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1/25/04

It's Kerry's week in the news

No flirting

Kerry says she has no plans to flirt while she's in the Australian jungle for I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! She says she had a "wild night of passion" with husband Bryan after having a Japanese meal before she left for the jungle.

But Kerry dismissed reports she's planning a jungle fling with Peter Andre to punish Bryan, for an alleged infidelity on his stag night, reports The Sun. She said: "Some people have been saying that I'm going to get my revenge on Bryan by flirting with Peter. But have you seen his clothes? His haircut? No thanks!"

She also said she is expecting to get on well with Jordan, but said she wouldn't be stripping off. "She's young like me, and we both love going out and having a giggle. Hopefully we can exchange tips on motherhood," she said.

I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

It's the UK reality show that's a bigger hit in the UK than it ever was in the US. And Bryan's wife, Kerry, is one of the stars appearing on that show.

Kerry revealed she was hospitalised with stress at the prospect of appearing on I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! The former Atomic Kitten star was so nervous about the show that she collapsed with crippling stomach pains days before flying out to Australia. Kerry, married to Westlife’s Bryan McFadden and mother to their two children, fell ill on a visit to see her mother.

She said: “We were supposed to go out to the pub, but I threw up as soon as I got to my mum’s. They ended up rushing me to hospital with severe stomach pains and I was there for a day and a half. I made myself ill because I was so worried about leaving Bryan and my girls. My worst fear is that the British public will see me on TV and hate me.”

Kerry is now safely in Australia with the other nine celebrity contestants. They are glamour model Jordan, long-suffering Alex Best, former pop star Peter Andre, shamed aristocrat Lord Brocket, royal reporter Jennie Bond, former Sex Pistol John Lydon, ex-Olympic athlete Diane Modahl, soccer hardman Neil Ruddock and DJ Mike Read.

Tomorrow they will meet as a group for the first time as their adventure begins. On Sunday they leave behind the luxuries of their five-star hotel on Queensland’s Gold Coast for jungle survival training, coming face to face with the snakes, spiders and assorted creepy-crawlies.

On Monday they will be dropped by helicopter into the jungle and must trek to their base at the foot of a volcano. A spokeswoman for the ITV1 show said: “Today they will begin counting down to the moment when they will have to give up all the trappings of fame and celebrity. Friday will be the last day that they can sit around the swimming pool, go shopping or do whatever they like. On Saturday they will have a meet and greet session, and on Sunday they will have to begin training for life in the jungle before they actually go in on Monday.”

Ruddock is 5-2 favourite to win the new series followed by Lydon at 10-3, according to bookies William Hill.

1/18/04

May Day celebration

It's still far from May, but Ireland, which holds the EU presidency, plans a busy May Day weekend of celebrations. This includes rock concerts and fireworks, to herald the arrival of 10 new nations into the European Union family.

And guess who will be headlining the event? Yup, Westlife have been tipped, as well as U2 and The Coors.

Dublin will be at the heart of what's being billed as a three-day "Day of Welcomes," with Prime Minister Bertie Ahern inviting the leaders of all the current and incoming EU member states to join in the fun. But festivities will also take place in 10 other cities, each of them twinned with an enlargement country.

"We hope the roll-call of events throughout the country will be truly stunning," said a spokeswoman for Ahern. Arrangements for the Irish "craic" or revelry -- spread over a three-day weekend -- are being co-ordinated by Arts, Sport and Tourism Minister John O'Donoghue, who has a 3.9 million euro ($4.87 million) budget for the Irish EU presidency.

O'Donoghue said, "I have placed an immense importance on the role of arts and culture in celebrating the enlargement of Europe. It is through the arts that the communities of Europe can relate with each other. It is through music, theatre, literature, visual arts, cinema and dance that we can highlight our presidency by welcoming our new neighbours." The carousing will start on April 30 with an eve-of-enlargement fireworks extravaganza in Dublin that organisers promise will be the largest pyrotechnics display in Europe this year.

