TWO of Sligo’s most successful pop stars are helping the sporting stars of tomorrow by providing them with a smart new kit.

Westlife members Mark Feehily and Shane Filan have sponsored the Sligo Rovers Youth Strip for the second year in a row, providing training gear and the soccer strips in a deal with Jako sport, run by former Sligo Rovers ‘keeper Nicky Broujos.

The only telltale signs that the boyband stars have provided the kit for the youtinted onto each shirt: S.F. (Shane Filan) and M.F. (Mark Feehily).

Ironically, as a sporting star himself, Shane Filan was more successful in the GAA code, winning the 1994 County Championship as a youngster with St. Mary’s.

Mark Feehily’s chosen sport is tennis and he was an active member of Sligo Tennis Club. Mark has also played at a number of pro-am and charity tennis tournaments.

The youth teams of Sligo Rovers have gone from strength to strength since being set up under the stewardship of manager Don O’Riordan. The Under 17 team are currently through to the semi-finals of the FAI Under 17 Cup while the Under 16 have reached the last 16 of the All Ireland Cup. 

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BIG BOTHER

Interesting stuff Shane! While you’re talking about laydeez, why not let us know if it’s true guys have dated fans?

Shane - Ha Ha! That was sneaky! Yeah, I’ve dated a fan before yes, but no sex. And it’s not a common thing either. I’ve got a girlfriend now and abviously I’m very faithful to her.

Ooo – so us fans have a chance with you guys then? Lovely! Right, let’s get saucy… When do you feel the most sexy?

Mark - Well, to be honest, I never really feel sexy. Oh, unless I’m in an intimate situation with a girl of course. Ha ha.
Kian - Summertime’s always a very good time to feel sexy!
Nicky - Yeah, when it’s hot…
Kian - Something happens to you when the sun comes out! Especially if you’re on a beach. Mmmm!

Calm down, ya saucepots! There have been a few kiss and tell stories on you guys. How do you get handle ‘em?

Nicky - It’s never happened to me but it’s happened to a couple of the other lads. The first thing any of us do is call our parents and granparents and make sure they know about it.
Kian - Exactly. But if the girl was selling a story that was true there’s nothing we can do. It’s only when they say something wrong that you can sue.
Mark - But at the end of the day it’s better to just ignore it. It’s hot news today, but it’s all gone tomorrow.

What about the solo rumours? What would you do if a Lifer wanted to go solo?

Bryan - We would let them leave. We’ll just carry on without them, no matter who it was.
Kian - We’re making a lot of good records at the moment, but you can’t stop somebody from wanting to go ahead and from wanting to do his own thing.
Nicky - But don’t worry, no one has plans to do that yet. And even if they did, Westlife would definitely carry on as four-piece.

It’s a love thang!

Uncovered – The guys ‘n’ their gals…

Pop star romances always used to be shrouded in secrecy, but not in the Westlife camp! Nicky’s been honest about his relationship with fiancée, Georgina Ahern, from the start and it certainly didn’t make him any less fanciable with the fans. Phwoar!

It wasn’t long before Bryan decided to go public with Kerry, and now Shane has opened up to his romance with Gillian too.

So who’s next? Mark has ‘fessed he’s dated fellow popstar, Mandy Moore in the past and more recently he has been linked to Cathy Bellefire. But we are not so sure.

Meanwhile, Kian was spotted at a football match with a mysterious blonde. He insists it’s not serious and that he’s still on the market. Let’s hope so eh?!

HERE’S THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH WESTLIFE WE PROMISED YOU. 

Nicky. “I would’ve been a professional football player. I played for Leeds United for two and a half years. But growing up I wanted to be a cop!”

A dedicated Westlife fan cancelled her dream wedding after getting tickets to see the Irish heart throbs in concert on the same date.

Bride Judie Rorison, 24, had bought her wedding dress, booked the church, ordered her cake and paid for the plush hotel reception after boyfriend Alex Findlayson proposed.

But she dropped all big day plans after hearing her favourite pop heroes Westlife were to stage a concert in Glasgow on the same day. She immediately rang the ticket hotline to order tickets for her and her bridesmaid – sister Lucy, 23.

And she only broke the news to her fiancé when she knew she had prime tickets for the SECC concert.

Yesterday, fanatic Judie, who has a two-year-old daughter with Alex, came face-to-face with her heroes after winning a radio competition proving she was their biggest fan. >>>>



Silly

Judie told the boys she could not have enjoyed her wedding day knowing they were playing a rare concert just 45 miles away. And she said she knew Alex would understand.

