And the lads are back in Oz... :)

Tuesday, 21st November, 2006



Yes, this is pretty much going to be an entire post dedicated to my favourite singers...Westlife... (just in case you're living under a rock or hadn't read my previous posts - therefore you should be grateful you're not one of my best friends or husband who have heard about them ad nauseum for around 8 years).

So basically, we've had 7 years of nothing for Australia. Yup, just buying CDs & singles and hoping that just maybe one of the Aussie TV music shows might grace us with a film clip or two. Last March the Westlife guys finally made good on their promise to come visit Australia again (last time they were here was 1999 and it wasn't really advertised), when they arrived on our shores for a short promo trip. Maddy & I flew to Sydney as I honestly believed it might be the only time we ever saw them here.

Then an Australian tour was promised as a result of the feedback. Excited beyond words. So I bought my ticket and looked forward to the Brisbane concert this past September. But it didn't happen. *rolls eyes* Less than a month out it was announced the tour was postponed because they were running behind in recording their latest album which was due out in October. Initially the fans were dissappointed, but accepted the explanation. That was of course until we heard an interview done two weeks prior to the Aussie tour kick-off in which the lads said they'd already finished recording. Then they added an Asian tour a week before the Aussie tour was supposed to have happened. Not impressed Jan. We all put two and two together and it spelled - not enough ticket sales, not enough balls to admit the truth.

Mich & I get comfortable at the Queen Street Mall - Tues, 21 Nov 2006

Two weeks ago we got wind of another promotional tour for their new album. We all waited anxiously for word on where they were to visit within our fair country. This time us Brisbanites got the best deal - a showcase & CD signing; the only other city they were visiting was to be Sydney. (Again there were whispers for the reason behind the Brisbane choice - apparently Brisvegas was lagging behind the other states in sales of the new album, but also concert ticket sales)

The sun comes up on Tuesday, 21st November, 2006 and the Queen St Mall is descended upon by Westlife fans. A LONG wait but fortunately a good view of the lads; and instead of 2 songs originally promised - we got 4! :) They sounded awesome, was wonderful to hear them live to dispell any inklings people might have had that they couldn't sing live. The lads started with 'World of Our Own', continued with two songs off their new album, 'The Rose' and 'Easy', and finished with 'You Raise Me Up'. They were obviously hot (well over 30 degrees in Brisbane and they'd just come from winter in Ireland) and probably shattered from only having arrived in Australia the day before. Regardless, they were just beautiful. They signed their albums and smiled for photos for the fans. Maddy got some special waves from both Shane & Mark and then we hung around waiting to collect our 3 metre long banner which Marli & I had spent the entire day before creating. The SonyBMG rep for Queensland was pretty impressed with it and tried to organise a photo of us official board members with the lads & our banner; but couldn't get it approved by security. We did manage to get on stage after the guys left and get a photo with our banner in front of the big advertisement board for their new 'Love Album'. :)

Always a sweetheart, Shane Filan smiles for Maddy and I during the CD signing.

Claire with her insider information knew they were headed over to the QPAC theatre for a sound-check prior to the Ashes concert they were performing in that evening. We hightailed it over there and snooped around a little. Claire headed off to check the basement carpark and then went home. I purchased a ticket to the Ashes concert and just as we were leaving (and handing over the banner in the care of Mich & Charlie who were going to see the lads in Sydney), someone squealed and there were the lads strolling along the carpark in front of us. Mich called the lads over and they posed with us for some photos. Sadly I missed out on one with my favourite, Shane; but snared one with Nicky who was a sweet, sweet man. :) We wished them luck and then rushed home to get ready for the Ashes to Ashes concert that evening. They were suprisingly well received for their performance of the Lionel Ritchie classic 'Easy' by a sell-out crowd of normally yobbo Ozzie & Pommy cricket fans.

A terrible shot of me, but Nicky Byrne looks as lovely as ever.


Looking forward to both the Sydney & Brisbane concerts next February which we're hoping still goes ahead!