30 March 2002

Fear not, damsels in distress the five musketeers of pop have arrived to save the day.
Irish boyband Westlife swap their usual black polo-necked sweaters for frilly cuffed shirts and black leather trousers in their swashbuckling latest video.
The promo for their next single, Bop Bop Baby, sees Nicky Byrne, Bryan McFadden, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Shane Filan as 17th century-style swordsmen.
In the story they battle the villain, alias Vinnie Jones, to save the girl, played by Leah Wood.
The video sees them leaping into action, fighting the bad guys and even taking to horseback as they go all Errol Flynn to stop sneering Vinnie marrying Leah.
Mark, 21, who grew a goatee for the video, said: "It's a real swashbuckling adventure. We all wanted to be heroes but we didnt want just one guy to get the girl in the end so we all go after her. We love the dressing up but to be honest we just wanted to get swords to play with."
Shane, 22, sported Dick Whittington-style boots as he strode about the set and Bryan and Kian, both 21, looked like they could give famous movie swashbuckler Douglas Fairbanks Jr a run for his money in their impressive outfits.
Tough nut Vinnie, defying anyone to poke fun at his wig with ringlets, joked on set: "I'm having a laugh but as usual I get to play the baddie - what a surprise."
Leah, 23, daughter of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, turned out to be the true heroine of the piece.
She stepped in to save the day after Naomi Campbell pulled out of the role of the damsel in distress at the last minute.
The boys are hoping the single, out on May 20, will give them their 11th No1 hit.
Much of the lavish video, which cost £500,000 to make, was filmed in the chapel on the campus of the US International University in Bushey, Herts.
The gothic building at the former college - which is now used mainly for telly filming had just the olde worlde look the boys wanted for the video.

-- Moments With Westlife

29 March 2002

It's Easter weekend and the Westlife lads would like to wish their fans at Westlife.com a very special holiday.
"We hope you are all doing something nice this weekend," says Shane. "And not eating too many chocolate eggs!" adds Kian.
And if you are wondering what Westlife have been up to recently, here's Mark to let you in on their movements.
"We've just finished making our new video for our next single, 'Bop Bop Baby' and we'll be putting up a special behind-the-scenes movie for all our Platinum members to see very shortly. Hope you all have a lovely Easter!"

29 March 2002

Think making video is incredibly glam? Westlife would be the first to tell you that you're wrong!
During the video shoot for their forthcoming single 'Bop Bop Baby' , The poor fellas had to spend six hours in a dark, smelly 18th century dungeon in Middlesex!
The set for the swashbukling-themed vid was apparently infested with rats and smelt rank not surprisingly, the group were said to have hated it!
The video sees Kian and co in frilly white shirts, wielding swords to rescue a damsel in distress from their damsel,supermodel Naomi Campbell, caused them some distress when she decided not to turn up at the last minute and had to be replaced by Leah Wood (daughter of Bryan's mate, crinly rocker Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones).
Bet Westlife wish they'd stuck to their original plans to film the vid in sunny LA!!
'Bop Bop Baby' is out in the UK on May 20.

28th March 2002

Westlife have been stood up by Naomi Campbell and they're not happy about it!
Last week the band were all ready and waiting to film their new video for "Bop Bop Baby" which Naomi was to star in. But at the last minute Ms.
Campbell blew the boys out saying she'd changed her mind, costing Westlife £15,000 pounds as they missed a whole day of shooting trying to find a replacement who in the end was Ronnie Woods daughter Leah.
Naomi's people cited a conflict of schedule.

28th March 2002

Former Atomic Kitten star Kerry Katona couldn't be happier. She's married to Westlife's Bryan McFadden and is the proud mother of a beautiful girl, Molly Marie. But Kerry's own childhood wasn't so perfect. In fact, a great deal of it was spent in care.
An only child, Kerry never knew her dad. Her mum, Sue, suffers from the mental disorder schizophrenia, which meant Kerry was sometimes taken into care by social services as Sue was unable to look after her.
"Being fostered opened my eyes to a lot of things," admits Kerry, who blames her wild child days on her unstable childhood. When just 16, she posed topless, although social workers prevented the pictures from being published.
But joining Atomic Kitten turned Kerry's life around and has brought her all the things she's always wanted, including the happy relationship with her mum that was missing in her early years.
Nowadays, Kerry has nothing but love for Sue and has recently bought her a gorgeous house.
Kerry and Bryan are determined to give Molly all the opportunities that Kerry never had has a child. "Bryan and I are going to spoil her rotten and I am not ashamed to say that," says Kerry proudly. "Mum couldn't always be there for me... but I won't ever be parted from my darling baby."

