Latest Westlife News

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The Westlife news archives can be found at the bottom of the page

Westlife in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Westlife in Mexico!

2/26/02

So the wedding turned out to be a loss...

Money-wise that is.

Bryan said about the wedding, "The tabloids all slated everything we did about the wedding. They even slagged us off for asking the guests to donate money to charity instead of giving us presents. If the truth were known we actually lost money on our wedding. Don't get me wrong it was wonderful and the magazine was great to us. However, the OK deal paid us only 300,000 pounds but the whole wedding and honeymoon cost us 400,000 pounds. So I actually lost money on the deal and to top if off the press were very hard on us."

In addition, Bryan also spoke out about the scare that he and Kerry received last week (as detailed in an earlier news article below) when Kerry was rushed to hospital when they discovered she had a non-malignant cyst.

"It was very worrying for us. Kerry was admitted to London's Chelsea Hospital and they told us she had a cyst. The worst thing they told us was that if they had not discovered it for another week if might have been fatal. So, she spent three days in the hospital and thankfully they let her out just before the weekend. This week she has been resting in a London hotel as I've been away in Poland with the band. But, she was able to make it on Wednesday night for the Brits which was great as we won the Best Pop act and it was great to have her there for it."

Hurray for Dane Bowers!

Bryan must be grateful to Dane for helping to save him from a few punches. Dane intervened during Bryan's bust-up with garage army So Solid Crew at the Brits after one of the 21 Seconds hitmakers hurled an empty champagne bottle at the Westlife crooner.

Dane revealed, "I punched one of them to break the fight up. Another of them went to hit me but when they saw it was me they stopped. They think they're really hard but I know the people that bullied them at school. I'm not scared of them - I'd fight them any day."

Westlife score their 10th #1 hit

Westlife fans pull through yet again as "World of Our Own" became Westlife's 10th #1 single in less than 3 years. Enrique Iglesias fell one notch to #2 and Kylie Minogue made her debut at #3. This means that Westlife are almost in a world of their own. Only The Beatles and Cliff Richard & The Shadows having knocked up more #1 hits. They are the first band in two decades to have 10 No 1 hits with their first eleven single releases and have now notched up more chart toppers than the Spice Girls. Nicky told Radio 1, "Kylie grabbed the headlines this week at the Brits and rightly so, but we really have to thank the fans for this. It's amazing."

Westlife headed to Los Angeles (California, USA)

Nicky also said the band wouldn't be fighting off the forthcoming releases from Pop Idol Will Young and Gareth Gates as the band are off to LA to film the video for their new single next week.

Bryan on the Brits

Bryan stated, "I was really pi**ed, it was nothing personal. I'm not usually like that. They were the nearest to me and just got the brunt of my alcoholic rage. If another band had been sitting there instead, I'd have had a go at them. It was just one of those things. I got drunk really quickly and just hit out. It was nothing personal to the boys. I like their music. It was not malicious. I just want to forget the whole thing. It was one drunken night and it could have happened to anyone. To be honest it was all a bit of a blur. 'There were no bottles thrown. It was just a lot of shouting and swearing."

Fatboy Slim agrees to remix a Westlife track

The boys approached DJ Norman Cook at the awards. He said, “I didn’t know who they were but I’ll do it if the song is right."

The tabloid story of Westlife vs So Solid Crew

Westlife had to be smuggled out of their own aftershow party hosted by BMG when arch rivals So Solid Crew threatened to gatecrash the party. The lads were hustled out the backdoor of London’s Home House — while a 30-strong crowd with the Crew were trying to get in at the front.

They vowed to “get him” and tussled with security who refused to let them into the bash, hosted by his boss at BMG records, Pop Idol judge SIMON COWELL.

Trouble had flared earlier during the ceremony where So Solid won Best Video and Westlife landed the Bizarre-sponsored Best Pop Act.

