Westlife

Westlife are an Irish boyband, formed in 1998, who have achieved huge success in Britain where 14 of their singles have reached No.1.

IOYOU was the name of the original band signed by Louis Walsh, but Simon Cowell demanded changes to the band prior to them signing with BMG. IOYOU foundered and Westlife rose from the ashes. The line-up settled at Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden and although all five considered themselves songwriters, outside songwriters were brought in to compose most of their big hits.

They had already had three hit singles by the time their debut album Westlife was released in November 1999. Their next double A-side single, “I Have a Dream / Seasons in the Sun” had the distinction of being the Christmas No.1 and the first No.1 single of the Millennium in Britain.

A year later they released Coast to Coast (2000) and further singles from this album resulted in them achieving a record for having their first seven singles hit the No.1 spot of the UK charts. World of Our Own fared equally well but by the release of 2002’s Greatest Hits, whispers began to surface about a possible split. They ignored the rumours, undertook their second tour and released their next studio album Turnaround (2003). In 2004 the persistent rumours came true when McFadden announced his departure, saying he was planning to spend more time with his young family and pursue a solo career.

As a four-piece they released their next album in 2004, Allow Us to Be Frank. Surprisingly, no singles were released from this album, but the next album Face to Face saw the release of “You Raise Me Up” and “When You Tell Me That You Love Me”, the latter a duet with Diana Ross.

The Love Album was a covers album and included a version of Bette Midler’s “The Rose” which became their 14th No.1 single. Westlife’s ninth studio album, Back Home, was released in the UK in November 2007 and has since gone triple platinum.