May 11, 2026 • 10 mins
It’s been 25 years of Westlife.
The globally renowned Irish boyband formed in 1998, splitting up in 2012 before reuniting once more in 2018.
They have over three billion streams, 36 number one albums worldwide, and have sold 55 million records and more than six million concert tickets.
And now they’re coming to New Zealand as part of their 25th Anniversary World Tour – performing on our shores for the first time in 20 years.
“This tour is shaping up to be the biggest tour we’ve ever done,” lead singer Shane Filan told Mike Hosking.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you can believe it. It is twenty five years
since West Life turned up part of the original boost
of boy bands of Simon Carl and Boys and Boys
to main Take That Round and Robbie all of that. Anyway,
there's a twenty fifth anniversary album and indeed ay twenty
fifth tour, late singer Shine Feeling is with us from
Manchester morning.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you doing? How are you very well?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
And does it feel like twenty five years?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
It does, But we have some sort of mad I
think energy the last even the last few years, but
I think building up to this twenty fifth anniversary, it's obviously, look,
it's it's a it's a great achievement for any I
suppose band or any kind of musician. But you know,
there's something very special about it too. And I think
this time around Westlife where we're really enjoying us. You know,
our kids are grown up with us now and getting
(00:47):
to see their dads on stage, which is pretty special.
But this tour is shaping up to be the biggest
tour we've ever done, and obviously we're coming back to
New Zealand, which is incredible.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Exactly what's your vibe about it? Is the world ready
for it. I mean, was the advantage you broke up
for a while, therefore you've got, I don't know, a
built up sort of sense that could be something there.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah, absolutely, I think we broke up for seven years.
You know, in twenty twelve, we thought that was the end.
Genuiney we'd done fourteen years and we felt like we'd
achieved everything we could achieve. But I think when we
broke up after about three or four years, five years,
we started to kind of genuinely miss each other and
miss it. Everybody seems to miss us a lot and
(01:30):
kept asking us when you get back together. Even we
were doing our own individual solo projects and stuff, we
just kept kept getting asked about Weslif all the time.
And then we kind of started to really think about
it again. And then obviously Ed Sheeran was kind of
writing with our long term songwriter Steve Mack and they
wrote Shape of You and some of Ed's songs at
the time, and then they started writing some Westlife songs
(01:53):
and it kind of lost the stars kind of aligned
a little bit in twenty eighteen, and then obviously we
came back in twenty nineteen and it was it's been Honestly,
it's been the best seven years since when you.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
It all started. What did you want? Do you remember?
I mean, what what? What did you think the trajectory
would be?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Look, what did we want? We wanted to be pop stars.
We wanted to be honestly, like the bastery boys or
idols at the time. We were just wanted to be
in a famous boy band and travel the world and
see what that was like. Never did we think it
would get to the level it did. The first Honestly,
the first couple of years was crazy. We were just
so big so quickly, so we kind of didn't get
(02:33):
to really understand even what was going on, if you
know what I mean. And it went very very very
fast the first five or six years. But you know,
it was you know, after five or six years, most
bands split up, or most boy bands usually split up
or something happens, or so many leaves or they all
kill each other, break up and that's it, it's gone.
But for some reason, it was. It was kind of
weird when Brian left the band. We were about six
(02:56):
years in and it kind of made us kind of
come very close together and made us, i suppose, realize
how delicate Westlife could be if one member left or
another member of it could be gone, you know. So
we kind of came together a lot and around that time.
Then a year later we got the song You Raised
Me Up, and that was a real pivotal moment I
think in Westlife's career because it could have gone. It
(03:17):
could have gone either way, I think, and that song
just gave us a whole new lease of life. And
then we did another kind of seven or eight years
after that before the breakup. So yeah, it was Look,
did I think we'll I've been chatting to you in
New Zealand twenty five years later. Absolutely, absolutely, no way.
It was probably a billion to one odds. But look
here and it's it's it's great.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You know, what do you rick in the magic was?