Bryan, who looked the worse for wear during his acceptance speech, threw a drink over some of his rivals as Westlife went to collect their gong. The Irish singer was branded “fat” before punches and bottles were thrown and Bryan was led away. He got a backstage ticking off from Cowell before being taken back to his London hotel, missing his own party.

Dane Bowers tried to stop the fight between Westlife and So Solid Crew by punching one of the garage band. Dane, a pal of Westlife, told me he reckons So Solid have got too big for their boots and he would not be scared to have a rematch.

He said: “I punched one of them to break the fight up. Another of them went to hit me but when they saw it was me they stopped. They think they’re really hard but I know the people that bullied them at school. I’m not scared of them — I’d fight them any day.”

After the incident, BMG told So Solid they were no longer welcome at the party. But they ignored the warning and a 30-strong entourage descended on Home House.

2/21/02

Westlife scuffle

Westlife knows how to liven up the Brits...as that's the only thing in today's headlines worth mentioning by the media. Apparently, Bryan rallied up his nerves and took on the 30+ entourage of So Solid Crew (A UK garage group).

The only controversy of the night was a scuffle between Westlife's Bryan McFadden and a member of So Solid Crew's entourage.

A spokesman for the Brits said, "Bryan McFadden got rather too drunk and tired and emotional. As So Solid Crew went past him, he started to throw water. They reacted by throwing a few punches that didn't land. A few glasses and bottles were thrown but security stepped in. Unfortunately artists do tend to rather overindulge when they come to these events and have one too many."

Meanwhile, Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell has slammed the celebrity boozers who attended The Brits just to drink and didn't care about what was going on onstage. Cowell even admitted that he had to warn his charges, Westlife, about their alcohol intake, revealing, "They were looking a little worse for wear, so I told them to watch themselves and not talk too much."

Westlife's arrival at the Brits

Westlife arrived shortly after Dido. They received one of the biggest cheers of the evening. Wearing black and white suits the lads, who are expected to be #1 this weekend with WOOO, thrilled their fans by waving and signing autographs.

Later that evening, Westlife graciously accepted their gong with a massive big-up to their fans, thanking them for their enduring support and for going out and buying the single A World Of Our Own.

Bryan admits being a Coventry City fan

Bryan is prepared to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to his beloved Sky Blues. He was at last night's glittering Brit awards where Westlife picked up a gong for Best Pop Act, watched by compere Frank Skinner.

Bryan then decided to goad the Birmingham comic by betting him £1,000 that West Brom (Skinner's club) would not beat the Sky Blues in the play-offs at the end of this season. It is not known whether the bet was accepted.

World of Our Own e-card

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Smash Hits mag

Nicky is on the cover of the new issue of Smash Hits...due out tomorrow.

Kerry's hospital stay (2 versions)
Thanks to meme

POP bride Kerry Katona had emergency surgery to remove a cyst the size of a football from one of her ovaries. The ex-Atomic Kitten star was rushed to London's Chelsea and Westminister Hospital on Monday. Kerry, who wed Westlife star Bryan McFadden last month, had a bloated stomach.

Doctors removed the non-maligant cyst and she went on home on Thursday. The 21-year-old blonde presenter of Channel 5's Exclusive showbiz show - was comforted in hospital by Bryan. His mum, Mairead flew from Dublin to their London home to look after their five-month-old baby, Molly.

Bryan, 21, told the News Of The World: "Kerry cannot walk and will be off work a month. But she is on the road of recovery. The cyst was the size of a football and it's going to take a time to get over." A friend said, "It was traumatic. Kerry was working in London when she began suffering severe pains.

"Bryan was a tower of strength. He has a very busy schedule at the moment because Westlife's new single World Of Our Own is out on Monday. "But he dropped everything for Kerry. She is everything to him. "Kerry is in a bad way but she will make a fully recovery."

WORRIED.

"She is terribly worried that the operation may make it different for them to have more children." But Sunday magazine doctor Hilary Jones said: "The ovary will be stretched beyond recognition by a cyst this size and will almost certainly be removed, along with the fallopian tube.