O'Connell Street, Dublin's main thoroughfare, home of a new 120 metrefoot stainless steel "Spire of Dublin", will be the venue for a rock concert to be telecast live throughout Europe. Dublin's Merrion Square, alongside the Leinster House parliament building, will meanwhile be transformed into a bazaar for the weekend with marquees, stands and stages making up a "European Fair". It is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors.

"People will be able to enjoy sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Europe there with food, craft, tourism, technology and culture vibrantly represented," a spokeswoman said.

Elsewhere, the cities of Bray, Cork, Drogheda, Galway, Kilkenny, Killarney, Letterkenny, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford will each officially welcome one of the accession states, with artists and performers putting their talents on display. Leading up to the May 1 weekend will be Dublin Elevations, an innovative project allowing anyone in Europe, or indeed the world, to log onto the Internet and fiddle with beams of light over the capital from dusk to dawn.

"People from around the world will be invited to light up the sky with their own autonomously designed light show," say the organisers, whose project is similar to one that lit up the French city of Lyon in December. "Individuals who go on line at www.dublinelevation.net will be able to put together their own fabulous and funky light designs by operating 18 searchlights on and over the buildings in O'Connell Street."

1/15/04

Happy 2004

We're back, at least for a while =) Below is an archive of the last 2 months.

Bryan worried about Kerry's revenge

Bryan is warning Kerry not to flirt with "good-looking men" like Dean Gaffney in the 'I'm a Celebrity' show. He says he fears she may try to get her own back on him by chatting up the former EastEnders actor.

The Daily Star quotes Bryan as saying: "I'm dreading Kerry going to Australia. She's a naturally flirtatious person and I'm worried that she won't be able to stop herself while surrounded by good-looking men. Last year, Phil Tufnell had a girlfriend back home but that didn't stop him and Linda Barker - who was married - striking up a real chemistry out there."

Shane's Marriage (story 1)

More than 350 guests were at one of Ireland’s most exclusive hotels tonight for the latest wedding party to feature one of the Westlife boy band.

Tying the knot in Co Mayo were singer Shane Filan and childhood sweetheart Gillian Walsh. The pair wed at historic Ballintubber Abbey, but celebrated later in the luxurious lakeside splendour of the nearby Ashford Castle hotel. Shane popped the question while he and Gillian were on holiday together in Dubai last year.

The Westlifer’s elder brother Finbar acted as best man at the ceremony in Ballintubber, which dates back to the 13th century – and was once left a wreck by the army of Oliver Cromwell. Today, though more present day developments were on the minds of the boys and those fortunate enough to feature on the Ashford Castle guest list.

But, reportedly music at the strictly-behind-closed-doors wedding party – scheduled to go on until dawn and then into tomorrow – was not provided by chart-topping Westlife. Instead, Shane was understood to have laid on another band, complete with its own DJ.

The event marked the first Westlife wedding since last summer’s occasion in a French, rather than an Irish village, when Nicky Byrne married Georgina, one of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern’s two daughters. It was reported that the couple had struck a $1m (£622,000) deal with celebrity magazine Hello! to cover the ceremony.

Today, though, there was no tie-up with a celebrity magazine that made the French wedding so controversial back home for the premier, a guest this time.

Nicky was the second band member to get married and fans of the group were tonight waiting on news from the two remaining singers.

Around 200 of Westlife’s noisy, but devoted following stood in the icy-cold-but-mainly-bright weather outside the Abbey to catch a glimpse of their favourites and cheer them into and out of the church. Like his bride, Shane was dressed in white and the happy couple arrived for the ceremony in a white, horse-drawn coach.

Shane's Marriage (story 2)

Thousands of Westlife fans flocked to County Mayo, Ireland on Sunday as one of the boyband's remaining bachelors Shane Filan tied the knot there with his childhood sweetheart Gillian Walsh.