Judie, who works for Sportscotland, said: ‘There are not many men who would allow their partner to cancel their wedding because of their love for five other men, but Alex was great.

‘I didn’t give him a chance to object. ‘He thought I was being really, really silly, but he knows me so well he knew I wouldn’t be truly happy on my wedding day if I was missing the concert so finally agreed’.

The couple were to marry at Glencourse Parish Church, in their hometown of Penicuik, Midlothian, on May 11.

Luckily they managed to reschedule for August. Judie said: ‘Both the concert and the wedding day were wonderful.

‘When we did finally get married the day was a dream, and of course the song we chose for our first dance was a Westlife track ‘I want to grow old with you’.

Last night Alex admitted he had been ‘slightly put out’ at being asked to cancel all their plans.

The boys from Westlife said they were amazed.

Brian said: ‘We can’t believe Judie cancelled her wedding for us.

Kian added: ‘We have heard of fans doing outrageous things before, but this teally takes the biscuit.’

What’s your girlfriend situation like at the moment. Do you have one?

No, I’m young, free and single. So if there’s anyone out there! Seriously it is very hard to have girlfriends as we are always away so much, that’s the reality of it and it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Have you ever had your heart broken?

Yeah, it took me about six months to get over it.

Can you drive a car and do you own one?

Yeah, I just bought a BMW car two months ago.

Did you pass your test first time?

You don’t have to take a test in Ireland. When you apply for your provisional licence, you get one automatically, but for insurance purposes it’s best to get a proper licence and drive like anyone else. I have been driving since my 17^th birthday and I’m on my second provisional licence now. I’m not allowed to drive in England though. My father covers my insurance, as it would cost a ton of money to insure me on my own.

When was the last time you lost your temper?

When all the boys were ganging up on me. I eventually left saying I would be back in a while and I went and cooled off.

MARK:

What is a typical day like for you at the moment?

A typical day is early mornings and late nights. We’re not going to parties or anything, just working late. Photo shoots and stuff like that, meetings with our stylists in the night-time and the following morning, say, do an hour break for lunch and then go straight through to 8pm when we start doing rehearsals. We’ll be lucky if we get an hour to get something to eat before going to bed.

It literally goes on all day long?

Yes, this is a 24-hour job. We have to be prepared 24 hours a day, there is never a day we actually work 24 hours but you can never be sure. It’s not like starting at 9am tomorrow and finish at 5pm, you never know what hours you’re going to be working. But we enjoy it so much it doesn’t seem like work.

Where do you see yourself in a few years from now?

At the moment I want to do this for years and years to come. I enjoy it so much that I want it to last for a very long time.

What did you want to be when you were little?

I’ve always wanted to do singing or acting. But I never thought it was a realistic thing and besides, I didn’t have a clue about how you would get into a band or film. So I said to myself that maybe I should be a teacher, then all of a sudden the band came along. I think it has a lot to do with luck, we were all very lucky to get into the band.

Who messes up the dance routines the most?

We all have our days, but it’s probably me.

Do you believe in love at first sight? And has it happened to you?

Yes I do believe in it but it has never happened to me.

Have you ever gone on a blind date or set someone else up on one?

No, I can’t say I have, but I probably have set other people up at a club or disco or something and pushed them together.



MG Poster


Inside cover




 

Well he has a point!

She bumps into ‘wrong’ star after 19-hour treck

Westlife fan Terri Coleman travelled for 19 hours hoping to see heart-throb Shane Filan – but ended up bumping into his band mate Kian Egan. >>>>



The 15-year-old had persuaded mum Eileen, 46, to take her and sister Jessica, eleven, by train and ferry to Sligo, Ireland, from their home in Devon.

The schoolgirl aimed to deliver a congratulations card to Shane, 23, after she heard he was marrying girlfriend Gillian Walsh, 22.

When told he was not in Sligo disappointed Terri found a clothes shop run by his family and left her card and wedding present – a silver plated photo frame. Then she spotted Kian, 23, standing at a cashpoint.

He made her day by posing for a photo with her and chatting. Kian, cousin of Shane’s fiancée, also gave Terri and Jessica his autograph.

Terri, whose entire bedroom in Newton Abbot is full of Westlife pictures and CD’s, said: ‘We never expected to see any of them.
‘I just wanted to find out where they lived and pass on a card to Shane to wish him luck. Then I recognized Kian. I couldn’t believe it and burst into tears.

‘He was really nice. We had a chat about the group. It was great.’

