WHEN Westlife singer Nicky Byrne
went down on one knee and asked his
beautiful girlfriend
Georgina Ahern to marry him
his eyes filled with tears.
For his grandad - the one person with whom
he had shared the secret
that he would propose on Christmas Day
did not live to see the spectacular
diamond ring slipped on her finger.
"It was a day of very mixed emotions,"
Nicky recalls.
"It was magical but bittersweet.
Grandad would have so loved
to see me getting married."
Nicky, 24, reveals how he had confided in
grandad Bernard McGarry - and tells how
his beloved grandparent
had carried his secret
engagement plan to the grave.
He says: "When Georgina and
I bought our dream house in Malahide
just outside Dublin,
I just knew it was
the perfect place to ask her to marry me.
"I wanted the timing to be really special and
I knew we would be inviting both our families
there for Christmas.
The house was going to look like something
out of a fairytale
and I knew that was when I would ask her.
"But grandad was quite poorly and
I was worried he might not make it to Christmas.
So one day in September,
when it was just me and him in the room,
I told him what I was going to do.
"He was thrilled.
He squeezed my hand and congratulated me.
The following month grandad died and
I was so pleased I had shared my plan with him.
"He didn't tell a soul,
not even my nana who
he had been married to for more than 50 years.
When I told her he had known she said: 'Really?
He never told me'."
Nicky and Georgina -
the 24-year-old daughter of
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
- have been together for eight years
but are yet to set a date for their wedding.
And there are no plans
for a double wedding with bandmate
Shane Filan and his business
graduate fiancee Gillian Walsh.
Incredibly, Shane also proposed on Christmas Day.
He says:
"The most nerve wracking part
was asking Gillian's dad for permission.
I think it's something every
fella gets worried about."
The couple, both 23, have been
dating
for three years and say
they hope to walk down the aisle
in the next 18 months.
But the band has an
incredibly punishing year ahead.
Their new single
Tonight is released on March 3 and they
begina gruelling world tour in April.
Heartthrob Shane says:
"The fans have been wonderful about
the engagement.
"There might be a few who are unhappy but
I think most realise we are normal lads
who have personal lives.
If we're happy, hopefully
they will be happy for us too."
The Westlife weddings
will leave just two bachelors in the band
Mark Feehily and Kian Egan.
Bryan McFadden
broke a million hearts in January
last year when he married former Atomic Kitten
Kerry Katona.
The couple,
who have a 16-month-old daughter,
Molly, are expecting their second
child next month.
And it's not just the 22-year-old who is eagerly
awaiting the new arrival - the rest of
the band are just as excited.
Unashamedly soppy over the imminent birth,
they admit babies make them broody.
Kian, 22, says: "When Bryan and Kerry had Molly
you could see the real meaning
of what it's all about.
"It made us realise we get stressed about
silly little things.
Molly makes us look at the other side of life that
we haven't had a chance to experience yet
and it
makes us realise that having love in your life
is so important.
"Of course Molly will grow up with nice things
around her.
But without the love of her family,
the nice things aren't important.
"In us, she has four uncles who adore her.
Life is about happiness,
not wealth, not even success but happiness.
Molly has brought that back to us."
Bryan says angel-faced Molly
worships her famous uncles
but thinks they are all her dads.
With a broad grin, Bryan says:
"When Molly sees a picture of me in a magazine,
she points to it and says 'Daddy,' and we all go 'Ah'.
"But then she'll point to Mark and say 'Daddy'
and then Kian and say
'Daddy' and on she goes right
through the band.
"People often say to me
it must be hard trying
to juggle being a pop star
with family life but it can be just
as hard no matter what
job you do.
"One of my best friends
is about to get married.
He works nine to five and has a child
but I get to see more of Kerry and Molly
than he does of his family."
Watching Bryan with his family
or seeing his engaged bandmates
with their sweethearts heightens
the loneliness Mark confesses to feeling.
Millionaire Mark admits
he can never be sure
if a girl likes him or what he represents.
"It's difficult to find someone
who is genuine and who wants
with me rather than because
I'm part of Westlife," he says.
His long eyelashes
sweep down from his blue eyes and
he looks crestfallen.
Mark, 21, says: "There are a lot
of vultures out there who
would pounce on you
because of Westlife.
"If we go to a club in London,
there will be a good few people in
there who will have heard of Westlife.
"While you have
to
accept that and live with it
because you are in a successful band,
it's difficult to deal with the fact
that people only ever see you as Westlife.
"We are all willing to sacrifice
certain things for the band but
it is difficult when it comes to relationships.
There's a lot of people
who pretend to be something
they're not and sometimes
it's not easy to tell who's real and who's not.
"I have never had so many
good lookinggirls coming up to me to talk but
when I see what Bryan,
Shane and Nicky have,
I want to find someone special too.
"I'm at the point now where
I believe I'll have to wait for a while."
