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5/11/03

Celebrities wear wrong trousers

A host of Hollywood stars have given their support to a new fund-raising day which will see supporters wearing the wrong trousers to raise cash for good causes. Inspired by the animated antics of Wallace and Gromit, Wrong Trousers Day will see people donning mismatched outfits to help children's hospitals and hospices up and down the country.

The event, launched on Wednesday, will take place every year on the first Friday of July, and participants will pay £1 for the "right to look wrong". The cast of Coronation Street, as well as Frank Skinner and David Baddiel and Westlife have taken part in photo shoots wearing the wrong trousers.

Wrong Trousers Day was set up by the charity Wallace and Gromit's Children's Foundation. The concept has already been a success in Bristol where Aardman Animation, which makes the Wallace and Gromit films, is based.

For the past six years the day has been part of Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, helping to raise £12 million to rebuild the Royal Hospital for Children in Bristol. This year it is hoped it will raise money for hospitals throughout the UK.

Westlife to head to Seville

The Spanish city of Seville is bracing itself for the arrival of 50,000 Celtic supporters amid warnings of travel chaos on the day of the UEFA Cup final.

Although many supporters will travel to Spain ahead of the game between Celtic and FC Porto on May 21, around 60 flights are due to leave Glasgow Airport on the morning of the match. The green and white army will also converge on the medieval capital of Andalucia by road and rail after flying into Malaga, Faro and Alicante. Celebrities heading for the game, Celtic's biggest night in Europe for 33 years, include Billy Connolly, Rod Stewart and Bono, as well as Liam and Noel Gallagher, and the members of Westlife.

Westlife fan bumps into Kian

A 14-year-old girl who travelled to Sligo hoping to meet Shane ended up meeting Kian instead. Terri Coleman persuaded her mother to take her to Sligo to deliver a congratulations card to Shane who had announced he was getting married. Along with her mother and sister Jessica, 10, Terri made the 19-hour trip by train and ferry to Ireland. When she arrived in Sligo, Terri was told Shane wasn't in town, but then found a clothes shop run by his family.

After delivering the card and a silver -plated photo frame as a wedding present, she saw Kian Egan standing at a cashpoint. Terri said: "He was really nice. We had a chat about the group It was great." Her mother Eileen said Terri would have been even more thrilled if she'd seen Shane. "But we couldn't really tell Kian," she added.

Westlife fan's home target of arson

A Westlife fan says vandals torched his home because it was a shrine to the boy band. Frank Jackson, 21, has spent thousands of pounds to see his heroes on every date of their forthcoming tour. But his dreams were almost dashed when his home decorated with Westlife memorabilia was destroyed at the weekend.

And last night he hit out: "These idiots broke into my house and set it on fire for badness just because I'm a Westlife fan. I worked hard for everything I've got and they probably thought they would ruin my tour plans. But fortunately my tickets for the next 45 shows were at my mum's house in England, where I'd left them for safekeeping. There is no way I'm going to let this stop me. I don't drink or do drugs or go out to pubs. I choose to spend my money on Westlife and I don't see why other people have a problem with that."

Frank worked round the clock for a year at four cleaning jobs to save cash for his tour dream. He forked out £1500 on tickets for 45 gigs across the UK and Ireland and saved a further £4500 for flights and accommodation.

Frank said: "The council wouldn't insure me after two break-ins. I've had my posters slashed with blades and things stolen before but never anything like this. My bedroom with all my clothes was gutted and my hi-fi, TV and sofa were all destroyed. I had a huge collection of their records. I normally buy four of their CDs at one time to help them get to number one. There were posters on every wall of my home, calendars and a Westlife clock."

Last night a police spokesman said they were treating the fire as suspicious. He added: "A number of different fires were set."

Mark and his "g/f" (s)

Mark says all the stories linking him with pop beauties are just plain baloney. Over the past year or so, it's been reported that the chunky Irish stud has dated Kelly from flop band Bellefire and Nicola from Girls Aloud. But Mark says he has never been out with either.

"I don't go bragging about what I've done and I certainly don't go around making up stories," he said. "I knew all the Bellefire girls pretty well 'cos they were from Ireland and everything and they were very nice girls. But the only member I've ever really spoken to one-to-one was Kelly."