Mum Eileen – married to Brian, 47 – said: ‘He was such a lovely boy. He could have walked away but he waited while I fished around in my bag for a camera.’

She added with a grin: ‘Terri would have been even more thrilled if we’d seen Shane but we couldn’t really tell Kian.’

Well that proves it then, on the whole it seems that blonds really do have more fun – although our Shane proved to be a bit on the cheeky side! Maybe next time my dark lovelies…?!



 

Q Celebrity: Westlife

To what do we owe the pleasure of Westlife’s company down under?

Well just the fact that we recorded our latest album last summer and the album has done really really well in many countries around the world and our singles have been really big, besides that we haven’t been in Australia for a good five years, so I think the record company looked at us and thought it was good bet to come on down. Australia is a fantastic country and one which we have not been to in a long time, and it’s just having a second crack at it – get a shot to get down here – make ourselves reasonably successful down here – a country that we’d love be coming back to three of four times a year – doing concerts and seeing all the Australian people. It’s all a promotional tour.

Over the years, you have had to replace members of the band. How difficult has that been?

We were basically told by our management how it was to be done, if we were serious and wanted to be successful. It started with the three of us, then our manager said it wasn’t going wo work like this, as a three piece, and we fourn Brian and Nicky – and that became the core of Westlife. I think from there, right up until the day that Brian left, it was perfect. We loved it all, we were all really enjoying it, we thought we had the perfect band – we knew we were very strong vocally, we knew we were very strong at what we were doing. Then we got to the stage where Brian left – obviously that was a big kick in the arse – it was a case of ‘we can’t believe this is happening’. That was three years ago, and now our albums are more successful then they were – and with all due respect to Brian – we are a better band without him.  The four of us absolutely love what we do (Brian didn’t really love what we did) and obviously when you have someone who doesn’t love what you do it does make a difference. >>>>



How important is it to have fellow-Irishmen in the line-up?

Personally I think it is the only reason we are still together. Not necessarily fellow-Irishmen but just close friends you know. The four members are very close friends – we got on incredibly well – for example the last three days we had off, we spent it together. We grew up together, we live together, we spend time together…we really are good friends, and I think if we weren’t that we wouldn’t be still here.

Do you think that is the secret to your longevity and success?

Well that and the right songs. You know, you can have four guys who hate each other in a band together and great songs – and they could be successful, but they won’t be successful for eight years. I think if we continue to have great songs, we can continue to be successful for a very long time. Our audience is at a stage where they don’t really care how old we are – they don’t look at us as a boy band anymore – we just get on stage and sing songs and people are loving it – we’re loving it – and if we continue in that way, there’s no reason why we can’t keep doing it for another eight years.

So will we see a tour of Westlife?

We’d love to tour Australia. If you want to compare it to what we do in the UK – we do concerts to 10000 people a night – and most of those gigs are sold out – and you have the agency going well you can do this in Asia and you can do this in the UK… it’s all relevant. I think we need to spend some time here to build ourselves up to that stage – we just want to be able to come back down three or four times – do as much promotion, interviews as we can, to be able to achieve that. I think that’s the way we would like to do it in Australia – fingers crossed that will happen for us. It’s great to see the record label (Sony BMG) having an awful lot of faith in Westlife again in this part of the world.

Kian, thank you so much for your time. Lovely to talk to you (ditto).

Surrounded by his close friends and family, Westlife’s Shane Filan celebrated his recent 21^st birthday in style. Dublin’s exclusive Lillies Bordello club, which underwent a two million pound refurbishment this year, played host to the fun-filled bash.

Many top Irish showbusiness personalities came out in force, including television hosts and popstars. But Shane’s real guests of honour were his family, who travelled to Dublin from their hometown in county Sligo, in the northwest of Ireland.

As well as mum and dad, Mae and Peter, there were sisters Yvonne, Denise and Mairéad, and brothers Finbarr, Peter Jnr and Liam. Joining them were over 500 pals of the hugely successful band, all making for a night to remember.

The relaxed and friendly evening began with a champagne reception. As the Tattinger bubbly flowed, guests mingled and chatted, taking in the sophisticated new décor of the club’s facelift.

Waiting patiently outside the main entrance, behind specially erected barriers, was a cheering crowd of Westlife fans, many of whom had pitched their spot from as early as 5am that day. For some, the excitement of seeing their favourite stars arriving was a little too much – as Boyzone’s Keith Duffy soon discovered. As he made his entrance, several of the girls decided they wanted to give him a rather intense ‘hug’ – literally tearing the singer’s new leather jacket from his shoulders in the process! It didn’t upset the star, though, who later laughed about the incident.