The happy couple, both 24 years old, said their vows at the 13th-century Ballintubber Abbey with more than 400 guests – including Shane's four bandmates, singer Ronan Keating and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern – looking on. Both Shane and Gilian wore head-to-toe winter white, the groom sporting an elegant morning suit and the bride wearing a stunning Vera Wang gown.

Gillian made a glamorous entrance in a horse-drawn carriage while her future hubby, who had walked to the altar with his mum and dad, waited patiently for his bride. And when the millionaire vocalist had her at his side, he whispered: "You look amazing."

"Just looking at Gillian at the altar was the best moment of my life," he told The Mirror. "I was welling up so many times during the service… I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

After the romantic ceremony, during which Shane's elder brother Finbar acted as best man, the wedding party moved on to one of the country's most exclusive hotels, Ashford Castle, set on a scenic waterfront. The lake was specially lit up with multicoloured lights for the celebrations, which kicked off with a spectacular fireworks display followed by a champagne reception and five-course banquet. "It was a grand affair," said one guest.

Shane, who is now off on a Hawaiian honeymoon with his new wife, is the third Westlife hunk to get hitched. Bryan McFadden wed Kerry Katona two years ago, and Nicky Byrne married Georgina Ahern, the Irish PM's daughter, earlier in 2003.

Shane's Marriage (story 3)

Shane said he was ''the luckiest guy in the world'' as he wed his childhood sweetheart yesterday. Guests, including Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, watched as Shane and Gillian Walsh exchanged vows at Ballintubber Abbey, County Mayo. Ronan Keating and his wife Yvonne, turned up to hear the nuptials.

Dressed in white, Shane joked with bandmates Kian Egan and Mark Fehilly as his bride turned up late. When Gillian, wearing an embroideredwhite dress arrived at the altar, he whispered to her: ''You look amazing.''

Afterwards, Shane said: ''Looking at Gillian at the altar was the best moment of my life. I was welling up during the service. 'I feel like the luckiest guy in the world and everything went according to plan. 'It was great to go out there and wave to the fans and also see all our friends and family enjoying our big day. 'Gillian felt like a princess and looked like one too.''

Gillian wore a frock by Victoria Beckham's wedding dress designer Vera Wang.

Record of the Year 2003

They proved they still had a loyal following by beating off competition from 10 other finalists in a telephone and text vote across the ITV regions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Westlife, who topped this year's contest with their version of Barry Manilow's Mandy, have previously won with Flying Without Wings and My Love but had not been nominated for two years. Busted came second with Year 3000, followed by Daniel Bedingfield with If You're Not The One.

The lads said they were "shocked and amazed" at winning the accolade which proved that despite being "old fellas" their fans had not deserted them. They said: "This year, honestly we didn't know what was going to happen - we haven't been nominated for the past two years. It's unbelievable. We thought honestly we'd get 2nd or 3rd behind Busted and Daniel Bedingfield. We were surprised by the votes. People said you're not going to win in London as you're not as popular there so we couldn't believe it when we won the vote in London. To get 1st place was amazing. We were really shocked. We're old fellas now, and we've come back and won The Record of the Year 2003. We know we've still got fans. People are still voting for us and it means a hell of a lot, it's so emotional. People are wondering when it's going to end for us. Never! The five of us don't want it to end, it's like a marriage. It's was unbelievably nerve-wrecking. Fair play to everyone that was here, it was great fun backstage, we had a laugh and a couple of bottles of champagne. It's a great day for Ireland - we won Miss World too!"

'Coronation Street' star Keith Duffy has today named his team to play the Childline fundraising Tesco Challenge on February 1 at Tolka Park in Dublin.

Duffy's 'All Stars' from the world of sport and entertainment will take on Harchester United from Sky One's 'Dream Team'. Joining Duffy on the home side will be 'Coronation Street's Tyrone, Kevin, Martin, Ashley and Kirk, as well as Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott, Big Brother runner-up Ray Shah, comedian Brendan O'Carroll, Pop Idol finalist Brian Ormond and Westlife's Nicky Byrne.