And Nicola? "Oh someone said one of Girls Aloud fancied me. I reckon they're an alright bunch of girls, although they're not my type. I like quieter girls, they're all a bit feisty and bossy. But our band isn't about making up stories. I'm not one of those who likes to play the whole press game."

While Mark might not be one to feed the press a load of headline-grabbing stories, Westlife, Bellefire and, coincidentally, Girls Aloud manager Louis Walsh is most certainly one for making up a tale or two to plug his bands. In fact recently, Mark's bandmate Kian Egan had a go at his boss for feeding stories linking him to a Page Three stunner to the press.

Westlife v. Ash part ? (who's still counting?)

Just when we thought the war of words between Irish bands Ash and Westlife was long forgotten it seems the feud is still very much on Bryan's mind...

It's been nearly two years since rock band Ash burned 300 copies of Westlife's CDs and threatened to beat the lads up but our Bryan still hasn't forgotten it.

According to reports in the Daily Mirror Bryan is still up for a scrap with Northern band. He said: "People are always talking about fighting stupid rock bands like Ash. But we'd have no problem knocking the b****** out of them. If it came to a head to head we would knock them out."

4/27/03

Westlife win at TMF awards

quoted: "Westlife impressed me by singing live. They performed "Tonight", and they did so wonderfully. I have no clue why the boys sometimes playback, as I know they can sing. Then they performed a duet of the song "Heaven with Dutch singer Do (pronounced doe, as in the deer), and I must say that girl can sing. If you get a chance to hear her without all the techno dance beat crap, she's fabulous."

Best Pop Group
International: Westlife (who couldn't accept the award because they were either late - according to Kian - or getting dressed - according to TMF, or maybe a combo of both, they accepted later when they performed.)

Buying Kian?

A middle-aged millionaire, known as "Sir Jack" has offered the Kian enormous wealth for a simple ceremony. He has offered $75 million, five luxury cars and two mansions to Kian, if he will agree to marry him. Unfortunately Kian doesn't seem too keen. He says, "I'm not going to accept this offer. Besides I'm well on my way to earning that much myself anyway!"

Westlife go BBC country style

As mentioned back in January, Westlife were in Nashville (USA) for a country make over. They spent 3 days becoming country performers before giving a performance at the Wildhorse Saloon.

Can Westlife Cut It? will be shown on BBC1 on May 5th. The Westlife program is the first in the series, in which famous performers are given days to switch musical genre and perform live.

Westlife's new hire

Westilfe have hired the man behind Kylie Minogue's sexy look - in a bid to spice up their world tour. The crooners have recruited William Baker- who famously first put Australian pop kitten Kylie in a pair of hotpants - to design costumes for their Greatest Hits tour, which kicked off in Cardiff, Wales.

The tour, which will take in 62 shows in 11 countries over three months, is the group's most spectacular to date. The stage alone set the boys back a staggering $6.75 million.

Westlife stars sign up for Odyssey in drive for good cause

THE Odyssey Arena in Belfast has joined forces with Westlife to auction an 'Easter bonnet' with a difference for charity. For this bonnet belongs to a Smart car, donated to the Odyssey by local motor retailer Isaac Agnew. The silver bonnet was flown to London yesterday to be signed by the five Irish lads - Mark, Shane, Kian, Nicky and Bryan.

The Westlife car, which is currently sitting in the Odyssey Pavilion, will be auctioned on June 21 in a bid to raise around £30,000 for Children In Need. Mary-Rose Gilroy, Operations Director of the Sheridan Millennium Group, which operates the Odyssey Pavilion, brought the bonnet to London where she met up with the pop band.

The chart-toppers autographed the bonnet which will now be lacquered, sealed and then put away for safe keeping until the auction.

Mary-Rose said: "We're getting a replica bonnet made which will show people what the Westlife car will look like complete with autographs, but the real bonnet will be put away until the day of the auction. That way, we can ensure that nothing happens to the bonnet, as the car will be on display at the Odyssey until June. The Smart car itself is worth around £10,000, so hopefully, with the autographs, we'll raise up to £30,000 for Children In Need."