Shane’s Westlife bandmates arrived one after the other, shortly before the popular birthday boy, each stopping to greet fans before heading inside to catch up with old friends. After a recent six-week promotional tour of America, they told OK! how they were delighted to be back home and eager to get to work on their new album.

Singer Mark Feehily, dressed in a leather designer jacket and denims, said: ‘It’s going to be an even better album than the last, so the fans will be happy to hear that. I’m really looking forward to it. To be honest with you – dead honest – we must hear our first album more than anyone else, so we’re desperate to start working on some new material, singing fresh songs.

Fellow singer Kian Egan added: ‘It’s definitely going to have a lot more energy. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had five number ones with the ballads and we’ve learned a lot from the first album, but we’re ready to give the fans something new.’

Just weeks ago, Westlife made a very special appearance at the Capital Radio Party in the Park extravaganza and, by the audience’s reaction, they were clearly one of the best acts of the day. Speaking about the brilliant gig, singer Bryan McFadden told OK!: ‘It was our first time back in the UK after the promotional tour in America and the first time since our fifth number one. It was great. When you have 100,000 people screaming at you, it’s unreal.

I remember walking on stage and looking at the other guys thinking, wow, what an incredible crowd.’

The lads were all clearly delighted to see their old friends after all the recent excitement in their pop career. After some fancy footwork on the club’s dancefloor, the boys took advantage of Lillies’ new VIP lounge bar on the top floor of the venue, with its quiet, relaxed atmosphere, to catch up with their closest friends over a drink – or two!

As Nicky, who was joined by long-term girlfriend Georgina Ahern, daughter of the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, told OK!: ‘It’s lovely to be here, it’s a brilliant place for a party, especially with all the different levels. Our only problem is getting round to speak to every, there are so many people we want to say hello to. We’re really here for Shane, he deserves a great party.’

Also in the lounge bar was the band’s maestro, Westlife manager Louis Walsh, who, among others, also manages Boyzone and up-and-coming Irish singer, Samantha Mumba. He was joined by former Live and Kicking presenter, Emma Ledden.

Also enjoying the hospitality was British actress Susan George and actor husband Simon MacCorkindale. Susan shares a common love of horses with Shane and Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, and is the honorary president of the Horse of the Year Show.

 

Shane, who along with bandmate Bryan McFadden was sporting a specially created ‘birthday suit’ by top Dublin tailor Louis Copeland, played the perfect host throughout the night, circulating around Lillies and saying a warm hello to his guests.

Shane’s proud family, who bought the talented singer a horse for his birthday, were clearly delighted to be part of the youngest member of their family’s celebration. As dad Peter told OK!: ‘He’s a wonderful son and we are all very proud of him. He and the lads work so hard, so it’s nice for them to have a night like this to just enjoy themselves and be with people who have known them before and after joining Westlife.’

Just before midnight, Shane was ushered into the main dance area and the lights were dimmed as a huge cake with 21 burning candles was wheeled over to him. The surprised singer laughed as he spotted that the figure ‘1’ was in the shape of a candy microphone! Surrounded by his Westlife bandmates, family and friends, he smiled broadly as guests sang Happy Birthday to him before he blew out the candles.

The happy occasion lasted well into the early hours. But ever-devoted to his fans, Shane managed to pop outside to grab ten minutes with the waiting crowd. As one loyal fan, Deborah Ward, told OK!: ‘Shane is just an incredibly nice person. We’d wait forever to get to see him!’

 

Speaking afterwards, Shane said: ‘This has been one of the best nights of my life. It has gone just the way I wanted it to. It’s great to see my family enjoying themselves. Knowing everyone has had a good time is brilliant, it’s all I could have asked for.’

Shane would like to say a special thanks to his parents Mae and Peter, his brothers and sisters and all his extended family and guests. Also thanks to Westlife’s manager Louis Walsh, Westlife’s tour manager Anto Byrne, Sharon Tobutt at RCA Records, the staff at Lillies Bordello, Joanne Byrne at O’Leary’s PR and, of course, the rest of the band. Finally a huge thank you to all Shane’s fans.

Westlife lad confined to bed after a busy few months

Thousands of Westlife fans were very worried last week when Shane Filan failed to turn up for an appearance on CD:UK, leaving Nicky and Kian to sing his part on the group’s new song, Miss You Nights.