-- Moments with Westlife

King of Pop Louis Walsh yesterday launched the first volume of his History of Pop Album in Dublin's Four Seasons Hotel.
Among the guests were his newest protégés, SIX. Containing a mix of hits from the 70's and 80's coupled with contemporary music from today, the album is set to be popular with both young and old.
Louis' choices are like a coded history of his own successes - and occasional failures - along the way. With hits from Samantha Mumba, Westlife, Boyzone and Ronan Keating the album is a compilation of some of the finest Irish pop acts. And to prove that the album is not a mad rampant ego trip by the rarely-humble Louis, he has, of course, included Irish hits with which he has no direct association - acts such as Fergal Sharkey and D:Ream.
Also at the launch were the legendary Joe Dolan and popstars judge Linda Martin, who also has a track on the album.
Louis recently told the Irish media: "I keep an eye on the charts but I don't follow trends. I think the ingredients for a number one are a good song, a good artist and a good producer. They're the key elements involved."

Speaking about his plethora of hits, Louis said: "I had my first with Johnny Logan, eight with Boyzone, two with Ronan and ten with Westlife".

-- Showbiz Ireland

Former Atomic Kitten, Kerry Katona McFadden, is to follow in the footsteps of Blind Date's Cilla Black, by hosting her own dating show.

The 21 year-old blonde is to begin recording Elimidate in exotic locations around the world, including the Bahamas and Kenya.

The show, which will be shown on ITV1, will have contestants undergo a series of tasks in order to win.

It differs from Blind Date in that it will be a lot raunchier - it is set to be aired later in the evening, so that viewers can see more of the contestants wild antics.

Kerry, who is married to Westlife's Bryan McFadden, is apparently thrilled with the new project.

She said recently: "I'm really excited about this show. It's going to be full of outrageous fun."

It is Kerry's first major foray into the ShowBiz world since the birth of daughter Molly, 7 months ago.

She co-presented the Childline charity concert in Dublin last January with Westlife's Nicky Byrne and impressed many with her confidence and personality.

An Elimidate source said: "Blind Date is fun, but this will be far more outrageous".

-- Showbiz Ireland

26 March 2002

Naomi Campbell has pulled out of Westlife's new video.

She had been due to appear in the promo for their single Bop Bop Baby.

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood's daughter Leah was drafted in to replace her at the last minute.

Westlife's video for Uptown Girl had featured another supermodel, Claudia Schiffer, reports The Mirror.

A band spokesman said they had had no explanation or apology from Campbell.

"She left us in a very sticky situation and it's safe to say she is not the band's favourite person at the moment," he said.

Campbell's spokesman said she could not take part in the filming because of a conflict of schedule.

Bop Bop Baby will be in the shops on May 20.

-- Annanova

Reports in the Irish press state that the popstars SIX may be forced to change their name, similarly to Westlife (formerly Westside), before they launch in the UK.

Head of BMG Records in the UK, Simon Cowell, has reportedly requested dramatic adjustments in advance of the bands UK launch.

These changes may include the new name as the current one of SIX is seen as unoriginal.

Plans are also underway to use a different single for their UK debut. It seems that their current Irish hit, A Whole Lot Of Lovin' Going On, is too Steps-like for the lucrative UK market.

A close source has said: "It's going to be a complete nightmare for the group if they have to change their name. It would be a big embarrassment because they are known as SIX and have topped the charts with that name. But their record bosses in London think the name is too plain and boring and won't attract young fans".

-- Showbiz Ireland

15 March 2002

KIAN IS SINGLE AGAIN!! Popworld was at hot new pop act Bellefire's showcase in London on Wednesday night, and was lucky enough to grab a quick chat with Kian and Mark Westlife! The 'Lifers had been scheduled to jet off to L.A at the begining of the month to shoot the video for their newest single "Bop Bop Baby". But mark - who was wearing a hat and sporting sexy stubble a la David Beckham - told us that the fellas never went. He revealed that the lads have still done something special fort he vid, but he wouldnt say any more 'cos the group want it to be a surprise! We asked Kian, who was looking smart as ever in a black shirt and black trews, why he'd dyed his hair back to blonde and he replied, "Erm, I wasn't too keen on those darker shades in my hair! I think i'll just stick to my roots!" Kian was also raving about Westlife's forthcoming tour. He told us that the guys cant wait to get back out on the road and are currently in rehearsals, learning lots of flashy dance rountines! And, lastly, Kian admitted that he split up with his girlfriend (the one he always denied having!) three weeks a go and now is a free agent again. Start queing girls!!