Westlife's Bryan McFadden said the band was delighted to be able to help. "It's a great cause and we hope the auction goes well," he said.

"Maybe we'll all get Smart cars for ourselves to race around the Odyssey when we're in Belfast next month.

Five miniature Smart cars were also signed by the band and are set to go under the hammer in June. Anyone wishing to bid can go online to do so at www.wilsonsauctions.com.

EXCLUSIVE: Essex wife Jodie's confession (tabloid fodder or not...you decide)

Westlife Kian made me scream in his bed

RAUNCHY telly babe Jodie Marsh's wild romp with Westlife singer Kian Egan took her all the way to heaven—and yell! The Essex Wives star confessed yesterday: "We were so great together physically that I just couldn't help screaming out loud. Our first time was at Kian's place and my pal was trying to get to sleep downstairs on the sofa. She said I kept her awake all night with the noise."

Jodie, 24, dubbed ‘Human Viagra' by an ex-lover, purred: "My sex drive is off the scale. But Kian was very satisfying."

The stunning model has spoken out about their month-long affair, after the News of the World revealed they were dating. And she admitted catching the 22-year-old Irish hunk's attention by snogging a gorgeous GIRL pal in front of him at London's trendy Click bar.

Millionaire's daughter Jodie said: "We just wanted to make an impression on all the stars in the VIP room, so for a joke we started kissing. It must have lasted for about a minute. My pal is a dancer at Stringfellow's and is a real babe. There must have been around 25 people watching us. All the Westlife boys were in there, but Kian was the one who showed the most interest. He came over and was going, ‘Wow,' and making it clear that he was enjoying what he was seeing. After we broke off, Kian said, ‘Do it again!' So we did. He ended up taking a picture of us snogging on his mobile phone. He's still got it on the phone today. After that we became great pals."

During this time Jodie was snapped up as a Page 3 beauty after attracting an army of fans with her antics on ITV1's Essex Wives. She and Kian regularly partied together in London clubs — but the day they first made love was St Patrick's Day, March 17.

Westlife threw a bash at London's 10 Rooms and afterwards Jodie went back to the singer's penthouse in Fulham, west London, with one of her pals. She said: "We carried on drinking there and then I went to bed with Kian while my pal slept downstairs on the couch. We had a LOT of fun. My mate said that she could hear my screams while she was trying to sleep. I guess I am quite a noisy girl. Kian has a fantastic body. And yes, I've got a healthy sex drive. I'm not afraid to admit it. If I was a man I'd be known as a stallion. It's essential in any relationship for me. There has to be chemistry—and there was with Kian."

Jodie said the pair continued with a succession of steamy dates. She added: "We'd party for the night then go back to his place. One night we stayed at an hotel in London—but we were both so drunk we just fell ASLEEP. I guess Kian is the bad boy of the band. Along with Mark Feehily, he's the only one who hasn't really settled down with the girl."

Jodie talked frankly about Kian's drinking—and scotched rumours that his boozing is out of control. She insisted he could be a party animal one night then stick to mineral water the next.

"The stories about his drinking are rubbish," she said. "Yes, he likes a drink—he is the life and soul of the party. But I wouldn't say he has a drink problem. He's just like any other 22-year-old. He just gets trashed and has sex. Why not? In fact, often we'd end up back at his place and I'd be on the vodka while he'd just have water. At Click you don't buy individual drinks. You get bottles of spirits and then mix them yourself at your table. We'd stay there till 4am and carry on partying afterwards at home. Kian was always very generous and would happily pick up the tab."

Jodie, who has a tattoo beside her belly button saying Porn—next to a star—knew all along that the affair wouldn't last. But she denies the pair split last week because Kian has bad BREATH.

"We didn't dump each other—it just fizzled out," she said. "We were just having a lot of fun together. It wasn't anything serious. Kian is so busy preparing for Westlife's world tour. It was great while it lasted and we're still really good friends. And Kian is a fantastic kisser and has lovely breath."

