Westlife

In the tradition of British boy bands like Take That and Boyzone comes Dublin's Westlife, a quintet consisting of Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Bryan McFadden, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan. Filan, Egan and Feehily were among the group's six founding members, but the other half of the group was dispatched when Louis Walsh, Boyzone's manager, took interest in them. This made room in the band for Byrne and McFadden; Walsh also introduced Westlife to Boyzone vocalist and solo artist Ronan Keating, who became the group's co-manager shortly after they cemented their recording contract. The group's first single, 1999's "Flying Without Wings" entered the UK charts at #1, a feat they replicated with "Seasons In The Sun" and "Swear It Again" in 2000. Their self-titled debut album met with similar chart-topping success and quickly went platinum in their homeland. Westlife was released in the US by Arista Records in early 2000. -- Heather Phares, All Music Guide

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