The story begins a long long time ago in a town named Sligo in the West of Ireland. Three guys named Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan had performed in the school musical together, and after their success on stage, had decided to form a band, called 6 as 1, and later changing their name to I.O.YOU2.
The group released a single “Together Girl Forever” in Ireland. After limited success, the lineup3 of I.O.YOU was changed—3 members (Derek, Graham and Michael) being asked to leave, and Nicky Byrne and Bryan McFadden were eventually chosen... Westlife were born!
Westlife released their first single “Swear it Again” in April 1999 which became the biggest-selling debut single ever in Ireland. Their debut album was released in the UK in November 1999 and has achieved triple platinum4 status. Already in their brief career Westlife have broken records as fast as they have set them—their second album,“Coast to Coast” went triple platinum in Ireland after only one day of release, and their seventh single release, “My Love”, gave them a place in chart history as they became the only band in UK chart history to have their first seven singles debut at number one.
2002 saw the group release their first Greatest Hits album, and Westlife's subsequent5 album,“Turnaround”, released November 2003, continued Westlife's success, going straight into the charts at number one.
March 2004 Westlife began a new chapter, as Bryan McFadden announced his departure from the band, citing6 his desire to spend more time with his family. Rumors suggested that this might be the beginning of the end7 for the group, however the Irish boy band have set the critics wrong once again. Relaxed, refreshed and bursting with energy, the band bounces back8 with their new album “Face to Face”. The latest album released in November 2005 became Westlife's 7th number one album in the UK in many years. Now the great group remains Ireland's most well-known and biggest selling pop export and is undoubtedly one of the world's biggest pop groups.
In March Westlife came to China to do some promotion for their new album, “Face to Face”, in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Kunming. With soulful harmonies9, angelic voices, good looks, their much-anticipated10 tour in 2006 mean that Westlife look set to enjoy chart success for many years to come!
Interview
Nicky, Shane, Kian and Mark answered YOUR questions—giving their candid11 views on everything.
Q: Hi guys, I'm a huge fan. What are your favorite tracks on “Face to Face”?
Nicky: It's weird when you make an album, as your favorite song will change every time you listen to it. Right now “Colour My World” is the one I like best, as we've not actually performed it anywhere. And people are loving “You Raise Me Up”, so that's a favorite too.
Shane: I have to agree about “You Raise Me Up”—it's a song that I'm not sick of yet, which is a good sign.
Kian: We sing our songs so much, it's very difficult for us not to get sick of them.
Q: If Brian asked to come back would you let him?
Nicky: We've always said never12 say never—but we wouldn't want Brian back and Brian wouldn't want to be back. We're a different band without him and “Face to Face” is set to be our biggest album ever, without him on it. You have to look at the reasons why Brian left. He was obviously severely unhappy to make such a decision. I've never got to the real root of his problem. So no, I don't think Brian will ever come back.
Q: What do you think of Take That13 getting back together?
Shane: Before we were in Westlife we used to watch Take That's videos and really look up to them. I still think Gary Barlow14 is one of the best singer/songwriters in the world and they were mentors15 for us.
Nicky: We think it's great that Take That are doing a tour but, for their own sakes, I hope they don't record a new album. The public love nostalgia16, but they shouldn't try and go beyond that. Maradona was a great footballer—but he's not going to be great today!
Q: Shane, how are you finding being a dad to Nicole?
Shane: It's been amazing and Nicole is beautiful. Except for two 10 day trips to South Africa, I've practically seen her every day since she was born on July 23. Nicole has started giggling17 and laughing. Last night I was tickling18 her and she couldn't stop laughing for about 10 minutes.
Q: Nicky, when are you and Georgina going to have a baby like Shane?
Nicky: I'm not sure, but seeing how happy Shane is definitely makes me want to be a dad. When Brian had Molly I felt that we were too young to really appreciate what having a child was like. I thought Molly was the cutest thing in the world, but it was always nice to give her back. But with Nicole, we're three or four years older and I'm married, which has made me very broody19!
Q: Hi Mark—You must be happy with the overwhelming support you've received since coming out as gay? Was it hard decision to make?
Mark: It's not something that I found difficult at all. When you get to the point of feeling OK about doing it, it's just a case of finding a few minutes to actually say the words. Getting to that place was hard, but once I got there I had absolutely no problem. And once you come out, it makes your life a lot better and easier.
Shane: I think we all knew Mark was gay, but it was up to him to tell us himself. We travel so much together that we're like family. I know more about the boys individually20 and personally than I do my own brothers.