The Westlife star had not long split up with Atomic Kitten singer Liz McClarnon when he began seeing Jodie. He also met Liz at Click. Before that he was with Scandinavian dancer Jessica Forsman for more than a year.

"Kian just wasn't ready for a relationship. I think he'd been pretty serious with the Scandinavian girl," added Jodie.

"He also said that he'd had a great time with Liz. We talked a lot about our exes. He's so sweet. We'd just lay on his sofa, talking and cuddling."

Jodie admits she has a thing about younger studs. When filming the Essex Wives reality TV series she was dating a 17-year-old. And Kian is two years younger than her.

"Yes I do like young guys," she admitted. "They've got lots more energy and stamina. And they need it to keep up with me."

EXCLUSIVE: WE WERE NEVER IN LOVE.. BUT WESTLIFE KIAN WAS BEST LOVER I EVER HAD (version2)

STUNNING model Jodie Marsh last night told all about her sizzling fling with Westlife star Kian Egan - and revealed she's never had a lover like him. The blonde Page Three pin-up - dubbed The human form of Viagra - even rated the millionaire singer as her best-ever partner between the sheets.

Breaking her silence on the torrid two-month affair with one of pop's sexiest men, Jodie told The People: "Kian was really satisfying and accommodating - always eager to please. He was a very good boy, the best lover I've ever had. Like Westlife's songs, he was a complete smash hit!"

But 24-year-old Jodie, who split with Kian last week, has no regrets that she is single again.

She insisted: "I'm not heartbroken at the way things turned out. I wasn't in love with him and he wasn't in love with me. It was two consenting adults who were not looking for a relationship and but enjoying each other's company - and bodies."

Former lapdancer Jodie, who shot to fame in ITV1 documentary series Essex Wives, added: "I really couldn't say whether my performance deserved to be called Human Viagra, but I think I did all right! Kian found my nickname hilarious. I don't know if he would agree with it, but we had a lot of fun."

Jodie earned her reputation as a saucy sexpot after The People told how she seduced a 17-year-old schoolboy - and later thrilled another lover with "gymnastic" sex. Irishman Kian, 22, found out for himself after splitting from Atomic Kitten babe Liz McLarnon.

Jodie and Kian would party the night away with pals in swanky West End nightclub Click before going off to his luxury pad in Chelsea, South West London. They had become friends after meeting at a pop party about a year ago...but she didn't know who he was.

She said: "I knew that Westlife were an Irish band, but that's all. I didn't follow them, I didn't have any of their albums and I had never seen any of their concerts. It was nice for Kian because I wasn't some fan just jumping on the bandwagon. There was a mutual respect there between us. I wasn't a groupie at all."

Kian ignored the lusty attentions of busty model Jordan to be with Jodie - who has been tipped to take part in the new series of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. She said: "We were getting closer and closer every time we saw each other... until one day we ended up kissing. We never tried to keep the relationship quiet from anyone. We came out of clubs holding hands and didn't care if people saw us. We were openly kissing and cuddling in public and in Click nightclub."

Jodie would have liked to have invited Kian - whose hits include Tonight and Uptown Girl - to Brentwood, Essex, where her dad is a millionaire scaffolding contractor.

But she said: "Kian would have been totally mobbed by fans there." As it was, she said the couple's work commitments tore them apart. Jodie said: "I didn't dump him and he didn't dump me. Our split was by mutual agreement. We never discussed any future plans because he was going off on tour and I have TV work to concentrate on. Besides, I am not looking for a long-term relationship and neither is Kian."

The People told in January how Jodie demanded all-night sex with schoolboy Chris Blohm, 17, after rushing him back to her flat in Brentwood. He said: "People may look at her on telly and think she's wild - well, she was certainly a handful in bed."

Then another lover, Mark Harding, told how he romped with Jodie in a car. He said: "She liked to do it with the doors open. She'd lie across both seats and I'd stand outside. With the extra space, she could be a bit more gymnastic."

For now, Jodie has refused to rule out getting back with Kian. She said: "I'm going to see him again - and who know what's going to happen in the future."