It was confirmed that he has been struck down with glandular fever.

Shane’s last appearance was at the Smash! Hits Poll Winners’ Party a couple of weeks ago. But after posing for pictures for Sneak (3rd December), he felt so ill he had to be sent to bed.

Glandular fever often affects people when they’ve been working too hard. ‘It’s been a gruelling couple of months for the boys,’ confirmed a spokesman. ‘They’ve been travelling the world and doing loads of performances.’

Shane is now being looked after by his family and loving girlfriend Gillian at his home in Sligo and hopes to be well enough to enjoy Christmas. >>>>



Amazing

Sneak spoke to Shane and he told us how much he’s missing his bandmates. ‘I was really annoyed that I couldn’t spend time with them this week doing the shows for our new single,’ he said.

’We’ve had an amazing last month, with our 48-hour tour on the jet and our album party, and I think all the work’s just caught up with me. But I’m feeling better already and looking forward to getting back to work with the lads on 6th January.

And Shane reveals that he’s received loads of get well soon messages from his fans. ‘I’d like to say thank you to all the Sneak readers for their letters and cards. They’re grand.

Get well soon, fella!

How well do you think you know girls, then?

M: I’ve got a lot of sisters so I have a head start over most lads when it comes to understanding girls.
B: I only really understand one gal, and that’s my wife Kerry. But it’s taken me years to get the hang of her!

What confuses you most about us?

S: I don’t get why you always have to go to the toilet in twos. I haven’t got a clue what you lot get up to in there.
M: I suppose I’m most baffled by the way your brains work. Girls always seem to be changing their minds about lots of stuff. I never know what you’re thinking, whereas boys are much more straightforward. It’s always interesting to read girls’ magazines to find out what kind of problems you worry about.
K: I don’t understand why lasses put loads of make-up on unnecessarily. They seem to wear foundation even when they’ve got a really good tan.
N: And when you lot are shopping, why do you have to go into every single clothes store on the high street, but never end up buying anything? >>>>

 

If you could be any girl for the day, who’d it be?

K: I’d love to have been in All Saints cos they weren’t just your average girl band. They were cooler than the others, and they sounded like they were all feisty. But I reckon I could’ve handled them!
N: I guess I wouldn’t mind being Britney for the day. I’d transfer all her money into my bank account. Then, when I went back to being me, I’d be mega rich.

Is there girlie stuff you’d love to do but can’t because you’re a boy?

S: Girls can wear make-up if they’ve got a few spots or whatever. But lads have just gotta deal with it. So boys end up looking brutal, while gals can just make themselves look gorgeous.
K: I get jealous about the selection of clothes you have, and how many different styles you can wear. If a boy wants to dress up, he either has to wear a shirt of T-shirt and a pair of jeans. You can’t glam up very easily when you’re a guy.
N: I’d like to learn how to walk in high heels. I can’t understand how you lot do that. I’d definitely break my ankle.

Who’d be the best Lifer to handle a girlie problem?

S: The person who has the most open mind is Mark. He wouldn’t be the type of person to freak out about something. Mark’d make sure he sat down and listened to everything you had to say, and then make a decision. That’s the good thing about him, he’s got a great personality. That’s why so many of his good friends are lasses.

Okay lads, so what’s the best thing about girls then?

S: A girl’s look and her presence are very important. But a great personality is a huge thing, especially if you wanna spend the rest of your life with her. But you don’t look at a gal’s personality when you’re in a club. I’m afraid the first thing I always notice about a lass is her legs or what she’s wearing.
B: Girls are much kinder and gentler than boys. They have much sweeter personalities. >>>>

 

And your most annoying habit?

K: It’s gotta be your mood swings. We’ll be having a great time one minute. The next, I’m getting my head bitten off and I’m thinking, ‘What did I do?’
S: I really can’t stand it when girls where tights with open-toed shoes!

Who’s the most important girl in your life?

K: I’d have to pick my ma. I’m not a real mummy’s boy but your mum is the most important person in your life ‘til you find your soul mate. Then you get married and have your own kids.
N: It would have to be either my girlfriend, Georgina, or my mam.

What’s the best bit of advice a girl’s ever given you?

S: My girlfriend, Gillian, tells me to grow up quite a lot when she thinks I’m being childish. Nd it really does make me feel like a fool sometimes.
B: My mum told me Kerry was the right girl for me and that I should marry her. I always listen to my ma’s advice, especially when it comes to lasses.

Have you been accused of acting like a girl?

