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Issue # 3, 1st - 7th November 1999
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-The Boys' Own Story- |
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It was a long shot, but worth a try. Shane's mum Mae Filan knew she held the success formula for her son and his mates in Westlife. But she needed to perform a miracle first. The man virtually guaranteed to turn them into stars was Louis Walsh - a legend in Ireland and already boss of Boyzone. But getting his secretaries and aides was just about impossible - well it was to everyone except Mae. "I knew they had the talant and deserved the best chance," she said, "so I decided to get in touch with Louis. I mentioned this to Shane but he didn't believe I could do it because everyone wants to get in touch with Louis." Mae, who comes from a small town called Kilitimagh in County Mayo, added: "First I called Louis' brother Paul who still lives in Kilitimagh and he gave me Louis' office number. My family used to live in the same road as Louis and his family and I remember him as a boy running round the house." "I dialed the number a couple of times but I only got an answer machine. I didn't leave a message because I wanted to speak direct. The next time I called I got through to Louis and he was wonderful. We chatted for about 20 minutes, which is a long time to speak to someone as busy as he is. We didn't talk about Kilitimagh, but just about the group. I told him all about Shane and the boys. Louis had heard about the group and was interested in meeting them. Shane was staying with his sister Mairead in Dublin for a party, so I rang and said Louis wanted to speak to him. But Shane wouldn't believe me. He said: 'Come on, mum you're having me on.'" When she gave him Louis' mobile phome number, he finally believed her. In three years they'd come a long way. Shane, Mark and Kian - along with three pals called Derek, Graham and Michael - first played live in 1996. They were on stage in Grease in their hometown of Sligo. Soon they switched names to IOU - but bigger changes were to come. After gigging for a while they had an offer of a locally based management contract - and that's when Mae persuaded Louis to step in instead. Shane recalls the moment they met him: "We turned up at the Red Box nightclub to see him and told the guy on the door who we were there to see. He was like, 'Yeah guys, sure you are' and tried to turn us away. Then the man himself stepped up and said, 'Hi, I'm Louis'. We walked in right past doorman - it was so cool." "I was so nervous at meeting him I didn't know whether to shake his hand or bow. The first thimg he told us was not to sign any other contract. He said he was too busy with BZ to manage us, but would get us on TV, let us support BZ on thier autumn tour AND help us find a manager! After the meeting we were running down the streets screaming our heads off!" A few days later Louis invited them to Ronan Keating' 21st birthday party. Shane added: "I got to the Red Box and the first thing I heard was a massive roar - it was Ronan and his wife Yvonne arriving on his massive Harley Davidson! Later Ronan walked by and Michael and I introduced ourselves. I felt so honoured to meet him. There was one moment when I was standing in the toilet in a line - and the other guys were Alan Shearer and snooker star Ken Doherty! I thought, am I dreaming?" A week later, Louis sprinkled more stardust over them, when he calmly rang to tell them: "I've got you the support slot at the BSB concert." The US superstars were playing two gigs in Dublin's RDS Arena. The six Sligo boys were such big BSB fans they had tickets for one of the shows - now they were going to be on stage! Kian said: "We were shaking, we had tears rolling down our faces. The two shows were amazing. the reaction we got from the girls was fantastic. They didn't know who we were, but they knew we were Irish, so they loved us." Watching from the wings was Louis, impressed by their talent and obvious hunger for success. "I could see something special, especially with Shane and Mark' voices," he said. "That's when I decided to manage the group. I wasn't sure I could even get them a record deal, but I wanted to have a go." Louis told them so, but added there was one insurmountable hurdle: one of them would have to go. Every boy band was a five-piece. Six was top-heavy, difficult to choreograph, and looked clumsy on stage. Derek was far more mature looking than the others which everyone felt upset the 'cosmetic balance'. It fell to Shane, as unofficial leader, to break the news to his best pal. Derek was devestated but IOU had no choice if they wanted to pursue their dreams with heavyweight backing. Louis paid for the five to visit London so they could record a two-song demo tape to send to labels. Then Ronan, who got on well with the guys, came on board as co-manager. They secured an audition with RCA but boss Simon Cowell was unimpressed. The solution was painful: IOU had to be broken apart. Graham was the next casualty - at 22 he was four years older than the others. "When I looked at the whole picture, I knew my age was a problem," he admitted. "I was upset but I took it on the chin." To get the perfect replacement, Louis advertised nationwide. Dubliners Nicky Byrne and Bryan McFadden stood out and were quickly signed up. Now the band was back to six. So the final casualty was Michael. Kian recalled: "Telling him he was out was awful. the worst day ever." This time last year they auditined again for RCA's Simon Cowell - and with the pefect line - up it was virtually a formality. The deal was signed. Then came the change of name, initially to Westside but later - because of a US outfit with a similar name - to Westlife. Next stop...superstardom! The article is taken from News of the World
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