The proceeds from this annual fundraiser will go towards the work of Childline again this year, with over €200,000 having been raised by the event to date. Duffy said that he hoped this year's match would raise up to €80,000 for the children's charity.

"It is a great family day out. We may not be the best footballers in the world but it is a bit of fun and it is for such a good cause," he said. Tickets priced at €10 or €30 for a family ticket, are available at Ticketmaster outlets nationwide.

RTÉ's rising star Ryan Tubridy is tipped by Boylesports to take the Best Irish DJ Award at the upcoming Meteor Music Awards. Tubridy is 10/11 with the bookies, with Today FM morning show rival Ian Dempsey next in the betting at 6/4.

Dave Fanning (5/1), Tom Dunne (13/2) Donal Dineen (10/1) and John Kelly (14/1) are considered outsiders for the award which will be selected by public vote. Micky Joe Harte is odds on for the Best Irish Male singer award at 1/3 and Westlife are hotly-tipped at 1/4 to take the Best Irish Pop Act award.

If the Boylesports tipsters are on the money, the Thrills will collect both the Best Irish Band and Best Irish Album awards, with Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake tipped for the best international female and male singers. The Meteor Ireland Music Awards will take place at the Point Theatre on Monday March 1st.

Bryan's really pushing new boundaries these days. Despite losing loads of weight on the Atkins diet and cutting down his portions, the Westlife singer still reckons he could beat the world record for hotdog eating.

The current record is held by someone who ate 50 of the little sausages in 12 minutes. But in the February issue of Loaded magazine Bryan scoffs: "I could beat that easily - I mean, not huge hot dogs but normal sized. That's easy." It can be arranged...

Worst UK songs

as voted by the UK public

1 Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum) – Cheeky Girls
2 The Millennium Prayer – Cliff Richard
3 Agadoo – Black Lace
4 Candle In The Wind 1997 – Elton John
5 Fast Food Song – Fast Food Rockers
6 Mr Blobby – Mr Blobby
7 Because We Want To – Billie
8 Barbie Girl – Aqua
9 Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
10 Jenny From The Block – Jennifer Lopez
11 Orville’s Song – Keith Harris and Orville
12 Look At Me – Geri Halliwell
13 Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini – Bombalurina featuring Timmy Mallett
14 (Everything I Do) I Do It For You – Bryan Adams
15 Sacred Trust – One True Voice
16 Against All Odds – Mariah Carey and Westlife
17 Who Let The Dogs Out – Baha Men
18 5, 6, 7, 8 – Steps
19 Living Next Door To Alice (Who The F**k IS Alice) – Smokie feat Roy Chubby Brown
20 Anyone Can Fall In Love – Anita Dobson

Westlife wins in India

The who’s who of the Indian music world, and some prominent Western music personalities were present at the first MTV IMMIES, held on December 12, in Mumbai. Also present were some Indian film personalities who lend their glamour to the event. A crowd of almost 5000 people grooved to high voltage music, with electrifying performances by Indian and international artistes.

MTV India’s first MTV IMMIES (Indian Music Excellence Awards) honoured Lata Mangeshkar, the Nightingale of India, with the Inspiration Award. Also honoured were artistes in 24 categories across all genres of music - from film to spiritual music; Indi-pop to devotional music; ghazal to international music, including one for piracy detection (list of winners attached). Claimed to be the biggest celebration of music in the country, the MTV IMMIES had as its presenters Preity Zinta, Jackie Shroff, Fardeen Khan, Karan Johar, Kajol, Dino Morea, Sunidhi Chauhan, Diya Mirza, A.R. Rahman, Abhishek Bachchan, Anu Malik, Ramesh Sippy, Gulshan Grover and Pooja Batra.

The winners were chosen on the basis of viewer votes.

Westlife’s Kian in ‘dispute over €12 taxi charge’

Gardai in Sligo are investigating a complaint made against Westlife heart-throb Kian Egan by a Sligo hackney driver. The driver claimed the Sligo singer was abusive and refused to pay a €12 fare in the early hours of Sunday morning last.

