Westlife: Band Biography And Best Songs

Westlife is a pop group formed in Sligo, Ireland. The collective of school friends I. O. U. released the single “With a girl together forever”, which drew the attention of the producer of the famous Boyzone group Louis Walsh.

He decided to repeat the success of his brainchild and began to support a new team. To be successful, I had to part with some of the first members of the group.

In their place came the gifted guys Brian McFadden and Nikki Byrne. Together with Faylan Fihili and Egan, the “golden line-up” of Westlife was created.

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The beginning of the creative path of the Westlife group

The band Westlife made its name in 1998, performing before the release of such pop music legends as the Backstreet Boys. The band was immediately mentioned in the music press and invited to perform concerts.

Over time, they became so numerous that the band received an official music award in the category “Best Touring group”.

In March 1999, the first recording of Westlife was released, which only increased the popularity of the boy band. The single immediately “broke” into all popular charts and received gold status.

The second single “Flying Without Wings” took the 1st position in the consolidated UK charts and became the soundtrack to the movie “Pokemon 2000”.

The full-length album was released in November 1999. The CD took the 2nd position in the UK charts. The Christmas single that followed the CD was at the top of all popular radio stations for four weeks.

The following singles and records also occupied the first positions in the charts. This made it possible to enter the name of the Westlife group in the Guinness Book of Records. Seven singles released in a row occupied the leading positions. So far, no one else has been able to achieve this.

The next single failed to extend the band’s success. He only took the 2nd position. But the members of the band Westlife received the long-awaited award “Best pop artists”.

Immediately after the recognition in their homeland, the boy band went on an international tour.

The next album, World of Our Own, which the band released in 2001, continued the glorious tradition. Singles from it occupied leading positions in the UK charts. The band once again received the “Kings of Pop” award.

In November 2003, the band recorded a cover version of Barry Manilow’s song Mandy. This song was waiting for another success. The song started at the 200th position, but managed to take the 1st. This “breakthrough” became the most famous in the history of the British Isles charts.

First losses of the Westlife Group

In 2004, Brian McFadden had a baby. He decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family.

The last recording of the vocalist in the band Westlife was the ballad Obvious. The team did not stop there and began to work as a quartet.

Recording a new album after McFadden’s departure from the band was an ordeal for the rest of the band. Brian was more to the band than just a singer.

Many compositions became popular due to the arrangements that the musician offered. But the guys didn’t stop because of his departure.

As part of the quartet, the guys recorded an album of classic cover versions of compositions by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and other popular artists of the last era.

Having received a modern sound, the songs immediately “broke” into all the charts. Fans of lyrical pop music started talking about the band Westlife again. The band once again went on another world tour.

In 2005, the band’s single You Raise Me Up allowed the guys to reach the 1st position. The band received the “Record of the Year” award. And the album released after this event received multi-platinum status.

The world tour in support of this album was once again a resounding success. The guys even made it to China. The audience of the Celestial Empire was glad to see their idols.

In 2006, the band signed a contract with the record company Sony BMG, which stipulated the conditions under which the guys had to record the next five albums within five years.

The first record in this list was sold in the amount of 1 million copies. The next album was again well received by the public.

A decade of the band’s creativity

In 2008, the band celebrated its 10th anniversary. This anniversary date was marked by a grand concert of the band in Dublin. Immediately after its completion, the group went on a one-year vacation.

A year later, the band released their next album, Where We Are, which received multi-platinum status in the UK. An interesting point was the change in the musical component of the record.

Instead of fervent youth hits, the guys recorded several lyrical ballads. It was clear that the producers decided to find new listeners. But the songs were enthusiastically received by old boy band fans.

In 2012, the band members announced that the band was ending its existence. The Greatest Hits Tour was a resounding success. The last concert at the stadium in Dublin was broadcast live by several world TV companies.

After the breakup of the band, all the members began to pursue their own solo projects, most of which were successful.

In 2019, it was decided to resume joint creativity. The band Westlife reunited and recorded the song Hello My Love.