Westlife Web

Boy-Band Fever

Life! Newspaper, Singapore, 17th November 1999
thanks to Michelle Ooi for this article!!!

CUTE AND CUDDLY
That's what this alpha wants in a girlfriend

He's got thousands of girls screaming after him. But ask him what he looks for in a girlfriend and Westlife's Shane Filan says it's not supermodel looks. "Just someone whom I can talk to, someone cute, cuddly, humorous and is able to put up with my tight schedule," is all he's asking for. And he is looking for a serious relationship, he says.

BOXER-SHORTS GIFTS? HE'LL KEEP THEM
Female fans often give presents to Shane Filan and his Westlife mates.
Some freebies can come in handy By Jessica Tan

Being part of a boy band is not alway a glamorous thing. And Westlife's Shane Filan discovered this the hard way. "A female fan stripped my track pants off while I was walking on the streets back home in Ireland, " said the lead singer in an interview with Life! at the Four Seasons Hotel yesterday. "So there I was standing in my boxers. And I had to run after her to get my pants back," he recalled. "Thank goodness I was wearing a decent pair that day, my Clavin Kleins."

Dressed in black, with a maroon leather jacket, the 19-year-old was in town for a two-day promotional stop here with his band mates Nicky Byrne, 20, Mark Feehily, 18, Bryan McFadden, 18, and Kian Egan, 18. Put together by Boyzone's manager Louis Walsh and co-managed by Boyzone member Ronan Keating, Westlife is Ireland's latest boy-band offering. Only about a year old, the quintet have been topping the charts in Britain, Ireland and Singapore with their hit singles Swear It Again and If I Let You Go. Their debut self-titled album has also earned them the No.1 spot here within just two weeks of its release on Nov 1. "It's just amazing how well we have been doing. And I don't think we have fully absorbed what has been happening for us because we are always on the move," said Filan.
Also amazing was how their fans screamed their lungs out during their showcase at Suntec City's Rock Auditorium in Monday evening. About 1,400 teenage girls charged forward when the five singers appeared on stage. At one point, the barricades toppled over. When the singers left the stage, it was littered with wrapped presents and teddy bears thrown by their fan, most of whom where in their early teens.
Gifts like these are common for these popular boys. "We always try to keep whatever gifts we get but it's not always possible," said Filan with a smile. "I received this sports watch from a fan yesterday and I intend to keep it. I also wear the Calvin Klein boxers that I get sometimes." He added: "The fans were all so wonderful and they knew all our songs so well. "In fact, Nick and I stayed up for at least two hours that night just talking about the performance and the fans." With thousands of girls pining for them, one would think that the guys would be more than thrilled. But not Filan.
Except for Nick, who is dating the Irish President's daughter, Georgina, 20, the rest of the band members are single, he revealed. "Nowadays, I feel I have to be more cautious when I go out with girls. Many of them would just want to go out because you're from Westlife, you know what I mean," said Filan. But the lad with hazel-green eyes admitted that he has not given up on dating totally. "I was seeing a girl some time back when I was back home and recently I was also dating someone in London." So what does he look for in a girlfriend? "Although looks do matter, you don't have to be a model or even look like one. "I guess just someone whom I can talk to, someone cute, cuddly, humorous and is able to put up with my tight schedule," he offered.