Westlife and cover songs

Irish crooners Westlife have hit out at their management team - insisting they are sick of singing cover versions. They have made their names re-hashing old favorites - but confess their latest single, a cover version of Cliff Richard's Richard's song Miss You Nights - is not the right song for them. Mark explains, "We're fed up with cover versions and this was a bad cover version. But it's still out on Monday (the 24th) because some will like it. We reached a turning point when Miss You Nights was lined up as the next single and none of us liked the song. It made us realize the next album needs to be fresh and different. If we carry on, we'll be bored."

4/12/03

Set to defend Soccer Six title!

It's got 320 legs, 160 famous faces - it's Celebrity Soccer Six and this year's tournament will return to its East End roots, this time at Upton Park, West Ham United on Sunday, May 18th 2003.

Over 160 celebrities will take part at the event, consisting of 12 mens and 4 girls teams. Westlife stole the crown from Ant and Dec in the boys' trophy last year and have already confirmed that they will be back to defend their crown. Other celebrities confirmed for West Ham include Rod Stewart, Mis-Teeq, Liberty X, Big Brovaz, Turin Brakes, Ralf Little, Harvey and footballing legends Ian Rush, Peter Beardsley, Matt Le Tissier, Mickey Thomas and many more still to be announced...

As in previous years the Soccer Six tournament will also take place at other premiership grounds including St James Park, Newcastle and Anfield, Liverpool during May.

Proceeds from the tickets will go to The Princes Trust charity - if you would like to attend, they're available on 0115 912 9129. Check the links below www.cup.uk.com or www.soccer-six.com for more details and latest confirmed celebrities.

Kian dumped again

Kian has apparently split from model Jodie Marsh, after having gone out for just 2 months. Earlier this year, he split from Atomic Kitten singer Liz McClarnon. Jodie apparently had enough of Kian's long hours and ditched him over the phone.

A source says, "Jodie got tired of never seeing Kian and made her feelings clear to him. Kian said he could do nothing about it because Westlife were rehearsing for their tour. After a long phone call they decided call things off."

Westlife Give Up On US?

Seems like some things never change...and that includes Westlife's on again, off again dealings with the US. It doesn't surprise me that it's off again. WOOO was never released in the US, and was pulled last October. In an interview, Shane admits the band have admitted defeat in breaking the US market.

"The [US] recording industry is without a doubt the hardest market to break. Personally I don't think we'll ever do it as we won't try to do it again. It takes too much time. We're happy with Europe so why bother?"

But then again, pop groups are dead in the US. It probably isn't worth Westlife's time at this point in time to try. But on the other hand, Westlife would have no competition in the "pop group" market because there isn't anything popular nationally right now. As an example, the Backstreet Boys delayed their new album from this year to next year. But, it looks like the end of that group as far as I'm concerned. Another example: Robbie Williams tried for his 3rd time to break the US, releasing Escapology last week. It ended up selling 21,000 copies...good for his highest entry to date at #43 on the Billboard album chart. And it only managed to sell that many because of the obscenely low price at Best Buy. I picked up a copy at $5.99 (that's about £4 or €6).

Shane also revealed his jealousy at boss Simon Cowell's success in the US. Cowell's Mr Nasty persona has been lapped up by American audiences, and the BMG boss even featured on a recent episode of MTV Cribs. Shane fumed: "[It's] gutting. I was in America the other week doing a documentary and watching telly and he was all over it. Then the other night I was watching MTV Cribs and they had Simon as one of the subjects, I was like: 'My god. What's happening'"

Did I mention how popular American Idol is over in the US? It is a boon for the FOX network. It is shown on Tuesday and Wednesday...and last week those shows ranked #2 and #6 of all shows in the US. And Simon simply makes the show fun to watch.

Westlife v. So Solid Crew - round 2

Round 2 happened on the basketball court as the two bands clashed during a charity game. According to The Mirror, a war of words broke out between Kian and So Solid's Asher Dat the Dunk 'N' Funk celebrity basketball tournament that took place at Crystal Palace, London on Sunday (3/30/03). Rapper Asher D - who was jailed for 18 months for possessing a gun - took a dislike to 22-year-old Egan after the two jostled.