Was it the putting of the original group together and
they saw something that you couldn't have perceived or did
you grow together creatively in a way that mighte it
something bigger and better than it was at the start?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I think there's two things. I think we knew each
other as friends before we were in the band, you know, myself,
Mark and Kean obviously were from Slide on the West
of Ireland. We were friends in school. We were in
musicals together, Grease all over twists, you know, all that
kind of stuff. So we really wanted to be in
a boy band. And then we met Brian and Nikki
through an audition, a very small audition process, but we
got to pick the members. We got to meet them,
(04:15):
talk to them. They came to slide Go and lived
with us for like a month to see if we
actually gelled with them, because it was very important to
make sure we got on. And then, honestly, the magic
of the songs. We were very lucky to get the songs.
We got sweared again if I let you go flying
with that wings full of it, like all in the
first year, you know, it was number one after number one.
It was crazy what was going on. But yeah, the
(04:37):
songs were special, and I think it's for any band.
I think the most important thing is the music. If
they get on and enjoy each other's company, it's a bonus.
But we genuinely do get on and enjoy each other's company.
We we went for dinner an hour ago, we went
for breakfast together this morning, Like we literally spend a
lot of time together because we genuinely our good friends.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Kind of feeling with us pre styles going so today
for the whist, lad, I'll give you the details in
just a couple of months, anyway, shall listen? I watch
Britain's Got Tellent Time of the Week in which I
think was live and that must have been that must
have been given Simon cal was there. That must have
been something quite special.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Absolutely, you know, you're so right it was. It was
a full circle moment, like to say the least. You know,
Simon Caroll obviously was our our record company executive. He's
signed us, We auditioned for him for the record label.
He gave us our first record deal. He picked every
single song that probably we've ever released up until twenty
twenty fourteen, obviously our twenty twelve. So he was a
(05:31):
huge part of our career. And you know, I got
to go in yesterday with my kids. My kids were
are big fans of December Tent, his new band, and
watched the Netflix show obviously, and so they wanted to
goin to say hi to Simon. But I was in
his wrestaurant for probably forty minutes chatting to him and
just the stories and the memories and it was just
lovely to see him and have a genuine chat about stuff,
and he's such a nice man. He's genuine, he is,
(05:53):
He's a gent And then to sing in front of
him and him him standing there. You know, he was
telling me this story about flying with that wings when
he's trying to get that song so bad, and he
was like telling the producers, I have to have this song,
and there was talk of it maybe going to another artist,
and Simon wasn't having it, you know, he said, like
I literally was going to lock them in the room
and not let them go. And he was telling the
(06:14):
story and I'd forgotten the story and but that song
to us, honestly, it was a pivotal moment, you know.
And Simon was brilliant at that. He was brilliant at
picking the song. And it was lovely to talk to
him about that last night. But you could see it
when we were singing last night. You could see he
genuine he was kind of just looking at us, kind
of like a proud dad.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Yeah, exactly was. I watched the Netflix thing, you know,
I thought it was an interesting insight. It is his
ban is Disympteine doing well? I mean, is it still
is the boy band thing still I thing.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, they are, they're doing very well. They've just started
now they've only released they haven't released their album yet,
so they've dropped a couple of tracks. My kids love them.
My kids are like sixteen, seventeen and two lads and
they really love their music. It is, you know, but
it's funny because there hasn't been I suppose you always
think there's going to be a time when another band
comes around, and they're probably at that stage now where
I think the world needs another one. I think K
(07:05):
pop has had a big kind of takeover in the
last maybe four or five years. One direction. We're probably
the last big boy band that had global success. So
I'd love to see them do well. You know, they're
they're good lads. You know. Nicky had them on their
podcast on his podcast, he said they were lovely lads.
And I'd love to see it happen for Simon as well,
you know, because he's been he's obviously been very good
to us. But yeah, but again it's all about the songs.