"But that still leaves the woman with another perfectly good ovary and fallopian tube. It should only reduce her ferility by two per cent."

Kerry and Bryan wed in a glittering £100,000 ceremony in County Meath. They live in a £1 million home in Delgany, County Wicklow, and have a flat in Chelsea.

EXCLUSIVE Star's stomach agony

EX-Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona was rushed to hospital after collapsing in agony with stomach pains.

Kerry, who now presents the Channel 5 showbiz programme Exclusive, had to have an emergency operation to remove a huge cyst after being admitted to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London.

2nd version

Kerry, 21 - who gave birth to daughter Molly in August - was released on Thursday after a five-day stay. Her pop star husband, Westlife heart-throb Bryan McFadden, 21, said last night: "Kerry was in a lot of pain - and I'm very relieved it's all over. "The operation has been a complete success and she's slowly starting to get back on her feet. "But she is going to need to take at least a month off work to recover."

Kerry and Bryan married last month at a star-studded ceremony at Slane Castle, Ireland. She is said to have first begun feeling unwell on their luxury honeymoon on the paradise Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Although she continued with the honeymoon and returned home safely to Britain, the pains suddenly grew worse.

At 2am last Saturday the pair called an ambulance to the exclusive Conrad Hotel in Chelsea Harbour, London, where they are staying while Westlife are on tour. Kerry was taken to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where she was immediately seen by leading consultant gynaecologist Mr Michael Stafford.

She was admitted to a single room in the private wing and underwent two separate operations. It is believed the problem stemmed from the birth of Molly. Kerry endured an 18-hour labour before the baby arrived weighing 8lb 2oz.

Hormone changes during pregnancy can lead to problems including ovarian cysts. The singer-turned TV presenter was visited by members of her family who travelled down from Warrington, Cheshire, to be by her side.

Other visitors included her best friend and former Atomic Kitten bandmate Natasha Hamilton. Kerry - who had left the girl band to have Molly - was replaced by current Kitten Jenny Frost.

Kerry and Bryan usually live at a seven-bedroom mansion in Ireland's County Wicklow. But they are in Britain while Westlife - who are up for a handful of Brit Awards - tour the UK to promote their new single World Of Our Own.

2/20/02

Bop Bop Baby to be released in May in the UK

I think the title was self explanatory =) Now that's a song I would love to see released in the US!!! Nice and catchy and written by the guys.

Westlife win Best Pop Act at the 2002 Brit Awards

Other winners include Kylie Minogue winning International Female Solo Artist and International Album award...Westlife beat her for the best pop act. Blue won as best newcomer. Travis won for best group. S Club 7 won single of the year with "Don't Stop Moving". Robbie Williams won best British male solo artist. Dido was selected as British Female Solo Artist and given the Best British Album award.

Westlife set to knock Enrique off number one spot

It looks like Westlife will indeed get their 10th #1 hit with "World of Our Own", according to midweek sales figures. Set for #2 was last week's #1 (Enrique Iglesias - Hero). Kylie's much anticipated single...except by me in an op-ed posted last month...is likely to debut at #3. "Hero" has been #1 in the UK for the last 4 weeks.

If Westlife reach #1 on Sunday, only The Beatles and Cliff Richard will have had more number one singles. Enrique Iglesias looks set to hold on to the number one album spot with Escape.

Genarro Castaldo of music retailer HMV commented: "This is the biggest chart battle of the year so far - and it's no surprise that it falls in BRITs week. In Westlife and Kylie we have two heavyweight contenders. It's gonna be close, but at the end of the day you can't bet against Westlife They have the more active fanbase, who can be relied on to rush out week one and buy 'World of Our Own' by the bucketload. Mind you, this is just the prelude to what will happen next week, when 'Pop Idol' mania will be let loose around the much-anticipated release of Will Young's cover of 'Evergreen' - ironically, a Westlife track."

