Westlife still going strong after 20 years.

Westlife are Kian Egan, Markus Feehily (known as Mark), Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan. Described as one of the most successful musical groups of all time, they originate from Sligo and Dublin in Ireland. Their first single was released in April 1999 and after twenty years they’re still going strong.

Enjoy Westlife’s Greatest Hits on Boomplay!

Westlife released their first single Swear it Again in April 1999. The single went straight to the top of the British and Irish charts, becoming the biggest-selling debut single ever in Ireland.

Westlife’s debut album

Westlife released their eagerly-awaited self-titled debut album, Westlife, in the UK in November 1999, with double A-side single I Have a Dream and Seasons in the Sun becoming the UK Christmas number one of 1999. The guys won Record of the Year for Flying Without Wings in 1999 and My Love in the following year.

Winning numerous awards, Westlife achieved much acclaim and enjoyed a lot of success, breaking records seemingly as fast as they set them. Their second album, Coast To Coast went triple platinum in Ireland after only one day of release in 2000. They gained a placed in chart history with their seventh single release, My Love, as they became the only band whose first seven singles debuted at number one in the UK charts.

2002 saw the group release their very first Greatest Hits album, and Westlife’s subsequent album, Turnaround, released November 2003, continued the group’s success, as it went straight into the charts at number one.

March 2004 saw a new chapter begin for the group as Brian McFadden announced his departure from the band.

Mark stated in an interview:

“When Brian left the band it was a detrimental point, a really big turning point in our career. We thought maybe this was the end of the band, the beginning of the end. We chose to fight and to stay together.”

Why did Brian leave Westlife?

Mark speaking on bbc radio 5 live, april 2019

Brian McFadden’s departure from Westlife was described as “amicable”, with Brian citing his desire to spend more time with his young family.

Rumours that this might be the beginning of the end for the group however proved unfounded, as Westlife continued as a four-piece, “in the tradition of all great pop acts”.

Westlife released their fifth album Allow us to be Frank, covers of Frank Sinatra hits, in 2004. This was followed by Face to Face in 2005 and then The Love Album, a concept album featuring covers of popular love songs, in 2006.

Making chart history, again!

By 2007 Westlife had achieved a massive fourteen number ones in the UK — the third-highest such total in UK history, behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and tied with Cliff Richard. Their eighth studio album, Back Home, also debuted at number one on its release in 2007.

Westlife took a well-deserved one-year break following their world tour in 2008. They released their ninth album, Where We Are, in November 2009, and Gravity, their tenth album, in 2010.

Greatest Hits and the split

In October 2011, Westlife officially announced they would be splitting up. The band released a (second) Greatest Hits album in 2012, which was followed by a farewell tour.

The final performance of the tour was at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin on 23 June 2012, to an audience of 82,300, and streamed live to 200 cinemas worldwide.

Westlife released an official statement on 19 October 2011, stating that they wanted a “well-earned break” after 14 years:

After 14 years, 26 top ten hits including 14 number one singles, 11 top 5 albums, 7 of which hit the top spot and have collectively sold over 44 million copies around the world, 10 sell out tours and countless memories that we will forever cherish, we today announce our plan to go our separate ways after a greatest hits collection this Christmas and a farewell tour next year. The decision is entirely amicable and after spending all of our adult life together so far, we want to have a well-earned break and look at new ventures. We see the greatest hits collection and the farewell tour as the perfect way to celebrate our incredible career alongwith our fans. We are really looking forward to getting out on the tour and seeing our fans one last time.

Listen to Westlife’s Greatest Hits on Boomplay!

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Greatest Hits