However, the Westlife star has refuted these claims, saying whatever he told the driver was in retaliation for what the driver himself had said. And Kian, who is not in Sligo this week, said he will be making a formal complaint against the driver when he returns to his home town.

The news of Kian’s row with the driver was made public in the Irish Mirror on Monday. The driver claimed he picked up Kian, his girlfriend, Hollyoaks actress Jodi Albert, and some friends outside Sligo Garda Station after 3am on Sunday morning last, November 30.

The driver had his 13 year-old daughter in the car with him at the time and claimed that Egan was abusive to both himself and his daughter, using foul language. The driver eventually dropped Egan and his pals off at 3.50am. He told the Westlife millionaire that he would only charge them E12 rather than E18 for the trip, but said the singer refused to pay.

Following this incident the driver went to Sligo Garda Station at 5am to make a complaint. He was advised to come back later that morning to lodge the complaint. In a brief statement given yesterday, Monday, Kian Egan said he had not been involved in paying the cab fare, but said the fare had been offered to the driver. He added that Gardai had so far not contacted him about the incident.

Coventry boss Gary McAllister could be 'Flying Without Wings' if Westlife star Bryan McFadden has his way. The Irish pop star says he is on the verge of putting together a consortium to buy his beloved Sky Blues, who are more than £15million in debt.

McFadden, who has shares in Leeds United, is a regular at Highfield Road and is talking about injecting cash into the club for McAllister to buy new players. But the Scot is still unsure who McFadden actually is, and confused him with fellow band member Nicky Byrne, who had a spell with Leeds as a youngster.

He said: "I'll have to get my Westlife names sorted out before it could happen! But it would be very nice indeed if something came of it. We don't have any money to spend on players at the moment. We have to work with what we have got."

Sky Blues chairman Mike McGinnity said no contact had been made with the pop star, who has had a series of number one hits including 'Flying Without Wings' and the recent cover of Barry Manilow's 'Mandy'. He said: "I would welcome him with open arms to come round for a coffee to talk about it."

Westlife up for Record of the Year

Westlife is up against Beyoncé Knowles and Evanescence for the title of Record of the Year. A total of ten singles have been short listed from those released last 12 months; a public ITV-1 vote on Saturday 6 December will decide who gets number one.

Westlife's song, a cover version of the Barry Manilow classic 'Mandy', is currently at the top of the Irish charts. Last year, Gareth Gates took the prize for his cover of 'Unchained Melody'.

Full list of nominees
Beyoncé - Crazy In Love
Busted - Year 3000
Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One
Dido - White Flag
Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
Fat Man Scoop - Be Faithful
Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
Room 5 featuring Oliver Cheatham - Make Luv
The Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love?
Westlife - Mandy

Robbie Williams and Westlife are among stars who have donated gifts for a record-breaking Christmas stocking. Twenty-five celebrities who feature in the Guinness World Records book have contributed gifts to the giant charity stocking.

It will be auctioned at Christie's tomorrow with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Relief. Robbie has donated a signed album and DVD while Westlife put in a host of prizes, including concert tickets and CDs.

Fatboy Slim, Shania Twain, Pavarotti and JK Rowling have also given presents. The winning bidder will get the entire contents of the stocking. Guinness World Records recently earned its own place in the famous book by selling its 100 millionth copy.

Music websites honored

Boy band Westlife has scooped the People's Choice award in the BT Interactive Music Awards for the second year running. Will Young and Robbie Williams were also among the winners in the celebration of the best use of interactive media in the UK music industry.

Last year's Pop Idol winner picked up the Artist of the Year award while Robbie took away the Best Promotional Campaign gong. Other winners included U2 in the Best Music DVD category, Dizzee Rascal for the Best Use of Mobile and Muse as the Best Rock/Indie.

Virgin Radio won the award for the best radio station online and UK's biggest dance club brand Ministry Of Sound won the best use of broadband category.

