interview from Tearaway Magazine [New Zealand] October 1999
Westlife started in Sligo, a little town on Ireland's West Coast where three
of the band's members grew up. These days they are co-managed by Mr.
Boyzone himself, Ronan Keating, and the small town boys have their sights on
bigger things.
WESTLIFE - FRESH IRISH SENSATION
Westlife's three original members - Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Kian Egan,
got their big break when they scored a support gig with the Backstreet boys
in Dublin.
The show was a success, and there followed auditions for two new voices to
join the team - "That's how me and Bryan came into the equation." Nicky
Byrne told TEARAWAY.
So, Ireland's new teen pop sensation was born.
"I don't think we could have ever been prepared for the workload that we
actually had ahead of us." Nicky said.
"For the past six months many times we've been going to bed at maybe three
in the morning and then up again at maybe half five to catch a flight to
Europe.
"We're living on literally two or three, four hours of sleep and trying to
look good and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It does get to your
eventually."
So, what makes them do it?
"It's basically that we want to become the biggest pop band in the world.
"If we didn't want the workload, we'd just say to the record company it's
too much, and that would be fine by them. But the harder we work the bigger
band we're going to be.
"Every day we try and have a meeting amongst ourselves and say 'Come on
lads, let's keep this together. We can really, really do this."
"GIVE RONAN A SHOUT"
Ronan Keating is pop's golden boy at the moment, with a booming solo career
as a recording artist and as a host on MTV Europe, on top of his success
with Boyzone. What's he like as a manager?
"He's kind of lived through everything we're going to go through. He's done
it already. So, if anything crops up for us that we don't know what to do
about, we just give Ronan a shout...how to deal with each other, how to deal
with the media, life on the road.
"As you probably know, Ronan's loved worldwide. What you see is what you
get with him. He's a very down-to-earth guy, and he has never let fame or
money go to his head.
"With the help of Ronan behind us it sort of opened up people's eyes
straight away. It probably would have taken a year or two longer without
Ronan.
"We came in singing on a very mature level and our songs have reached out to
everybody, not just the teen market.
"In Ireland our first single 'Swear It Again' was one of the most popular
songs, played at weddings AND funerals, which means we've reached out to the
older market straight away. It took Boyzone at least three years to crack
that. We've gained the respect from day one.
"Now we're seeing places I thought I'd never see, or never knew existed,
performing in front of huge crowds. From a small town in Ireland, it's
almost like it's not real."
"THE EMERALD ISLE"
What is it about Irish bands? The Corrs, the Cranberries, B*Witched,
Boyzone - even U2!
"When you grow up in Ireland everyone's into entertainment. Everyone's into
Irish dancing or doing musicals or plays or performing in bands or singing.
There are a lot of music and dance schools."
There are heaps of boy bands too.
"In Dublin especially, trying to follow in the steps of Boyzone," says
Nicky.
But most of them never crack it in the UK. Westlife has already had three
number one UK hits in a row.
"I'm a huge pop fan," Nicky said.
"The first record I ever bought when I was six or seven years of age was
Kylie Minogue's 'I Should Be So Lucky'
"My sister was a bit fan of Bros. She was a couple of years older than me,
so I was right into the boy band thing from when I was very young.
"Mark is a big fan of Mariah Carey, so we all listen to Mariah Carey now.
"WHO ARE WESTLIFE?"
"I'm the oldest. I turned 21 three weeks ago, Shane's 20 and the rest of
the guys are 19," Nicky said.
"Shane, probably out of everybody, would be our lead singer. He sang lead
on the first three singles so far and the majority of the album.
"He has an immaculate voice. Probably the best voice I've ever heard. And
he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's very mature. He's a great lad.
"Mark has a unique R&B soul voice. For a white person, you don't usually
get someone as talented as Mark.
"He'd be the shy one in the group and when you get to know him believe me,
he's not shy at all, but to the public and stuff he'd be more shy than us,
and he'd be more likely to get homesick.
"Bryan has a very poppy voice. He's from Dublin. He's a bit mad at times.
He's always full of energy. He always wants to do something.
"He'll knock on your hotel bedroom door at two in the morning. He never
seems to get tired.
"Kian's probably the most hard-working in the group. He sings bass harmony,
when we do a capella.
"Me, being the oldest, maybe brings a bit of confidence to the group, 'cause
I used to play for Leeds United in England...soccer, so I've lived away from
home for two years. I'm much happier being a pop star than a soccer player.
"We're all in the same boat and we don't look up to anybody in the group, we
all share."