A witness said, "Asher was really harassing him during the game and wouldn't leave Kian alone. He really had it in for him. Asher threatened Kian and it all turned a bit nasty. DANE BOWERS, who's a good friend of the Westlife boys, was actually on the So Solid team - and he was so disgusted with Asher's behaviour that he walked off. At one point, Kian shouted at Asher, 'You're a w*****!' Asher shouted back, 'I'll see you outside! Everyone could see their argument was going to end in a fracas, so the officials were forced to intervene. Security men pulled both teams off court to allow them to cool down. No one was hurt in the end but it was a really close call."

Kian said, "It all got really competitive and heated on the court. But we settled our differences afterwards."

A spokesperson for Asher said, "There was a bit of argy-bargy. Things got heated and people were getting hot under the collar. But it was all in the name of sport and they shook hands afterwards. The two acts battled at last year's Brit Awards after Bryan threw a drink at the group.

Kian has spoken out about an obsessive fan who stalked him and the band.
Egan refused to name the teenage girl, but had a restraining order issued against her in Ireland. He says, "She would be there all the time, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. She was at the airport when we flew in. Then she'd follow us to the hotel, wait outside the hotel till we left and followed us to the studio. Once she even tried to get a cab with me. It was scary how she knew where we were going, where we were staying... everything. I'd definitely class her as a stalker. It got to the point where she'd follow me down the street to the local shop. I warned her to stop following me around everywhere. But she didn't listen, so in the end I had no choice but to tell the authorities."

Liam swears at Mark

Oasis star, Liam Gallagher, swore at Mark recently in public. Mark spotted Liam at a showbiz bash and rushed across to pay tribute to him. Unfortunately for Mark, Liam was in one of his less charitable moods and made it crystal clear that he didn't want to hear anything Mark had to say.

Mark says, "I was a massive Oasis fan and I really wanted to meet him. I approached him and tried to talk to him, but he just told me to f*** off in front of everybody. I know I was probably the 100th person who'd come up to him like that during the evening, but it was really disappointing."

Westlife splurges...again

mmmm...Money. Westlife left customers and staff stunned when they called in to a Rugby retail park for a surprise shopping spree. The group stretched their legs for an hour at the Junction One Retail Park in Leicester Road when their tour bus stopped off in Rugby. They bought more than £1,000 at JJB Sports and signed dozens of autographs for starstruck teenagers lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.

The surprise refreshment break happened at about 7.30pm on Friday. The band also found time to tuck into some KFC. Ken Turnbull, 19, a shop assistant at JJB said the pop millionaires seemed eager to splash out their cash.

"They bought £1,200-worth of stuff," he said. "They got clothes, tennis rackets, socks, golf equipment and footwear. Nobody recognised them at first but as soon as word got round they were here it got really busy.

"Everyone was really excited." Claire Francis, KFC brand manager, said: "We are delighted that Westlife are KFC fans and that they managed to take time out of their busy schedule to visit. We hope that they enjoyed their meal and look forward to future visits from them."

Miss You Nights/Tonight

The double A-side single soared straight into the #1 slot in Ireland, but managed a #3 in the UK behind "Make Luv" by Room 5 and Spirit in the Sky by Gareth Gates. The following week, in the UK, Westlife dropped to #9.

Westlife have played a rare low-key concert to an intimate crowd of competition winners. The singers performed a short set to around 400 fans who had won tickets from their local independent radio stations across the North of England.

The show formed part of the opening night of Manchester nightclub Lucid. The band enjoyed some of the traditional perks of the job, struggling to hear themselves over the sound of screaming girls and fielding underwear thrown at them from the audience.

At one point, the five men even appeared embarrassed as one over-zealous fan managed to make her way on to the stage and expose herself before being ushered away by security guards. Several hundred others, including a host of stars from soap operas Coronation Street, Brookside and Hollyoaks, watched the concert on screens from elsewhere in the club.

Thank you to all the fans that have written me to let me know that my concert dates are a bit out of whack. Hopefully, I'll be able to change that soon. In the meantime, Westlife have added more concert dates. The new dates: NEC Arena on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 May plus extra dates Thursday 29, Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June.