Ben Drury, head of music at BT said: "There's a lot of cynicism about the time it's taken the industry to wake up to new media but that doesn't change the fact that right now the UK music scene is leading the way."

Bryan as president of Ireland?

POP star Bryan McFadden has revealed his ambition — to be president of his native Republic of Ireland.

He said he will run for the job when he quits the music business. “I’m deadly serious. When the time comes I’ll run for president. I think I’d be very good — but I’m too young at the moment. Look at it this way, you get a huge house, a private jet and about 15 security guards.”

Brian — married to ex-Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona — was at a bash to mark five years of the band on Wednesday at London’s Irish Embassy. Any Irish national over 35 can be president — a non-political role representing the Irish people. Elections are held every seven years.

Bryan, 23, is not the first singer after the job. Dana, who won the Eurovision song contest in 1970, ran in the 1997 election — and came third.

Westlife keeps it going with hits

When Westlife's single Hey Whatever failed to reach number one commentators claimed their pop bubble had finally burst. But with an extra Sheffield date added to their next tour and new chart-topper this week they appear to have silenced their critics. John Quinn reports.

You can get just too much of a good thing, you know. Like 12 number one singles, seven of them in a row. Or indeed 31 million worldwide sales.
No matter what you think of their music, that's some record to live up to, so Westlife were a bit perturbed that Hey Whatever – the first single released since their greatest hits album last year – struggled to reach their usual heights.

"I've got to admit I was a bit disappointed that it only got to number four," admits Mark Feehily. "But if I look back to when I was a 15-year-old stuck in Sligo and wondering how to become a pop star, I'd have loved to get to number four," says the former pizza delivery boy. "It would have been a dream come true."

This week, things are back to normal in the Westlife camp as the boys celebrated their 12th number one when their new single, a version of Barry Manilow's Mandy, topped Sunday's charts. There have been rumours that they were going to split up because others like Blue seemed to be winning the battle for young girls' hearts.

Mark says not. An album called Turnaround is out this week and they have just added an extra Sheffield date on their tour next year. They will now be at Sheffield Hallam FM Arena on April 29 and 30 – a place they have played several times and which according to Mark is "one of our favourites".

"We always have a good time in Sheffield. And a good few drinks afterwards." He also mentions the hotel they stay in, but surely nobody wants to know that...

In a way, Westlife are connected with the current craze for televised pop auditions, although they had the advantage of not having their singing screened before their career was launched. Louis Walsh, who recently helped select Girls Aloud in Popstars – the Rivals, got them together in the first place (like Boyzone), while Simon Cowell, the pantomime villain from Pop Idol, helps look after their career and selects songs for them to record.

"He can be a lot harsher in real life than he is on the television," Mark groans. "He plays up a bit for the cameras, but he is extremely honest. He knows what he likes and he'll tell you things to your face."

Mark also denies press rumours that Cowell has commanded that they only record slow songs (their ballads tend to hit the top, while more uptempo ones like Bop Bop Baby or Hey Whatever don't) or even threatened to stop working with them. "He's been really busy since Pop Idol took off, but he's still involved with Westlife. We've a great team behind us and we're all looking forward to the future and raring to go."

Westlife love Celtics

Westlife have admitted they are bored of touring because they keep missing favourite team Celtic's big games. The Parkhead fanatics, who were in Edinburgh yesterday for the Royal Variety Performance, planned to stay until tonight for the Celtic versus Bayern Munich Champions League match.

The boys were devastated to discover they have to perform in Sweden tonight and will miss the game. They are regular visitors to Celtic Park and even dedicated their success toMartin O'Neill. But they will have to call home from Sweden to hear the match result.

The band also play five-a-side matches for charity in the Glasgow side's green and white hoops. Bryan and Kian managed to catch the Hearts v Hibs Edinburgh derby on Sunday at Tynecastle and they admitted their hearts will be in the east end of Glasgow tonight.

A spokesman for the band said: "The schedule for the new album is very hectic and they've missed a few games lately but they'll be backing the Bhoys wherever they are."