Q: Can you ever envisage21 the day when Westlife split up or will you keep going until you take Elvis's record of 21 No1 singles?
Shane: We'd like to have the most No1s, but I don't think we'll ever beat Elvis.
Mark: And we're very happy with our 13 No1s so far, which is better than Take That.
Kian: You've got to take things year by year, especially being the type of band we are. We'd love to go on for as long as possible and we will, as long as people are still enjoying what we're doing and we're still enjoying it.
Fans' Reasons to Love Westlife:
●1. They're obviously talented because I became a fan without even knowing their name and never having seen their faces... ● 2. You can't not love a group that has such character. They're quite individualistic22 from what I've heard and seen.
● 3. As stated in number one, but must be reiterated23, they can sing. They can also look good, but the voices aren't bad at all.
● 4. Love them because you love quality. They are quality.
● 5. You sure do get a lot for your money. 19 songs and about 15 of them top-notch24! Impressive....
● 6. Their songs get me through life's obstacles...
故事说来话长，要从很久以前爱尔兰西部一个名叫斯莱戈的小镇说起。奇恩·伊根、马克·费希里和尚恩·菲南三人参加了校音乐剧的表演，首次登台表演成功使他们决定成立一支乐队，取名“六合一”，后来又改称“I.O.YOU”。
乐队在爱尔兰推出的第一支单曲是《永远相守的女孩》。小获成功之后，“I.O.YOU” 乐队阵容调整——三个成员(德里克、格雷姆和迈克尔)被请出乐队，而尼基·拜恩和布莱恩·麦克费登则最终应选入列，"西城男孩"就此诞生！
西城男孩于1999年4月推出首支单曲"再次发誓"，该曲成了爱尔兰有史以来销量最大的开局单曲。同年11月，乐队首张大碟在英国推出，并一举成为三白金唱片。在他们短暂的音乐生涯中，他们创记录与破记录的速度一样快——他们的第二张大碟《咫尺天涯》推出之后仅仅一天就在爱尔兰卖出3百万张，而他们的第7支单曲“我的爱”使他们在音乐排行榜上独占鳌头：他们成为英国排行榜历史上惟一的头7首单曲初次发行便位居榜首的乐队。
2002年乐队推出第一张他们最热门的单曲合集，随后于2003年11月发行的专辑《回首真爱》直接攀上排行榜第一，使西城男孩再谱成功新篇。
2004年，西城男孩开始了新的一章。布莱恩·麦克费登表示希望多花一些时间跟家人在一起而宣布离开乐队。谣传说，这估计就意味着乐队的结束，然而，这支爱尔兰男子乐队再次证明批评者们错了。他们心情轻松、焕然一新、斗志昂扬地带着新专辑《真情相对》杀了回来。这张2005年11月推出的最新专辑成为西城男孩第7张名列第一的大碟，这在英国是多年未见的。现在这支优秀的乐队依然是爱尔兰最有名的、流行音乐出口最多的乐队，毫无疑问，它也是全球最大的流行乐队之一。
今年3月，西城男孩来到中国的上海、北京、成都、郑州和昆明为他们的新专辑《真情相对》做宣传。他们深情的和声、天使般的声音、帅气的外表再加上这次期待已久的2006巡回演出，他们未来几年在排行榜上一定会继续独占鳌头！
访谈
尼基, 尚恩, 奇恩 、马克回答问题——对一切畅所欲言，毫不遮掩。
问：你们好，伙计们。我是你们的超级歌迷。请问你们最喜欢《真情相对》里哪一首歌？
