release on August 31, An Thuan Media and Alatca Media have confirmed that they are in charge of organizing Westlifes live show in Vietnam.
At the same time, information about Westlifes Vietnam leg was posted on the bands website and broadcast on StarWorld and AXN.
The band's performance in Vietnam is part of their worldwide Gravity tour, which will also take place in
China (Sep 21, 23 and 25),
Hong Kong (Sep 27),
Manila (Sep 29),
Singapore (Oct 3),
Jakarta (Oct 5),
Kuala Lumpur (Oct 7)
and Seoul (Oct 9).
Representatives of the organizers said that the performance of the band in Hanoi will be a big treat for the local fans.
Ticket prices for the concert range from VND350,000 to VND1 million. The show will feature songs from the bands latest album Gravity, which was released at the end of last year, as well as some of their previous hits.
They'll also cover some contemporary hit songs like Viva la Vida, Bad Romance, and I Predict a Riot.
The band, whose ten of eleven albums have been certified Platinum, includes four members Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan. Another member, Brian McFadden, left the band for his solo career in 2004.
Westlife - Playing Childline concert
Westlife, Jedward, JLS and the Wanted are among the stars who will take to the stage at Dublin's O2 on Saturday November 12. Westlife's Nicky Byrne will be once again be hosting the event. This is the fourteenth year for the fundraising concert, and it is hoped that this year's event will raise more than 400,000 for Childine. Since the inception of the annual event in 1997, Childline has received 3.8 million in donations.
In 2006, the Irish boys band Westlife first performed in Shanghai and now five years older and wiser they're back with a new show and their latest album "Gravity."
The four (Kian Egan, Shane Filan, Nicky Byrn and Mark Feehily) will perform on September 21 at Shanghai Grand Stage.
Half the show will be new songs from "Gravity," and the rest will be classics such as "Swear It Again," "If I Let You Go," "Flying Without Wings" and "You Raise Me Up." The upcoming Shanghai concert is part of Westlife's Asia tour.
After leaving Shanghai, they will
perform in
Guangzhou on September 23
and Beijing on September 25.
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