(07:27):
If they've released great songs, that's half the battle.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
What's your advice or listen from fame because if there's
one sort of observation. A lot of people Mike, because
you you, you and nothing, and suddenly you're the biggest
thing in the world, and that's a difficult thing to handle,
it is.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
It can be a typical thing and people can struggle
with it. Actually, I suppose when we were younger, you know,
the five of us again, we're close friends. We know
we all other payers were quite grounded a family wise,
coming from Ireland, I think as well we were, like, honestly,
it's funny. We always think like, let's crazy that we're
doing this. It's there, like we're still kind of from
time to time don't believe that it's real. And I
(08:05):
don't know what that is. I don't know if it's
naivity or people go, what do you mean? Like I
was like, honestly, I still get nervous when tickets go
on sale. I still like this week with New Zealand
on Friday, it's gonna be a nerve wracking day until
we hear how they're doing. And it's the same even
with Dublin. You know. So I don't know what it is,
you know. I think for fame can be a great thing,
it also can be a very dangerous thing if you're
(08:26):
not ready for it if you don't have the right
people around you. But it's also a great thing, you know,
and I think you just got to take it in
your stride and do your best. That's all you can
do with it.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Is it all cream on the kit for you now
twenty five years on you you've done it all being
they'd seen it all as this just cheer enjoyment.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
It is, I think it is in a way, but
it's it's more special now that we're getting to go
back to like we've been banging on the door honestly,
like for the last six years as we came back
when we're going back to New Zealand Australia, Why aren't
we going back to New Zealand and Australia, you know,
and every tour we've asked it, and now we're finally
going back there. So we're kind of like we're going
back to New Zealand, you know, and feels really special.
We're kind of going, yeah, yeah, we're you know, we're
(09:03):
doing a We did an American shows there two years ago,
our first ever North American shows and having a clue
how it was going to do, we like we might
even sell any tickets. We didn't know. We put on
six shows and the we're like kind of five thousand
seaters Radio City Music Hall, obviously very famous venue sold
out in like seconds and we were like, what you know,
So now we're going to be going back doing a
proper big arena tour in twenty seven as well. So
(09:26):
there's lots of things that are you know, there's always
room for improvement, there's always rooms to kind of be
better and push yourself. But I think the fact that
our children are now at that age where they really
understand it, it's pretty cool. And you know, we get
to sing with Edge Sharing every now and then, or
Nile Horn pops down to the show and the kids
are like that, that's so cool, you know. So we're
cool dads. There's little moments where you kind of go, yeah,
(09:49):
dad is doing it, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
I love it. We'll listen. We're looking forward to seeing
in the country. Good luck with the twenty fifth album,
and we'll maybe catch up when you hear. Thank you
very much, take care, feel nice guy, isn't he?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news Talks at B from six am weekdays or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
If you can believe it. It is twenty five years
since West Life turned up part of the original boost
of boy bands of Simon Carl and Boys and Boys
to main Take That Round and Robbie all of that. Anyway,
there's a twenty fifth anniversary album and indeed ay twenty
fifth tour, late singer Shine Feeling is with us from
Manchester morning.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you doing? How are you very well?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
And does it feel like twenty five years?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
It does, But we have some sort of mad I
think energy the last even the last few years, but
I think building up to this twenty fifth anniversary, it's obviously, look,
it's it's a it's a great achievement for any I
suppose band or any kind of musician. But you know,
there's something very special about it too. And I think
this time around Westlife where we're really enjoying us. You know,
our kids are grown up with us now and getting
(00:47):
to see their dads on stage, which is pretty special.
But this tour is shaping up to be the biggest
tour we've ever done, and obviously we're coming back to
New Zealand, which is incredible.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Exactly what's your vibe about it? Is the world ready
for it. I mean, was the advantage you broke up
for a while, therefore you've got, I don't know, a
built up sort of sense that could be something there.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah, absolutely, I think we broke up for seven years.
You know, in twenty twelve, we thought that was the end.
Genuiney we'd done fourteen years and we felt like we'd
achieved everything we could achieve. But I think when we
broke up after about three or four years, five years,
we started to kind of genuinely miss each other and
miss it. Everybody seems to miss us a lot and
(01:30):
kept asking us when you get back together. Even we
were doing our own individual solo projects and stuff, we
just kept kept getting asked about Weslif all the time.
And then we kind of started to really think about
it again. And then obviously Ed Sheeran was kind of
writing with our long term songwriter Steve Mack and they
wrote Shape of You and some of Ed's songs at
the time, and then they started writing some Westlife songs
(01:53):
and it kind of lost the stars kind of aligned
a little bit in twenty eighteen, and then obviously we
came back in twenty nineteen and it was it's been Honestly,
it's been the best seven years since when you.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
It all started. What did you want? Do you remember?
