Life Stories of Westlife

Westlife is an Irish pop band formed on 3 July 1998. The group's original lineup comprised Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden who left in 2004. Currently, Filan and Feehily serve as the band's lead vocalists. The band is the only act in UK history to have their first seven singles go straight to Number 1, and they have gone on to sell over 45 million records worldwide which includes their studio, single, video, and compilation albums.

They were signed by Simon Cowell and are currently managed by Steve Mac. In 2008, they were declared as Ireland's ninth-richest celebrities under 30 years old and 13th in general.They garnered 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history, tying with Cliff Richard and trailing behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The band has also broken a few top records, including "Music artist with most consecutive number 1's in the UK" and the "Biggest selling arena act in the Wembley Arena".

Over years of their career, Westlife's music has evolved from teen pop to a pop sound, with an emphasis on ballads. All of the band members are songwriters, although most of their hits have been composed by external writers, most notably Steve Mac and Wayne Hector. On 1 June 2008, Westlife marked their 10th anniversary with a concert in Croke Park, Dublin which saw more than 83,000 fans attending the special occasion. Music Week revealed on their website that Westlife is the official third top touring act within the years 2005–2008, while they were 7th top touring act of 2008. 

History

Prior to Westlife, Kian, Mark and Shane along with fellow Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael Garrett, were part of a six-member pop vocal group called IOYOU. Managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh along with two other informal managers, they released a single titled "Together Girl Forever". Louis Walsh, the manager of the 1990s boy band Boyzone, was contacted by Shane's mother and came to know about the band. However, IOYOU did not meet Simon Cowell's approval for a record deal with BMG, and thus changes were needed. Three members of IOYOU were told they would not be part of the new band, and auditions were held in Dublin where Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden were recruited. The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was re-named Westside but as the name was already taken by another band, it was changed to Westlife. Also changing the spelling of Brian's name to Bryan. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the band with Walsh. Westlife then released an EP titled Swear It Again, though only in Asia.

source: wikipedia.com