-- Popworld

Full details of the settlement were not disclosed but it is known that the tapes will remain in a Sligo bank vault and will be promoted for sale by both parties in the case.

Up to sixty hours of footage of Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan before they joined Westlife was at the centre of this case. Streetwise Productions claimed they commissioned and were the legal owners of the footage. 22-year-old cameraman Ciaran Carty denied this, claiming that he shot it informally in 1997 as a friend of the boys who were then members of a boyband called IOU.

Carthy was sued by Streetwise but defended his claim to legal ownership of the tapes and was supported in court by Shane Filan who gave evidence on his behalf when the case opened on Tuesday.

The case was due to resume at Sligo Circuit Court today but negotiations lasting into the afternoon finally concluded with an out-of-court settlement presented to Judge Carroll Moran after four o'clock this afternoon.

There is a strict confidentiality clause attached to the settlement but it emerged that the tapes will continue to be held in a Sligo bank vault to which all parties will now have access.

A joint marketing strategy will be agreed upon for the sale of the tapes. Eddie Henry, solicitor for Streetwise, could not comment on whether or not there was an interested buyer on the scene at the moment but stated that both sides were very happy with the outcome.

-- Rte.ie

10 March 2002

Following Westlife's triumph at the MTV Asia Music awards (Favourite Pop Act), the video for their new single has been made available online.
Ireland's top boyband are aiming for their 10th number one single with the title track from their current album, 'World of Our Own'.
The single features 'Crying Girl' co-written by band member Bryan McFadden as a B-side and is due for release on 18 February. The video is available on worldpop.com.
Westlife's second arena tour kicks off in Europe on 3 April, ending in Dublin on 16 June, where they boy's six shows sold out within 30 minutes

-- Rte.ie

The Irish heart-throb is looking for a lovenest in County Sligo, Eire, and has told pals his girlfriend, band mate Kian Egan's cousin, will be moving in with him.

A friend said, "Now she has nearly finished her A-levels Gillian is ready to move out of home and he's really keen to get somewhere. Shane's mum and dad love Gillian and so it's all go."

Natasha and Fran have been engaged since April and recently bought an £800,000 house in Fulham, West London. Sorry girls! -- SP

-- MTV Asia

8 March 2002

Sinead O'Connor, Westlife, Jim Sheridan, Bellefire, SIX, Patrick Bergin and Stephen Gately are just some of the stars expected for the party in a secret location in Dublin tonight for over 300 VIP guests. .

Sinead O'Connor will officially launch ShowBizIreland.com's 2nd birthday followed by a photocall with the former MTV babe Emma Leddin and the world-renowned film director Jim Sheridan.

Following rehearsals for their sell out tour Westlife will arrived at the bash and are expected to be joined by former Boyzone stars Keith Duffy and Stephen Gately.

Actors such as John Hurt and Patrick Bergin have also been invited to the party which kicks off at 7pm.

Stella beer have provided refreshments for the night.

After only two years ShowBizIreland.com, is Ireland's Number One Entertainment Website. It has also made it into the Top Ten Website in Ireland with over 4 million Page Impressions Per Month PIPM.

The site was formed on St Patrick's day 2000 by the Dublin showbiz journalist Jason O'Callaghan and Web consultant Ray Senior. And in this short space of time has become the biggest entertainment website in Ireland and one of the largest in the world.

The site has recently signed a five-year deal with Funny Stuff TV to act as the official Website for The Haunted House, the new global reality TV show. The show will be aired in Ireland on TV3 in April.

ShowBizIreland.com has also just launched it's own range of on line merchandise for loyal Irish music and film fans around the world hand in hand with ASA marketing.