I mean, what what? What did you think the trajectory
would be?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Look, what did we want? We wanted to be pop stars.
We wanted to be honestly, like the bastery boys or
idols at the time. We were just wanted to be
in a famous boy band and travel the world and
see what that was like. Never did we think it
would get to the level it did. The first Honestly,
the first couple of years was crazy. We were just
so big so quickly, so we kind of didn't get
(02:33):
to really understand even what was going on, if you
know what I mean. And it went very very very
fast the first five or six years. But you know,
it was you know, after five or six years, most
bands split up, or most boy bands usually split up
or something happens, or so many leaves or they all
kill each other, break up and that's it, it's gone.
But for some reason, it was. It was kind of
weird when Brian left the band. We were about six
(02:56):
years in and it kind of made us kind of
come very close together and made us, i suppose, realize
how delicate Westlife could be if one member left or
another member of it could be gone, you know. So
we kind of came together a lot and around that time.
Then a year later we got the song You Raised
Me Up, and that was a real pivotal moment I
think in Westlife's career because it could have gone. It
(03:17):
could have gone either way, I think, and that song
just gave us a whole new lease of life. And
then we did another kind of seven or eight years
after that before the breakup. So yeah, it was Look,
did I think we'll I've been chatting to you in
New Zealand twenty five years later. Absolutely, absolutely, no way.
It was probably a billion to one odds. But look
here and it's it's it's great.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You know, what do you rick in the magic was?
Was it the putting of the original group together and
they saw something that you couldn't have perceived or did
you grow together creatively in a way that mighte it
something bigger and better than it was at the start?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
I think there's two things. I think we knew each
other as friends before we were in the band, you know, myself,
Mark and Kean obviously were from Slide on the West
of Ireland. We were friends in school. We were in
musicals together, Grease all over twists, you know, all that
kind of stuff. So we really wanted to be in
a boy band. And then we met Brian and Nikki
through an audition, a very small audition process, but we
got to pick the members. We got to meet them,
(04:15):
talk to them. They came to slide Go and lived
with us for like a month to see if we
actually gelled with them, because it was very important to
make sure we got on. And then, honestly, the magic
of the songs. We were very lucky to get the songs.
We got sweared again if I let you go flying
with that wings full of it, like all in the
first year, you know, it was number one after number one.
It was crazy what was going on. But yeah, the
(04:37):
songs were special, and I think it's for any band.
I think the most important thing is the music. If
they get on and enjoy each other's company, it's a bonus.
But we genuinely do get on and enjoy each other's company.
We we went for dinner an hour ago, we went
for breakfast together this morning, Like we literally spend a
lot of time together because we genuinely our good friends.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Kind of feeling with us pre styles going so today
for the whist, lad, I'll give you the details in
just a couple of months, anyway, shall listen? I watch
Britain's Got Tellent Time of the Week in which I
think was live and that must have been that must
have been given Simon cal was there. That must have
been something quite special.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Absolutely, you know, you're so right it was. It was
a full circle moment, like to say the least. You know,
Simon Caroll obviously was our our record company executive. He's
signed us, We auditioned for him for the record label.
He gave us our first record deal. He picked every
single song that probably we've ever released up until twenty
twenty fourteen, obviously our twenty twelve. So he was a
(05:31):
huge part of our career. And you know, I got
to go in yesterday with my kids. My kids were
are big fans of December Tent, his new band, and
watched the Netflix show obviously, and so they wanted to
goin to say hi to Simon. But I was in
his wrestaurant for probably forty minutes chatting to him and
just the stories and the memories and it was just
lovely to see him and have a genuine chat about stuff,
and he's such a nice man. He's genuine, he is,
(05:53):
He's a gent And then to sing in front of
him and him him standing there. You know, he was
telling me this story about flying with that wings when
he's trying to get that song so bad, and he
was like telling the producers, I have to have this song,
and there was talk of it maybe going to another artist,
and Simon wasn't having it, you know, he said, like
I literally was going to lock them in the room
and not let them go. And he was telling the
(06:14):
story and I'd forgotten the story and but that song
to us, honestly, it was a pivotal moment, you know.
