Westlife

Formed in Dublin in 1998, Westlife followed in the tradition of European boy bands like Take That and Boyzone.

The group performed ballads and club-worthy pop songs for a devoted European audience, becoming one of the continent's most successful bands in the process.

Although they never managed to find American success, Westlife released six platinum-selling records in the U.K.

and eventually sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, a feat that helped them eclipse the popularity of pop titans like Boyzone, whose lead singer had managed the band during its infancy.

Vocalists Shane Filan, Kian Egan, and Mark Feehily first performed together in another pop group, IOYOU, and experienced their first brush with success when Simon Cowell considered signing them to BMG.

The group's other singers didn't make the cut, however, and a new round of auditions was launched to find more capable members.

Nicky Byrne and Bryan McFadden were eventually added, the group was signed, and Westlife began prepping its debut album with the help of Louis Walsh, Boyzone's manager, and Boyzone member Ronan Keating.

Their debut single, "Flying Without Wings," entered the U.K.

charts at number one in 1999, a feat that Westlife replicated one year later with "Seasons in the Sun" and "Swear It Again." All three songs were also released on the group's self-titled debut, which was met with similar success and went platinum in the U.K.

An American release followed in early 2000 courtesy of Arista Records. Westlife never managed to make a dent in America’s pop scene, where national acts like the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears reigned supreme.

It was a different story in the U.K., though, where the group charted 14 number one singles and continued releasing hit albums.

Both Coast to Coast and A World of Our Own went multi-platinum, and the group celebrated its success by releasing a hits compilation, Unbreakable, Vol.

1: The Greatest Hits, in 2002.

Turnaround followed in 2003 and fared similarly well, but Bryan McFadden nevertheless left the lineup one later year in the hopes of launching his own career.

“Real to Me,” his first single as a solo artist, topped the charts in 2004. Westlife continued touring after McFadden’s exit and released Allow Us to Be Frank, a tribute to the Rat Pack, in late 2004.

They returned to their contemporary pop formula with 2005’s Face to Face -- their biggest-selling album in three years -- and continued releasing material throughout the rest of the decade, including The Love Album, Back Home, and Where We Are.

~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide

Irish quarter Westlife are amazed at how much alcohol they used to drink and say they can no longer party the way they used to.

(BANG) -

Westlife used to skip meals to get drunk.

The 'Flying Without Wings' group admit that their advancing years mean they can no longer party as hard as they used to and can't believe how they used to behave.

Singer Nicky Byrne said: "It you think back to when we were 21, it was like, 'Who cares about food? Just get a bottle of vodka down your neck by 12 o'clock'. Now that we're hitting 30, it's different."

His bandmate Shane Filan added to Cosmopolitan magazine: "The older we get, the more we prefer a good restaurant to a club. But as long as you have a drink and a laugh..."

Even though they now prefer quiet nights, the 'World Of Our Own' hitmakers love going out together - because it gives them a chance to wear matching outfits.

Mark Feehily said: "We love getting dressed up as a band. When we went to Simon Cowell's 50th birthday party, we all got ready together in a hotel room and put expensive suits on."

Westlife have revealed they once rejected the chance to cover Michael Jackson's 'You Are Not Alone'.

(BANG) -

Westlife were meant to record Michael Jackson's 'You Are Not Alone'.

The group - who have been regularly criticised for their repeated release of cover versions - were given the suggestion by record company chief Simon Cowell, but rejected the idea straight away.

Singer Mark Feehily revealed: "There were many songs which I would be even scared to mention, you know, that were suggested to us which we turned down.

"There were many cover versions and many original songs that were either terrible. There was loads of stuff through the years, like 'You Are Not Alone' by Michael Jackson… "

While Westlife turned down the track, the finalists on UK TV talent show 'The X Factor' - which record Simon produces - recently topped the British singles charts after releasing a version for charity.

Mark added to Popjustice: "So Simon's basically convinced somebody to do it, and it wasn't us!"

Westlife star Mark Feehily is embarrassed by his band's 'Rat Pack' album 'Allow Us To Be Frank'.

(BANG) -

Mark Feehily wants to "forget" about Westlife's 'Rat Pack' album 'Allow Us To Be Frank'.

The 29-year-old singer admits the band didn't want to release the LP - featuring covers of classic swing tracks - but insists their record company thought it would be a good idea after seeing the success of Robbie Williams' 'Swing when You're Winning'.

He said: "That was a weird time in our career, really. I'm not making excuses for it, but Brian McFadden had just left. We kind of didn't know what to do... Everyone was a bit like, 'Well this can't be some kind of mediocre pop album', and you know Robbie had just gone out with his and when we heard the idea first, we were just like, 'Well Robbie's just done this, why don't we just come up with our own little twist instead of doing something like that?' "

Mark said by the time they'd spent six months promoting the album, he was completely sick of it.

He said: "We eventually bought into it... but obviously you have to promote for six months and then you tour and stuff, so by the end of the tour we were ready to put that one behind us."