尼基：做一张专辑就是有点怪，因为你每听一次，最喜欢的歌就会变一次。眼下，我最喜欢的是《缤纷我的世界》，因为这首歌我们还没在任何地方现场演唱过。很多人喜欢《也因有你》，因此这首也是我的最爱。
尚恩：我只能同意是《也因有你》——那首歌我现在还不讨厌，这是个好现象。
奇恩：我们自己的歌唱过太多遍了，想不厌烦都难。
问：要是布莱恩要求回来，你们同意么？
尼基：我们总说不要把话说死——不过我们不希望布莱恩回来，他也不会想回来。他离开之后，我们跟以前大不一样了。《真情相对》里没有他，却成了我们一直以来最受欢迎的专辑。你得看看布莱恩离开的原因。做出这样的决定他显然是非常难过的。我也从来没有弄明白他真正的困扰到底是什么。所以，不，我认为布莱恩决不会回来。
问：对于“接招”乐队复出你们怎么想？
尚恩：组合为西城男孩之前，我们经常看接招的录像，也十分崇拜他们。现在我仍认为盖瑞·巴洛是世界上最优秀的歌手和歌曲作者之一，他们是我们的导师！
尼基：我们认为接招搞巡回演唱是很好的事。但为了他们自己好，我希望他们别推出什么新专辑。大众喜欢怀旧，他们就不要搞什么新花样了。马拉多纳曾经是一位足球巨星——但今天他就不算什么了！
问：尚恩，你有了尼科尔之后，当爸爸的感觉如何？
尚恩: 感觉好极了，尼科尔长得很漂亮。自从她7月23号出生以来，除开两次为期十天的南非之行外，我几乎天天都能看到她。尼科尔已经会咯咯笑、哈哈笑了。昨夜我还在挠她痒痒，她一直笑了将近10分钟。
问：尼基，你跟乔治娜什么时候也像尚恩那样要个孩子呢？
尼基: 我不知道，不过看到尚恩幸福的样子让我也不禁心动，想当爸爸。当初布莱恩的女儿莫莉出生的时候，我觉得我们还太年轻，不知道如何当爸爸。我虽然觉得莫莉是世界上最可爱的小家伙，但是抱一会儿之后总是很乐意把她还回去。我们又长了三四岁，而且结了婚，现在看到尼科尔感觉就大不一样，我很想有个自己的孩子。
问：嗨，马克。自从你表明自己是同性恋后，铺天盖地而来的对你的支持一定让你很高兴吧？当初做出这个决定是不是很难？
马克：我一点也不觉得有什么为难的。当你觉得时机成熟，心中有底的时候，你需要得不过是几分钟把事情说出来而已。到那一步不容易，但是我一旦走到那一步，就绝对没有任何问题了。而且事情一旦说白了，日子就舒服得多，好过得多。
尚恩: 我们都知道马克是同性恋，但是告不告诉我们要由他自己决定。我们一起旅行得太多了，我们就像一家人一样。我对小伙子们各自的了解比自己兄弟还多。
问：你们能否想像一下西城男孩散伙的那一天？也许你们会坚守下去直到打破猫王的21首单曲排行榜第一的记录？
尚恩: 我们当然希望拿最多的第一，但我认为我们不会超过猫王。
马克：迄今为止我们有了13首单曲第一，对此我们很高兴。这远远胜过接招了。
奇恩: 事情得一年一年地做啊，尤其是我们这种风格的乐队。我们当然愿意尽可能长久地搞下去。只要人们依然喜欢我们的东西，而我们自己也觉得开心，我们就会一直坚持下去。
西城男孩——歌迷不得不爱的理由：
1．显而易见，他们才华横溢。因为我在还没见过他们面孔，不知道他们名字的时候就成了他们的歌迷。
2．这样有个性的乐队你不得不爱。据我所见所闻，他们非常特例独行。
3．如第一条说过的，但这里要重申的是：他们唱得好，看相好，嗓音也不赖。
4．爱品味，所以爱他们。他们有品味。
5．钱要花得值。一张专辑19首歌，15首都是顶尖的！令人过耳不忘……
6．他们的歌帮我度过人生的难关……
1. calligraphy n. 书法
2. I.O.YOU 即I.Owe.YOU。
3. lineup n. 阵容，阵形
4. platinum n. 白金，在国外一张唱片销量达100万即为白金唱片
5. subsequent adj. 随后的，后来的
6. cite v. 列举；说到
7. the beginning of the end 预示结局的先兆
8. bounces back卷土重来
9. harmony n. 和声
10. anticipated adj. 预先的，预期的
11. candid adj. 坦白的，率直的
12. never say never 由成语never say die（不要泄气），意为“永远不要说决不”。
13. Take That 曾是20世纪90年代英国流行音乐史上最为成功的男子组合。1996年解散，去年宣布重组。
14. Gary Barlow是Take That未解散前的主唱。
15. mentor n. 导师，指导者
16. nostalgia n. 怀旧
17. giggle v. 咯咯地笑
18. tickle v. 挠痒
19. broody adj. （喻）迫切想要个孩子
20. individually adv. 各自地
21. envisage v. 展望，想像
22. individualistic adj. 我行我素的
23. reiterate v. 重申
24. top-notch adj. 拔尖的