And Simon was brilliant at that. He was brilliant at
picking the song. And it was lovely to talk to
him about that last night. But you could see it
when we were singing last night. You could see he
genuine he was kind of just looking at us, kind
of like a proud dad.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Yeah, exactly was. I watched the Netflix thing, you know,
I thought it was an interesting insight. It is his
ban is Disympteine doing well? I mean, is it still
is the boy band thing still I thing.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, they are, they're doing very well. They've just started
now they've only released they haven't released their album yet,
so they've dropped a couple of tracks. My kids love them.
My kids are like sixteen, seventeen and two lads and
they really love their music. It is, you know, but
it's funny because there hasn't been I suppose you always
think there's going to be a time when another band
comes around, and they're probably at that stage now where
I think the world needs another one. I think K
(07:05):
pop has had a big kind of takeover in the
last maybe four or five years. One direction. We're probably
the last big boy band that had global success. So
I'd love to see them do well. You know, they're
they're good lads. You know. Nicky had them on their
podcast on his podcast, he said they were lovely lads.
And I'd love to see it happen for Simon as well,
you know, because he's been he's obviously been very good
to us. But yeah, but again it's all about the songs.
(07:27):
If they've released great songs, that's half the battle.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
What's your advice or listen from fame because if there's
one sort of observation. A lot of people Mike, because
you you, you and nothing, and suddenly you're the biggest
thing in the world, and that's a difficult thing to handle,
it is.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
It can be a typical thing and people can struggle
with it. Actually, I suppose when we were younger, you know,
the five of us again, we're close friends. We know
we all other payers were quite grounded a family wise,
coming from Ireland, I think as well we were, like, honestly,
it's funny. We always think like, let's crazy that we're
doing this. It's there, like we're still kind of from
time to time don't believe that it's real. And I
(08:05):
don't know what that is. I don't know if it's
naivity or people go, what do you mean? Like I
was like, honestly, I still get nervous when tickets go
on sale. I still like this week with New Zealand
on Friday, it's gonna be a nerve wracking day until
we hear how they're doing. And it's the same even
with Dublin. You know. So I don't know what it is,
you know. I think for fame can be a great thing,
it also can be a very dangerous thing if you're
(08:26):
not ready for it if you don't have the right
people around you. But it's also a great thing, you know,
and I think you just got to take it in
your stride and do your best. That's all you can
do with it.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Is it all cream on the kit for you now
twenty five years on you you've done it all being
they'd seen it all as this just cheer enjoyment.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
It is, I think it is in a way, but
it's it's more special now that we're getting to go
back to like we've been banging on the door honestly,
like for the last six years as we came back
when we're going back to New Zealand Australia, Why aren't
we going back to New Zealand and Australia, you know,
and every tour we've asked it, and now we're finally
going back there. So we're kind of like we're going
back to New Zealand, you know, and feels really special.
We're kind of going, yeah, yeah, we're you know, we're
(09:03):
doing a We did an American shows there two years ago,
our first ever North American shows and having a clue
how it was going to do, we like we might
even sell any tickets. We didn't know. We put on
six shows and the we're like kind of five thousand
seaters Radio City Music Hall, obviously very famous venue sold
out in like seconds and we were like, what you know,
So now we're going to be going back doing a
proper big arena tour in twenty seven as well. So
(09:26):
there's lots of things that are you know, there's always
room for improvement, there's always rooms to kind of be
better and push yourself. But I think the fact that
our children are now at that age where they really
understand it, it's pretty cool. And you know, we get
to sing with Edge Sharing every now and then, or
Nile Horn pops down to the show and the kids
are like that, that's so cool, you know. So we're
cool dads. There's little moments where you kind of go, yeah,
(09:49):
dad is doing it, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
I love it. We'll listen. We're looking forward to seeing
in the country. Good luck with the twenty fifth album,
and we'll maybe catch up when you hear. Thank you
very much, take care, feel nice guy, isn't he?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news Talks at B from six am weekdays or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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