-- Showbiz Ireland

8 March 2002

7 March 2002

Millionare popstar, Shane Filan, was home in Sligo yesterday to defend a school friend's claim on video footage of the band that went on to become Westlife.
The now valuable video footage of Shane Filan, Cian Egan and Mark Feehily - the three Sligo members of Westlife - when they were part of the teenage pop group, IOU, has become the centre of a bitter court battle between cameraman, Ciaran Carthy and the local production company which claims to have commissioned him.
Given the phenomenal success of Westlife, the footage, currently in a Sligo bank vault, is as valuable as early tapes of the Beatles performing in the Cavern in Liverpool, Sligo Circuit Court was told.
Fighting for ownership is producer, Mary McDonagh, musician, Padraig Meehan and theatre manager, Avril Dooher, trading as Streetwise Promotions.
They are suing Carthy for £30,000 for breach of contract, claiming they arranged for the professional photo shoot and video to be made following their popularity on stage as the interval act during a school performance of 'Grease'.
Westlife singer, Filan told yesterday's Circuit Court hearing that he and fellow Westlife member Mark Feehily, not Streetwise Promotions, had been responsible for getting Ciaran Carthy involved in filming them.
"We were feeling a bit famous in a small way and loving it. We wanted to document things because we were hoping in some way we would get famous," he told the court.
He insisted that despite their evidence to the contrary, IOU had never been managed by Streetwise Promotions.
"They showed us this contract they wanted us to sign and we would not sign it. They were never part of the management team, at any stage," he told the court. Padraig Meehan, told the court that in April 1997 he agreed to enter a partnership with Mary McDonagh and Avril Dooher to manage IOU after he had seen them on stage. I was impressed with their ability to sing and dance. They were very enthusiastic. I was convinced from almost the first day that they were going to be a successful group," he said.
He testified that he met 18-year-old Ciaran Carthy in a bar in September 1997 and asked him to shoot video footage of the fledgling stars.
He admitted that no contract was ever signed with IOU and claimed that they ran up substantial debt during the months they managed the band.
By the end of 1997 when it became clear that the band was about to move to management with Louis Walsh, Streetwise attempted to formalise the arrangement with Ciaran Carthy and recover the master tapes of the footage which they believed was their property.
In May 1998, Carthy told Meehan that he had been offered £40,000 from a Cork film-maker for the tapes. Avril Dooher claimed that on behalf of the management, Padraig Meehan had approached Ciaran Carthy to video the band which was being bank-rolled by Mary McDonagh.
She said that following legal advice after the group had broken up, they requested invoices from Ciaran Carthy for work done which was subsequently paid from Mary McDonagh's personal account.
She said Streetwise was involved with everything to do with the band during those months, including costumes, transport, promotion and choreography.
Avril Dooher denied Streetwise only became interested in the tapes after the three former members of IOU began to achieve success as Westlife.
The case resumes on Friday.

Kat's got the scream ... Kerry and her tot Molly

EX-ATOMIC Kitten star Kerry Katona hugs six-month-old daughter Molly after being named Celebrity Mum of the Year. Kerry, 21 married to Westlifes Bryan McFadden beat showbiz mums including Victoria Beckham and Davina McCall in yesterdays poll.

Kerry and Bryan McFadden parents of six-month-old Molly tied the knot at the start of this year at a veiled ceremony in County Meath.

Kerry received 28% of the vote; Davina McCall came second with 20%, while Victoria Beckham currently pregnant with her second child came third with 12%.

-- Rte.ie

7 March 2002

If you're planning to get yourself a Westlife boyf, you better hurry girls, 'cos there ain't many left for the taking!
Latest in the line of Irish lovelies to be snapped up is stumpy sexpot Shane Filan. He is set to break a million hearts by shacking up with childhood sweetheart Gillian Walsh.
The hunky heart-throb is looking for a lovenest in County Sligo, Eire, and has told pals his girlfriend - band mate Kian Egan's cousin - will be moving in with him.
A friend told The Sun: "Now she has nearly finished her A-levels Gillian is ready to move out of home and he's really keen to get somewhere."
Watch out Mark and Kian, you'll have to ward off all those single gals yourselves! May we suggest some cheap and nasty aftershave...

7 March 2002

Pop stars may constantly travel the world, but home is where the heart is, so Westlife are going to be feeling particularly chuffed this morning (as well as nursing the usual hangovers).
The lads added to their already impressive collection of trophies at the Irish Music Awards - the Irish equivalent of the Brits and Grammys - which were staged last night in Dublin's Point Theatre.
Uptown Girl won the award for Best Irish Pop Single while World Of Our Own picked up the award for Best Irish Pop Album. Having collected both of these it wasn't a surprise when they were awarded Best Irish Pop Act.
Westlife also wowed the crowd with a show-stopping performance, but the stars of the night were U2 who picked up a grand total of seven awards. Let's hope Bono kept those speeches nice and short.