M: I’m always getting told off for taking too long to get ready, especially since I have been in the band. Well, I have to take more care over how I look now. Obviously we have to wear make-up when we’re doing photo shoots and TV appearances. But we all keep each other in check about becoming too much of a poser.
N: No-one’s ever told me that I’m being girlie, but I always get accused of being a wimp cos I hate going in lifts. I just have this feeling that, if you get stuck, you can’t get out and nobody can get in. I don’t mind glass elevators, but if they’re really small, I’m a bit of a diva and won’t get in them.

Which of you is the most girlie?

B: Nicky does this really funny pout when he’s having his photo taken. But Kian’s got loads of hair products and he’s always checking his ‘do in the mirror. I think he’d look great in a dress, too!

Would you ever do a Becks and wear a sarong?

K: I don’t really think that’s girlie. David Beckham is just very fashionable and he’s got the guts to try different things. I think I’d wear the same if it was the right situation.
N: It’s quite interesting to see what he’s gonna come up with next. It was like when Robbie Williams’s band Take That wore hot pants on stage. Everybody was shocked but they could get away with it cos of who they were. You never know, though, you might see Westlife wearing that kind of thing on stage, but I don’t think we could get Bryan in a pair!

Kian gives Sneak the lowdown on the loved-up ‘Lifers

I used to try to stop Shane from seeing my cousin Gillian
Kian on Shane and Gillian 

‘I kinda notice Mark is getting a bit lonely once in a while, but I think he’s coping well. He’s very close to his mum, and he’s the kind of person who’d ring her up, and say ‘I’m f***ing p***ed off.’
I would never talk to my mum about problems like, ‘I’m p***ed off today ‘cos Bryan did this to me’, but Mark would do all that.’

Bryan and Mark reveal years of torment during time at school. 

(Bryan added: “It’s true, it may seem odd to say it but if I hadn’t been bullied at school and hadn’t been overweight, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”)

Sneak spotted the Westlife lads munching their way through enough food to keep Rik Waller happy for a month when they left CD:UK recently! 

But why didn’t Shane join in the scoffing sesh? After burning off all that energy on stage, surely he’s entitled to do a doughnut or two?! We wouldn’t have grassed – honest!

Westlife: squeaky-clean mummy’s boys or boozed-up bad boys? Marie-Claire Dorking finds out the truth behind the headlines.

Like most people, you may think Westlife have always, you know, just been there – happily churning out inoffensive Christmas tunes. What you might not realise is, since bursting into the charts in 1999, Westlife have been record-breakingly successful – they’re way up there with The Beatles. In fact, they’ve actually had more Number Ones than Paul, John, Ringo and George. They’ve had four multi-platinum-selling albums, have filled Wembley Arena several times over … hell, they’ve even met the Pope! >>>>



But, despite their success, plenty of people still have trouble telling one Westlifer from another, so, if you don’t know your Mark from your Shane, allow me to introduce the band: Bryan McFadden, 23, is the married-to-an-ex-Atomic-Kitten father-of-two (the one the press always refer to as chubby, but he’s actually tall and dishy in real life), Shane Filan, (24), is the cute lead singer mums love, Nicky Byrne, 25, recently got hitched to the Irish PM Bertie Ahern’s daughter, Georgina, Mark Feehily, 23, is the quiet one, and, finally, Kian Egan, 23, is the unofficial spokesman of the band.

First to arrive, looking bleary-eyed, is Bryan. He smiles and introduces himself before ordering scrambled eggs on toast. Shane and Mark arrive in tandem, equally friendly, followed closely by Nicky and, finally, Kian who, in true pop-star style, arrives two hours late, but his grin is so wide, he’s quickly forgiven.

After an endless supply of bacon sarnies, I round up the boys. In their five years in the spotlight, Westlife have courted numerous tabloid stories, involving everything from boozy fights to groupies, celebrity spats to outrageous partying. And it’s my job to uncover the truth behind the headlines…

If you believe the paper reports, Westlife are the Jekyll and Hyde of pop. One minute they’re portrayed as butter-wouldn’t-melt mummy’s boys, the next they’re the last men standing after a boozy night of excess. So, what’s the truth?

‘We do enjoy a drink, there’s no doubt about that,’ laughs Nicky. ‘But we work under a strict work-hard-play-hard code of conduct.’