P IN-UP Kian,
who recently parted from Scandinavian
dancer Jessica Forsman, agrees it
can be tough
looking for the right woman.
"It's a Catch-22 situation,"
it has to be somewhere which
can facilitate us.
"It sounds a bit fancy
but we have to go into the VIP section.
I actually despise them because
I want to meet real people but
it's difficult because of
the whole
security thing."
Westlife have notched up
a record-breaking 11 consecutive
number one songs,
including Flying Without Wings,
and topped the charts with their latest album,
Unbreakable, The Greatest Hits Volume One.
But they are worried about sustaining
their amazing level of success.
Kian says: "When we started off
we never expected any of
the success we have at
the minute and
never expected to get as far as we have got.
"It's always scary when you see new bands
coming out and
you see music
changing and people liking
different types of music."
The Irish boys
three from Sligo
and two from Dublin
marvel at their fan base,
which ranges from toddlers to
a great gran in her 90s.
And the lads adore seeing the
"mums in leather trousers".
It is these older fans who help make
the band's tours a sell-out.
Mark says: "I love to look into a crowd
and see a bunch of
mums in leather trousers
dancing away and going crazy.
"Every band is marketed - we are too -
but it gives you a feeling that
we have got a wider appeal."
Kian adds: "When we first came
out you would see three
womenwith four kids but now they leave
the kids at home and come
by themselves and that's very cool."
They would love to sing with
Bryan Adams or
Celine Dion but what about pop
diva Britney Spears?
"Nah," says Bryan. "She can't sing."
Bryan says with a grin:
"The lifestyle in which we grew
up is so different to
the lifestyle we have in Westlife
that it wouldn't be difficult
to fall into the trap of becoming a big
international popstar persona
and end up hanging around with people
like Britney.
But we work hard to keep
our feet on the ground."
The boys hope that
when the time comes for the band to bow out,
each Westlife member will still
care enough about
the others to take part in a reunion.
Kian says: "We know
this isn't going to last for ever
but I would wish in 20 or
30 years time we will be able to get back
together and sing one of our hits.
"Robbie Williams
would never touch Take That again
and Ronan Keating would never
touch Boyzone again.
"But we have got such a good
relationshipthat I'm sure we would
still get together
when this eventually comes to an end."
Hopefully that moment is
still some time away
Band in floods of tears after split with Bryan
10/03/2004
left Westlife fans sobbing their hearts out.
And when
Bryan McFadden said his goodbyes
to the rest of the band yesterday
it was just as emotional.
As Bryan revealed why
he had decided to quit
the chart-topping boyband,
tears rolled down his cheeks.
His wife Kerry was in floods,
fellow Westlifer Kian Egan was also crying,
while Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Nicky
Byrne clearly struggled to keep it together.
The band, who have had 12 No 1 singles,
told 3am about
the painful split at the plush
Four Seasons
hotel in Dublin.
They said losing
Bryan was "like splitting up from a girlfriend
after five wonderful years together"
and revealed they had even
in an attempt to make him stay.
Meanwhile, a visibly shaken Bryan revealed,
"It's absolutely
nothing to do with the other four guys.
"It's hard juggling two lives.
And for the past year,
especially after my daughter
Lilly-Sue was born,
I haven't been able to commit
100 per cent to my family or Westlife.
I felt it was the right time to stand back
and concentrate on my family."
The father-of-two
dropped his bombshell
following the Meteor Awards
in Dublin on March 2.
"It's been weighing on
my mind for the past six months,
" admitted Bryan, 23.
"After the Meteor Awards we talked things
through and the decision was
made in the past couple of days.
"The group understand
that family is very important to me.
They know there is no point me being in
the band if I'm not happy and
they respect my decision."
He insisted that it was his decision
and he wasn't influenced by wife Kerry,
the I'm A Celebrity... winner.
"There's no TV or music work lined up,
I just want to have a break
and be with my family," said Bryan.
"Yes, I'll be a house-husband for a bit,
but I'm cr*p at housework."
He claimed his departure bears
no similarity to Robbie Williams
quitting Take That.
"Robbie left because
he didn't like the other people
in the band and they didn't like him,"
he said.
"I'm leaving because
I have a wife and two children.
I need to spend more time with them."
The others remain optimistic
about their future as a four-piece.
Nicky told us, "It was such a shock.
I said, 'Let's go to a counsellor
so we can sort this out and get to
the bottom of what was making Bryan unhappy'.
"We were prepared to
do anything to stop him leaving.
But in the end he was adamant
and there was nothing
we could say or do to change him mind."
Mark Feehily added,
"It's better he leaves before we hit the road.
It would have been a disaster
if he'd pulled out halfway through the tour,
or if his heart wasn't in it.
Maybe that would have damaged
our friendship and we
didn't want that to happen."
Westlife are now working on an album
of duets which will feature the likes
of Lionel Richie, Diana Ross
and Donna Summer.
And they say their 70-date world tour,
which kicks off in Belfast on March 29,
will be their "best ever".