Nicky: Kylie beats Jennifer Lopez

As much as the media likes to make of the chart battle between Kylie and Westlife, Nicky has come public with the fact the heprefers Kylie to J-Lo. He prefers Kylie's petite charms to J.LO's celebrated curves - and it's a crush that goes back to his childhood and Kylie's soap star days.

He said, "Kylie's far more sexy. I don't find Jennifer Lopez sexy at all. Kylie was my big childhood crush. I cried when she married Scott in Neigbours and I used to have her poster on my bedroom wall. I told Kylie when I met her on CD:UK (British TV show) last year and she just laughed."

The perils of "fan"-atics

Shane admits that his female fans can go overboards sometimes...especially in one particular encounter with a young Irish fan. He said, "Once a fan pulled my trousers down in the street. She literally ripped them off me and I was left standing in my boxers in the middle of Dublin. That's the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

Westlife Give Gareth A Job

More reports are on about Gareth as a supporting act for Westlife's spring UK/Ireland tour. Westlife announced their invitation earlier this week during an MTV interview - although they are not believed to have asked him yet.

According to the Daily Star, Gareth is likely to sing with them at the Manchester Evening News Arena in May. Speculation abounds that he may sing Evergreen.

Westlife confident of beating Kylie in singles battle

Prior to news today about Westlife winning the chart battles, Westlife was confident that they would get the #1 singles spot. Shane said, "We are great fans of Kylie and are looking forward to meeting her at the Brits. But we reckon we will sell more singles than her. Our real problem may be with Enrique Iglesias who is still so strong at the top." As we have seen...it has been no problem at all thanks to fans like you who make up a phenomenal fan base.

Tour dates added

Westlife have added a 12th date at Belfast's Odyssey Arena to their tour. They will be playing at the venue on June 22. Kian said, "We're going to make it 12 amazing shows. We wanted to give the fans one last chance to get tickets because the demand in Ulster has been amazing."

Other tour dates just added include:
5/05/2002 - Sheffield Arena (UK)
5/17/2002 - Manchester, UK - Evening News Arena
6/01/2002 - London, UK - London Earls Court

Westlife to perform at 2002 Irish Music Awards

Westlife will be performing at the awards taking place in Dublin, Ireland on March 4. Other performers include Samantha Mumba, Gabrielle, Ronan Keating, and Lighthouse Family, U2, Enrique Iglesias and The Corrs.

The Awards ceremony will mark Enrique's first performance in Ireland.

Singer/songwriter David Gray and film star Adrian Dunbar will join John Hurt, Craig Doyle, Maria Doyle-Kennedy, Keith Duffy, Brendan O'Carroll and Brian Kennedy, in presenting awards at the event alongside comedian Patrick Kielty who will host the Awards.

Westlife votes for Brits disqualified

Westlife have had almost 1,000 phone votes cancelled by Brit Awards organisers after the calls were found to have been made from just three phone lines. The group has been nominated for the category "Best Pop Act" and are up against Kylie Minogue, Hear'Say, Blue and S Club 7.

The organizers of the Brits are blaming fans rather than a record company plot that makes sure they go home with the award. Viewers of CD:UK and readers of The Sun newspaper have been able to vote in the category, with phone lines remaining open until Monday, two days before the awards ceremony.

Brits organisers said they scratched 500 votes that came from one number, 300 from another and 100 from the third.

A spokeswoman said, "I don't think it's anything as sinister as record companies doing it or anything like that. I think it's just their over-obsessive fans, and I'm sure Westlife have a lot of obsessive fans."

The Brit Awards are today (Wed) at Earls Court in London. Westlife won the pop Brit last year and have picked up a string of other awards, including the best band prize at the Smash Hits Awards and the top pop title at the Top of the Pops Awards.

Westlife monthly news archives

February 2002 (1)
January 2002 (2)
January 2002 (1)
December 2001 (2)
December 2001 (1)
November 2001 (2)
November 2001 (1)
October 2001 (2)
October 2001 (1)
September 2001 (2)
September 2001 (1)
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
August 2000