Lads' night out
TWO YEARS AGO Nicky Byrne revealed how he dealt with the stress of being a young, successful pop star. 'One night I woke up at about three in the morning without a clue where I was,' the Westlife singer told a British tabloid newspaper. Going into a state of panic, he hit the redial button on his phone, hoping that his girlfriend was the last person he spoke to.
'She was back in Dublin and when she answered the phone. I said 'Georgina, I'm in a state, where am I?' She was great: 'Relax, Nicky. You're in Poland.''
Last summer Byrne married Georgina Ahern, his childhood sweetheart who is also the daughter of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (although he is adamant he has no Arnie-esque political intentions yet). Thanks to Westlife, he is now a millionaire. Yet while he has just about managed to hold it together under the spotlight, there are plenty of questions raised as to whether his band can do the same. Every ballad has an ending, and Westlife now face their greatest challenge yet: beating the boy band shelf-life.
Like the replicants in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, the average boy band expire within five years. Take That didn't make it past five, neither did Boyzone. New Kids On The Block managed to hang around for almost eight, but it took them a while to get recognised and at least three before they took the hint to sling their collective hook. This year, Westlife also find themselves on the brink of the big five. Ambitiously, they recently signed a new contract worth about HK$260 million. And with a new album due out just in time for Christmas, they have the opportunity to outlast their forbearers. 'We're the luckiest people in the world, we'd never give it up,' insists Byrne from his Dublin home.
Indeed, they seem sensible enough to appreciate how far they've come. Byrne was an apprentice goalkeeper at Leeds United Football Club before being given the boot after just two years (at 1.77 metres-tall, he was deemed too small). Bryan McFadden had been a security guard at a Dublin McDonald's, trawling the local karaoke scene in his spare time. Mark Feehily was a former Burger King worker. Shane Filan was brought up above a fish and chip shop. Kian Egan, at the tender age of 16, was a male stripper.
As Westlife, they've sold more than 30 million records worldwide, elbowing their way into the Guinness Book Of Records with seven consecutive British No 1s. The Pope was seen tapping his feet to them when the band played at the Vatican in December 2001. The Sultan of Brunei forked out US$2.5 million for them to play a private show for his family.
But for how long can five 20-something fellas stand being shoehorned into a bland ballad machine? Westlife may well have melted the hearts of teenage girls while uniting gay men and housewives in their adulation for the syrupy charmers - but how long is it before the boys themselves 'do a Robbie' and grow out of it all? Has boredom set in?