‘And besides,’ interrupts Kian, ‘we’re only human. I’m 23, and, yeah, I’ve been photographed coming out of a nightclub really, really drunk, but show me one person my age who hasn’t done the same.’ ‘We have had some serious parties,’ Bryan interjects. ‘Some serious, serious parties. But the launch party for our second album, Coast to Coast, was my favourite.’ This sparks a debate among the guys as to which has been their best night out before most agree the S Club 7 party was up there. ‘Sometimes those kind of parties can really wreck your head,’ Mark says seriously. ‘I only really enjoy myself when I’m around people I feel comfortable with, and at those parties there are so many people you don’t even know and you have to be nice to everyone. I’d rather just get a bottle of vodka and go to someone’s house and drink it there.’

Westlife are also quick to quash reports that their management have put a ban on their late-night-antics. ‘That really annoys me,’ says Nicky. ‘They say our management have put a marriage ban on us and they won’t let us go and get drunk, it’s ridiculous.’

‘Louis (Walsh, of Pop Stars: The Rivals fame) never tried to force us not to go out, he actually tries to make us go out,’ adds Kian. So, they’re more rock ‘n roll than squeaky-clean, then? ‘We’re squeaky-clean rock ‘n rollers,’ laughs Bryan.

‘We’re neither,’ interrupts Mark. ‘We’re just a bunch of lads.’ ‘I think we’re a bit wilder than your average English guy because we’re Irish and that’s just the Irish mentality,’ says Kian. ‘But I bet the Glasgow boys could drink us under the table. 

Westlife might come across as perma-grinning pop puppets, but don’t be fooled – they’re not averse to the odd spat with a fellow celebrity. The first rumour concerns Christina Aguilera and the time she allegedly had Mark kicked off his VIP table in the Met Bar. ‘That was so long ago,’ groans Mark, with a do-we-have-to-talk-about-this look on his face. ‘There was an incident, but it was only a mix-up over a seat! Anyway, I think she’s very good, so I have intention of slagging her off.’

In hope of more gossip, I move swiftly on to Bryan’s rather unwise decision to take on So Solid Crew (and, remember, there’s a lot of them, and Crew members Jason Philips and Ashley Walters have been known to carry guns!) at the Brit Awards 2002. So, Bryan, surely you didn’t think you could take them all on? ‘That was the last time I got falling-over srunk,’ he says quietly. ‘To be honest, I don’t remember much about it.’

Nicky steps in to fill in some blanks: ‘What happened was, we were doing press interviews and Bryan was so drunk, he wasn’t making sense, so we told him to go back into the auditorium. Then we heard this riot with Bryan and So Solid Crew. They were lucky we were still outside,’ he laughs. ‘It was blown out of proportion,’ adds Shane. ‘The Brits are full of adrenaline and there’s a lot of tension – it’s easy for things to kick off with a bit of drink.’ >>>>



Moving on to yet another alleged row – this time, with Mel C, which led to her calling Westlife crap, live on CD:UK. ‘She bitched about us on TV, that was all,’ says Kian. Nicky sees it another way: ‘We seem to be a good way for some celebrities to get press – have a go at Westlife and get yourself in the papers.’

So, have they ever met anyone who wasn’t quite so nice in the flesh? ‘Oasis, but then we weren’t really expecting them to be nice,’ says Nicky. ‘I don’t know what we were thinking going up to Liam and saying, ‘Oh hi, we’re Ronan Keating’s new band.’ He told us to fuck off! But what did we expect?’

Bryan seems delighted to recall the time Westlife met Huey from Fun Lovin’s Criminals. ‘Kian went over and Huey goes, ‘Who the fuck is this guy?’ So, Kian said he was from Dublin and Huey said he was doing a gig at Dublin’s Olympia, which holds about 800 people. We’d just done 12 nights at The Point, which holds about 8,000. Graham Norton had heard the whole thing and he turned to me and said, ‘Ooh Bryan, maybe some day you’ll get to do Olympia.’

Four of Westlife are spoken for. Nicky married long-term girlfriend Georgina Ahern in the summer. Shane is engaged to childhood sweetheart Gillan, who’s also Kian’s cousin. Bryan has been married to former Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona for two years and they have two daughters, Molly and Lilly-Sue. Kian has behaved more like a pop star and has been dating Hollyoaks actress Jodi Albert for the past six months. Mark, on the other hand, is buying a car to make up for his absent love life. Being the only single one makes Mark the natural focus of tabloid attention. ‘There’s been a lot of press about me having one-night stands and I’ve had a few kiss and tells done on me. It sickens me to see that, because I’d never use anybody, especially groupies.’ Mark frowns. ‘It pisses me right off – I don’t like the thought of my granny sitting at hme reading something like that.’