To date Westlife have played to more than three million people around the world. This year will see Westlife back in the studio recording brand new songs for their fourth studio album which is due for release at the end of the year. Tickets priced £25.00 plus booking fee can be purchased on-line at www.necgroup.co.uk/boxoffice or from the NEC Box Office on 0870 909 4133.

Capital FM awards

Blue leads with 5 nominations for this year's Capital FM's annual pop music awards. The band are up for five prizes including top gig, favourite UK group and best album for their One Love release.

The London station's annual awards ceremony takes place on April 16. Other multiple nominees include Westlife, who are shortlisted for four awards including best international group, best international single for World Of Our Own and best website. Listeners choose the winners and the event raises cash for the Help A London Child charity.

Found this interesting snippet from a Daniel Bedingfield interview.

Bedingfield, bedroom-studio nerd from south London, a sex symbol? The man has been called "a gale-force Cliff Richard", after all, and admits to being inspired by Westlife while writing the ubiquitous number-one single If You're Not the One (still in the Top 40 after 16 weeks).

The "Let's nail Section 28" campaign was launched with Westlife at the G-A-Y club on Saturday. Stonewall’s Director of Parliamentary Affairs, Sacha Deshmukh, said: "We are off to a great start. Nobody could have expected 1500 people to join the campaign within days, but we still need many, many more people to sign up. Starting the campaign with G-A-Y and Westlife’s support was a huge boost, but none of us can afford to be complacent. I hope that thousands of people will sign our petition at G-A-Y and on our website, sign campaign postcards and put their names behind the fight to see Section 28 go."

The petition can be signed online at Stonewall's website, http://www.stonewall.org.uk/

Kian in a daze

Kian stumbled out of West End nightclub Click at 6am after a heavy session last week (4/6). The club has become the band's unofficial HQ. And seldom a day goes by without one of them leaving looking "tired and emotional".

Comic Relief

BBC's Comic Relief appeared to be on course for another huge fund-raising total, with nearly £24 million raised just five hours into the show. A Red Nose Day spokesman said the level of donations was "impressive" but added it was too early to tell if the £55 million raised in 2001 was likely to be surpassed. By 11.45pm £23,770,494 had been raised.

Jonathon Ross and Lenny Henry kicked off the proceedings wearing red wigs to reflect this year's theme - The Big Hair Do. Ant and Dec shared some of the hosting responsibilities and were making way later for Graham Norton and Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. The disastrous results of the Comic Relief Celebrity Driving School, a show watched by over nine million people, were revealed to viewers and the learners themselves.

Unfortunately every driver - Gareth Gates, Jade Goody, Paul O'Grady, Natalie Cassidy, Simon Day and Nadia Sawalha - failed miserably.

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders performing a spoof Harry Potter sketch, while the cast of EastEnders were seen in a sketch as viewers had never seen them before - happy, smiling and optimistic. Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates jostled for attention with television's The Kumars while singing his Comic Relief hit Spirit In The Sky, before taking on a more serious role meeting people living with Aids.

Later, fellow teen favourites Westlife performed on stage while being sprayed with red paint by a robot.

Viewers were periodically treated to the sight of freezing funnyman and vertigo sufferer Jack Dee balancing on top of a 50ft pole outside London's BBC Television Centre. The public rang in with contributions to keep him up the pole. Casualty star Will Mellor was crowned winner of the BBC's Celebrity Fame Academy. The actor beat rival Ruby Wax after the public voted him their favourite in a phone poll.

Interview with Westlife

...on the new single...

Nicky:
"Tonight is a huge Westlife ballad, it's one of our best songs of the last year or two. It's about a guy who's splitting up with his girlfriend but is trying to say sorry."

"Because we've been so successful, the expectancy of a number one is so high."

Shane:
"There's a slight change since our last singles. It's a bit more mature, adults can listen to this one as well as kids. It's a bit more rockier, I suppose. We're not planning to go more into rock, it's just happened with this single. It is one of our best singles in the last couple of years."

"We're more bothered about doing a good album, that's our goal this year. Obviously getting a number one is like a big bonus. It's a big bonus every time. It might give you a bit of an ego for a week but that's all it really does, it's great to get, but it's not something you can rely on. it's more important to get a good album."

