| Westlife started out in Sligo with Shane, Mark, Kian and three others when they were preforming in the musical Grease at their school Summer Hill College. They would sing during the intervals and called themselves I.O.U. They had a single called "Together Girl Forever" (written by Shane and Mark) and even supported The Backstreet Boys at their concert at The Point in Dublin. Shane's Mam, Mae, contacted Louis Walsh, but he wasn't interested in the three others. Auditons were held in Dublin for more members and Nicky and Bryan got through to the group, now called Westside. It was at this point when Ronan Keating (Boyzone) was brought in as their co-manager. Westside toured on The Smash Hits Tour and followed in the footsteps of bands like Backstreet Boys, Boyzone and 5ive by winning Best New Tour Act of 98. Due to legal problems they later changed their name to Westlife and released their debut single "Swear It Again" which flew to number 1 in the UK and became the fastest selling debut single ever in Ireland. They went on to have 6 more number one singles, including a christmas number 1 and a number 1 album. They also won the Record of the Year two years running with "Flying Without Wings" and "My Love". This year they will begin their first world tour. |