Shane’s more pragmatic about the whole thing. ‘You have to ignore it,’ he explains. ‘You can get caught up in fame and money, it would be easy to lose your head and get involved with the groupies. But it’s shite, because they don’t care about you, they just want to be seen with you, then tell their friends.’

The worry of kiss and tells hasn’t put Mark off looking for love. ‘It would be nice to meet someone and fall in love. Every time I talk about it in an interview, it’s like rubbing it in that I don’t have a girlfriend.’

As for the others, being scrutinised by the press and followed around by adoring fans, it must be hard to maintain a relationship. For example, the press had a field day reporting a lap dancer’s claims to have slept with Bryan on his stag do before his marriage to Kerry. ‘All our girlfriends and wives wouldn’t be there if they didn’t totally know what it’s like. They understand we know how to deal with it and trust us,’ states Kian firmly.

Kian may be happy settled with Jodi Albert now, but not before tabloid-friendly flings with Jodie Marsh and Liz McLarnon from Atomic Kitten. Not that he wants to talk to me about either. ‘I don’t like my name seen beside that girl’s (Jodie Marsh), I went through a phase where I didn’t care about the consequences of anything I did. And to be honest, I’m sick of talking about the Liz thing. I went out with her, we broke up, that’s it, end of story.’ So, no scandal there. Although, when asked if he and Liz are still friends, Kian’s quick to say no, so maybe there’s more to it than he’s letting on…

When you’re in a famous boy band, the people who knew you before you made it onto Top of the Pops can get a bit jealous, as Kian discovered when he got into a scuffle outside a kebab shop in his home town, Sligo, two years ago. Both Kian and the two locals involved were injured, Kian was left with a black eye, busted nose and a chipped tooth – not good when your job is to look pretty. ‘I was coming home from a club in the early hours,’ he says. ‘I stopped to get something to eat and there were two guys there – one of them turned round and hit me, then the other one did. I went to school with one of the guys. It could happen anywhere, but because I do what I do, there might have been more of a reaction. They obviously went, ‘There’s your man, who does he think he is?’ You get over it, but I was annoyed at the time.’ It hasn’t stopped Kian popping to his local, though. ‘Not at all, you just realise you shouldn’t go into town at 3am. People are drunk and things can happen.’

You know you’re properly famous when you have to employ someone to look after your safety. And Westlife are properly famous!

‘Sometimes, we’ll have security when we’re going out, but just one person,’ admits Shane, mildly embarrassed. “It’s just to be sure, as a lot of people would like to get at us.’ Nicky chips in, ‘it’s not just for people who want to have a go at you. People often try and sit with us for a chat, and you can’t entertain everybody else our you’d never get a drink.’

‘That’s especially when people get drunk,’ adds Kian. ‘They feel like they’re your best friend, and I understand because if I wasn’t in Westlife and I saw someone famous, I’d go over and say, ‘What’s the craic, buddy, how are you?  It happens all the time – people com over and say, ‘Can I buy ya a drink and can ya jus’ sign that for me lil’ sister’. Which is fine, but then they introduce their whole family and we’re just trying to have a quiet drink.’

So, what have I found out about Westlife? They like a drink, they like to party and they’ve had a few minor scraps. I’d say that makes them pretty normal blokes. Wouldn’t you?

Westlife’s new album, Turnaround, and DVD, Unbreakable – Greatest Hits Live, are both out now.

The Westlife boys were a bit worse for wear yesterday as they arrived at O’ Neill’s pub in Soho, London, to launch their new single Tonight.

‘Uhh, I don’t think any of us is sober yet,’  said Mark sheepishly.

Kian explained: ‘We were out at our London haunt, Click, until 5am. But, hey, I’m living the dream and can’t complain.’

Mark wasn’t so chirpy but he was still up for St Patrick’s Day. ‘ We’re having a secret party and you can only get in if you have an Irish passport.’ 

Hope the Guinness is flowing, boys…

Irish super group Westlife has had massive success in Europe already with a record five consecutive singles hitting number one on their charts. Now the five-man band are ready to take the States by storm with their new video, ‘Swear it Again.’ We got a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video and are bringing the photos straight to you. 

‘Swear it Again’ was filmed over a two-day period in Los Angeles by music video guru Nigel Dick, who has shot many of your other favorite artists such as Britney Spears and 98’.  The chemie is fun and sporty, showing the guys working at a car wash and flirting with the female patrons. You can even catch the guys doing some fancy footwork as they play soccer in the parking lot.