...on coping with a new tour manager...

Nicky:
"It is important that people realise we didn't split up with our manager, but with our tour manager. People and bands change every day of the week, the guy who was with us was with us for four years. We parted amicably and it was time for us to move on. Life on the road isn't easy, and we needed someone who was gonna give us a kick up the backside!"

...on being a kid on St Patrick's day...

Shane:
"Growing up, I was fortunate enough to live above a restaurant in the middle of the town. I used to watch the St Patrick's Day parade go past my window every year. Then we would go downstairs to the restaurant and have ice cream."

"It is tough not being in Ireland on the day itself. Last year I was fortunate enough to be sick over that weekend, so I got to be at home. But yeah, since Westlife started I've not been in Ireland for St Patrick's Day. We miss lots of stuff, but it's our job."

Nicky:
"On St Patrick's day when I was a child, my parents would bring me to the parade in Dublin. It's mad, it's a huge day around the world. It's now a whole week holiday in Ireland. The grown-ups go the pub, McDonalds do green milkshakes. The place goes daft. And they paint the river green!"

...on the future...

Nicky:
"We're very lucky, we've sold 25 million albums around the world. We're trying to move more into the albums. There's plenty of things we'd want to do, movies have crossed our minds, but we'd only do a true-life Commitments-style movie. We've opened up the door to many things, but the most important thing right now is Westlife. We've got the tour and then the next album, which is due out in November, but we've still got to go to the studio to record it."

...on not splitting up...

Shane:

"Getting asked about splitting up annoys us, we're in a band doing very well. We're having a laugh and there's no reason why we'd give it up. If you're successful you're stupid to give it up. You don't see rock bands splitting up, but because we're in a pop band, that's the way it's supposed to be. But we've never done it the way it's supposed to be. No one expected us to get 11 number ones, but we did. We break the rules... in a good way.

Nicky:
"Bands spilt up for reasons, we like to see ourselves above bands like A1, above Five, above Steps. I don't mean that in a negative way towards them, they were all good bands in their time, but we've got something they didn't have. I don't mean talent, but a togetherness, a oneness. I don't know if it's an Irish thing or if it's the way we were brought up, but we're genuinely five good mates.

"If we weren't famous, the five of us would all still be sitting in a pub having a drink together on St Patrick's day. Other bands don't seem to do that, they all have their own independent things, we don't want that."

"The day will come when we have to move on and do our own thing, but not yet. We're too together, too interested in music, too interested in changing the lifestyle of boy bands. But whatever you read in the press is wrong, Westlife are more together than they have ever been!"

Westlife on Newsround

Westlife have told Newsround's website they want to concentrate more on albums than singles in the future. The surprise announcement came as the group descended on London on St Patrick's Day to launch their new single, Tonight.

Shane in Westlife's new video
Nicky said: "We're trying to get into albums more, concentrate on albums like U2 do - not that we're comparing ourselves to U2 or anything, but bands like that go on and on on the basis of albums."

Shane agreed: "We're more bothered about a good album. Obviously getting a number one is a big bonus, but it's not something you can rely on."

And they both said they were getting really fed up with people thinking they'd split up!

"We're having a laugh and there's no reason why we'd give it up," insisted Shane.

Even though they're busy the boys made sure they could celebrate St Patrick's Day, along with millions of Irish people all around the world. Shane admitted he missed being at home for it: "It is tough not being in Ireland on the day itself. We miss lots of stuff, but it's our job."

St Westlife's Day

The Westlife boys were a little worst for wear yesterday when they turned up to launch their new single, 'Tonight', at O'Neill's pub in London's Soho.

Starting the St. Patrick's Day celebrations a tad too early, Mark croaked to the Mirror: "Uhh, I don't think any of us is sober yet." Kian explained: "We were out at our London haunt, Click, until 5am. But, hey, I'm living the dream and can't complain."

Despite having a hangover from hell, even Mark was still up for more St Patrick's Day shenanigans, slurring: "We're having a secret party and you can only get in if you have an Irish passport." Easy their fellas, you've still got all day. Oh, and night...

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