Shane added:
"We have defied the odds so many times
to do so for many years to come."
So do we lads,
Archive
THE REAL REASON WHY BRYAN QUIT WESTLIFE
He's managing new band tipped for big time
By Andy Rudd 15/03/2004
Westlife star Bryan McFadden has been
secretly managing a rock band for
the past year and plans to
launch them on to the music scene this summer.
Bryan, 24, talent spotted South Africangroup
Franklin while on honeymoon in Sun City in 2002.
He was "blown away"
by their music and signed them up.
But he kept the
dealunder wraps because he
didn't want to be seen working with a rival band.
Bryan has been bankrolling them and has
already shelled out more
than £300,000 on wages, travel and recording costs.
He said: "Franklin are a brilliant
band with a great sound which is
why I am backing them.
"It's a very exciting time for them at
the moment and hopefully everything will go to plan.
The music
with Westlife either.
"Franklin do rock music which is
different to Westlife and
my own solo stuff will be different again."
He moved them from their
Johannesburg home to Ireland
early last year and hopes
they will break into
the Irish, UK and European music markets.
Bryan announced last week that he was quitting boy
band Westlife to go solo and spend
more time with I'm A Celebrity
winner wife Kerry and daughters
Molly and Lily Sue.
He told distraught fans:
"I just feel it's the right time to concentrate on
my family and being at home as much as I can."
But his
new career move will mirror
singer Ronan Keating's.
He announced in August 1999 that
he was quitting Boyzone to go solo
then went on to co-manage Westlife.
Bryan has been busy writing
and producing songs with Franklin.
He has already showcased
the band to family and friends
including Westlife
at Precious nightclub in Belfast.
Major record companies including BMG,
Universal and Polydor are interested
and insiders are
tipping Franklin for the big time.
Singer Bryan will co-manage them with best friend
Mark Murphy. Mark said:
"They are definitely up there in the league
of
play and will be huge.
They love Ireland."
A friend of the band said:
"They can't believe their luck.
They are on the brink of achieving
what they have been dreaming about for years.
"Nobody imagined things would turn
out how they have.
Everyone has put a lot of hard work
and time into the band and now
it looks as if all that has finally paid off."
Westlife, who were on the eve of
an American tour when Bryan,
quit have vowed to go on.
They have been one of the world's
most successful boy bands.
They topped the charts for the past five years
with 12 number one hits
and sold 320 million records worldwide.
De Ierse popformatie
Westlife veroverde een
paarjaar geleden met verschillende hits
de wereld en intussen hoort Westlife
met meer dan 30 miljoen verkochte albums
wereldwijd bij de toppers.
De band is ongekend populair
en zorgt overal waar ze optreedt voor volle zalen.
Westlife zanger Byrne Nicky
kwam op 06.04.04 met zijn
vrouwGeorgina Aherne (dochter
van de Ierse Minister President)
naar de Alpha Klinik.
Hij had kort voor een live optreden in het
Olympisch Stadion van München
zijn knie ernstig geblesseerd.
In de kliniek werd een ernstige keuzing
van de knie en een los zittende
meniscus geconstateerd.
De behoorlijk opgezette knie werd
met injecties behandeld om de zanger
ondanks
de pijn toch in staat te stellen op te treden.
Ook onder het Alpha Klinik
personeel bevonden zich vele fans:
en die kwamen natuurlijk naar
het concert om de zanger en
zijn band luidkeels toe te juichen
Mark Feehily could lose his sight - October 2004
MORE misery for Westlife when Mark is
warned he could go blind due to
the band's flashy
lifestyle.
Mark is told by docs that he runs the risk
of permanently damaging his peepers
after excessive exposure to
camera bulb-popping.
He says: "Photographers
complain and ask why
I sometimes wear sunglasses
but I have no choice unless
I want to ruin my eyesight for ever."
Sunday October 10 2004
THERE'S no love lost between
Mark Feehily
of Westlife and Kurt Cobain's widow.
Mark was trying to enjoy a performance
of Alicia Keyes
at the recent World Music Awards in Las
Vegaswhen Courtney Love - plus ca change
was determined to be heard above all else.
"Can you shut the f*** up!" Feehily bravely
informed the psychotically-inclined Miss Love.
Like Vincent Browne,
it is an unconscionably long time
since Courtney's gargoyle gob last fell shut.
For which Feehily surely deserves an award.
Westlife better off without Brian
August 25 2004,
Westlife star Nicky Byrne
has told The Sun that
the group is better
Brian McFadden.
"We are stronger than ever,"
Nicky insisted. "Brian was just going through
the motions and you cant go on like that.
"He didnt want to be
in Westlife and we wanted him to go.
He now looks physically
better and as a foursome were
better than ever."
Despite Nicky's comments,
the Westlife boys are apparently
of the band, added,
"We will keep going until we are
not having fun,
and right now we are having a great time."
The group are currently
working on their next album.