Fan Alanna Corbett, 24, who runs an unofficial Westlife website, said: "Quite a few of the girls brought along their tops to get signed and a lot of the fans only became Celtic supporters because the band are."

Reception at the Irish Embassy

Westlife celebrated five years at the top tonight with their very own ambassadorial reception. The Irish Embassy in London threw a lavish reception in honour of the chart-topping boyband.

The red carpet was replaced with a green one especially for the occasion. And celebrity fan Martine McCutcheon was there to present the boys with a Guinness World Record award for the most singles to debut at number one on the UK chart.

The black tie event in Grosvenor Square was a double celebration. As well as marking their five-year anniversary, the bash was also a launch party for their new album, Turnaround, which is set to storm to the top of the chart this weekend.

The boys – Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Bryan McFadden, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily – performed five songs from the album, including Hey Whatever and current hit Mandy.

Mark said: “We’re in a place we never thought we’d get to. We’re delighted to have been around for five years – we just couldn’t be happier.”

Nicky said the band had considered quitting – but now hoped to be around for another five years. He said: “We always said that if this album wasn’t successful, it might be the end. We wondered if our fans would still be there for us but that question has been answered and there are a lot more albums to come.”

Shane was there with fiancee Gillian Walsh, who he will marry on December 28. He said: “I’m just counting the days now until our wedding. It might break some fans’ hearts but it would have broken my heart if I didn’t marry her.”

This was the first live pop performance to be hosted at the Irish Embassy.

Ambassador Daithi O’Ceallaigh said that Ireland owed a huge debt to Westlife. He said, “Westlife are a huge act and their success benefits our country. They are wonderful boys, very well mannered and down to earth, and we are delighted to have them here tonight.”

Since they formed in 1998, Westlife have had 12 UK No.1 singles and were the first band to score four number ones in a single year. All four of their albums have gone multi-platinum and they have combined record sales of more than 31million.

Westlife 'bullied into recording version of Mandy'

Westlife say Simon Cowell bullied them into recording their cover of the Barry Manilow song, Mandy. The band also jokingly likened their record label boss to Adolf Hitler.

The Sun says the gamble on Mandy paid off as their version went to the top of the charts on Sunday. Singer Nicky Byrne said: "Simon said our album was missing that one big song, the one that will reach out to both housewives and teenagers. He recommended Mandy and we went back into the studio and did it. Hands up, though - it worked out brilliantly, Simon was right. He has got a nasty streak to him though and I don't think he likes the word compromise. We've experienced that first-hand over the last five years. I think we're the only people who have managed to get around him the odd time."

Bryan McFadden chipped in, saying: "Simon's like, erm, Hitler."

"Precious" may have been the venue for the BBC's post-Children In Need bash last weekend, but "Bar 7" still remains a favourite haunt for those lads from Westlife.

After calling into the exclusive club after their Odyssey performances the Westlife boys, along with the Girls Aloud bunch, headed across the Pavilion to join the masses in Bar 7. However, they didn't leave Precious until Kerry McFadden saw off competition from at least five fellas in a game of snooker.

Not to be outdone by his wife, Bryan McFadden took to the decks in the bar - and showed off his DJing skills. Bryan's got his fingers in several pies at the moment, including managing up-and-coming band Franklin.

He's keen to point out the guys are not a boyband, but more of a Coldplay-type group. And they're planning to launch their musical career in Las Vegas at the start of the new year.

In Bar 7's VIP room, Bryan then met up with Sinead Quinn, who produced a guitar and began singing an acoustic set, accompanied by the Westlife star and fellow band member Mark Feehily.

The lovely ladies from Girls Aloud and Fame Academy's Barry and Audley also joined in the mass jamming session. A source said; "It was an amazing set. "If you'd sold tickets for it you could have made a fortune."

Back in Precious, Malachi Cush performed a Garth Brooks number for television, while ex-One True Voice singer Keith Semple revealed he's going back into the studio to record a rock CD.

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