 

• Best Irish Pop Act: Westlife
• Best Irish Album: Westlife - World Of Our Own
• Best Irish Single: Westlife - Uptown Girl

-- Dir Yahoo! Group

6 March 2002

Westlife scored a hatrick at the Meteor Irish Music Awards last night at the Poit Theatre in Dublin.

The multi-platinum selling group picked up three prizes for Best Irish Pop Act, Best Irish Album for 'World Of Our Own', and Pop Single for 'Uptown Girl'.

Kian was delighted with the results: "It's been a terrific, what with the Brits, the Wembley award and now this. We can't thank the fans enough for the constant support they show us - we certainly wouldn't be where we are without you. Thanks a million from all of our hearts."

• Best Irish Pop Group
• Best Irish Pop Single for Q.O.M.H
• Best Irish single for Uptown Girl
• Best Irish Album for World Of Our Own
• Best Irish Video for World Of Our Own
• Best Irish Live Artist

Irish comedian Patrick Keilty is hosting the evening and the impressive line-up includes Westlife, Enrique Iglesias, The Cranberries, Gabriel, Ronan Keating, Muse and Lighthouse Family.

The event is being televised on the Irish TV channel Network 2 on March 7, but don't worry if you can't watch it, we'll have all the results for you here tomorrow!

-- Westlife.com

Westlife and U2 are expected to sweep the board at tonight's Meteor Irish Music Awards.

Westlife is rumored to pick three of the five awards they are nominated for.

The world's biggest band U2 are also expected to clean up tonight with reports that their manager Paul McGuinness is to receive a special lifetime award.

The awards are expected to be one of the world's largest due to the amount of Irish stars in the charts at the moment. The show will be held tonight in Dublin's Point Theatre at 8pm and broadcast on Ireland's TV3 network on Thursday night.

Rumors around the Irish music industry are that U2 and Westlife are both nominated for Best Irish Rock, Best Irish Single, Best Irish Album, Best Live Irish Artist and Best Irish Video.

U2, The Corrs, Westlife, The Cranberries, Ronan Keating and the new Irish popstars SIX are all expected to attend a private party held by U2's manager McGuinness in Dublin's trendy SPY bar after the show.

While nearby in Café En Seine, the official awards show party is being held.

Expected to attend that are Enrique Iglesias and his new girlfriend Anna Kournikova, The Lighthouse Family, Gabrielle, the shows host Patrick Kielty, actor John Hurt and singer Brian Kennedy.

The stars are all expected to attend another party later in Dublin's favorite celebrity haunt Lillies Bordello until the early hours of the morning.

-- Showbiz Ireland

2FM are broadcasting a special full acoustic WESTLIFE set as well as a Q & A session with 30 lucky fans on Sunday, March 17th, St. Patricks Day from 10.30am.

They band flew over a top UK producer to work on the tracks, which may yet could be used on future Westlife singles.

For the opportunity to quiz their favourite member(s!) of Westlife, fans had to send in the toughest question they could and 2FM selected the chosen ones!

An Audience with Westlife goes out on Michael Cahills show on 2FM on 90 92FM in Ireland and live on the web at www.2fm.ie

Westlife play the first of their record-breaking run of 13 concerts at The Point on Thursday, June 6th.

-- Mcd.ie

2 March 2002

The 2002 Meteor Ireland Music Awards, incorporating the IRMAs, take place on Monday March 4th at the Point Theatre. There's an incredible star-studded line-up for Irelands biggest music and celebrity event, which will see performances by Enrique Iglesias, Westlife, Gabrielle, The Cranberries, Ronan Keating, Lighthouse Family, Samantha Mumba and Muse. There's also a strong rumour that U2 will drop in!

Singer/songwriter David Gray and film star Adrian Dunbar will join John Hurt, Craig Doyle, Maria Doyle-Kennedy, Keith Duffy, Brendan OCarroll and Brian Kennedy, in presenting awards at this year's event.
International comedian Patrick Kielty will be hosting the Awards.

Tickets for the Meteor Ireland Music Awards are available at 29.50 Euro and can be purchased from usual ticket outlets nationwide. For telephone bookings, call the 24 Hour Ticketmaster credit card line on 1890 925 100.

The 'Best Newcomer' Award will be voted for by 2FM listeners and through this very web site. Voting for this category only commenced with Tony Fenton's Show Mon Feb 25. Last year's winner of this category were Relish who have enjoyed a very successful year in Ireland.

WATCH THE AWARDS ON NETWORK 2 - 6TH MARCH AT 9PM

-- 2 Fm