Post by shayne on Aug 27, 2006 11:25:41 GMT 8
The Boys Are Back In Town - 24 August 2006
Thanx Rachie
Westlife’s SHANE FILAN, 27, chats with Celine Tan about going back to their syrupy, ballady roots, and yes, panty projectiles.
8 DAYS: People say the boyband is dead. What do you think?
SHANE FILAN: I don’t think so. We’re not dead! I think Westlife is just as successful as we were five years ago. Face To Face [the seventh album, released last October] was huge across Europe. But it’s true that there are fewer boybands out there than before, and there’s less good talent around. We came at a time which was very good for boybands, seven years ago, and we’ve stock around. If crap bands come out, they don’t stick around, because they’re just not good enough.
Does the flak from being in a boyband bother you?
I really don’t care about that. They can say, boyband this, and boyband that. We’re a boyband, pop group, whatever you want to call us. We have a very nice life. We’ve made a lot of money, and we’ve got nicer cars than they do. (laughs)
Things are very different for you now, though. You’re married and your baby girl just had her first birthday.
Oh yes, it was unbelievable. We did a concert on her birthday, near London, and I brought her up to the stage. It was the first time I showed her to 20.000 people. They all sung “Happy Birthday” to her.
Cool. Have your fans changed too?
We have an older fan base now. The girls who loved us when they were 14 or 15 are now 23, 24 years old. A lot of them understand that we’re normal guys and that we have normal lives. I’m happy that our personal lives are so normal.
Do you still get under-wear flung at you?
Oh yes! We always get the underwear! (Chuckles) We might get two or three per concert. It still happens! Actually, we get more now. The fans used to be younger – they were girls not women. They didn’t dare to take off their underwear. But we don’t take it too seriously - we make a joke of it.
Aren’t you guys sick of singing ballads yet? The new album is full of syrupy ballads.
No, not really. I love singing ballads. That’s what we’re good at – we’re good singers. We tried a different sound on [our fifth album] Turnaround. It was deeper, darker and it didn’t work as well. It wasn’t a brilliant album. Face To Face is typical Westlife. We’ve gone back to those first albums. The next album, which we’re now working on and will be out end of the year, is like that as well. It’s why people love us, it’s been proven so many times. It’s music we love to make, those big power ballads.
Mark Feehily said he could see Face To Face’s first single “You Raise Me Up” becoming a favourite at weddings and funerals like “Swear It Again”! Isn’t that kind of morbid?
Well if a song can reach out to two completely different markets – the sad and the happy – then it’s a very successful song.
Westlife’s Face To Face tour to the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sept 8.Tickets from www.sistic.com.sg
Credit/Source: 8 DAYS / Rachie
Thanx Rachie
Westlife’s SHANE FILAN, 27, chats with Celine Tan about going back to their syrupy, ballady roots, and yes, panty projectiles.
8 DAYS: People say the boyband is dead. What do you think?
SHANE FILAN: I don’t think so. We’re not dead! I think Westlife is just as successful as we were five years ago. Face To Face [the seventh album, released last October] was huge across Europe. But it’s true that there are fewer boybands out there than before, and there’s less good talent around. We came at a time which was very good for boybands, seven years ago, and we’ve stock around. If crap bands come out, they don’t stick around, because they’re just not good enough.
Does the flak from being in a boyband bother you?
I really don’t care about that. They can say, boyband this, and boyband that. We’re a boyband, pop group, whatever you want to call us. We have a very nice life. We’ve made a lot of money, and we’ve got nicer cars than they do. (laughs)
Things are very different for you now, though. You’re married and your baby girl just had her first birthday.
Oh yes, it was unbelievable. We did a concert on her birthday, near London, and I brought her up to the stage. It was the first time I showed her to 20.000 people. They all sung “Happy Birthday” to her.
Cool. Have your fans changed too?
We have an older fan base now. The girls who loved us when they were 14 or 15 are now 23, 24 years old. A lot of them understand that we’re normal guys and that we have normal lives. I’m happy that our personal lives are so normal.
Do you still get under-wear flung at you?
Oh yes! We always get the underwear! (Chuckles) We might get two or three per concert. It still happens! Actually, we get more now. The fans used to be younger – they were girls not women. They didn’t dare to take off their underwear. But we don’t take it too seriously - we make a joke of it.
Aren’t you guys sick of singing ballads yet? The new album is full of syrupy ballads.
No, not really. I love singing ballads. That’s what we’re good at – we’re good singers. We tried a different sound on [our fifth album] Turnaround. It was deeper, darker and it didn’t work as well. It wasn’t a brilliant album. Face To Face is typical Westlife. We’ve gone back to those first albums. The next album, which we’re now working on and will be out end of the year, is like that as well. It’s why people love us, it’s been proven so many times. It’s music we love to make, those big power ballads.
Mark Feehily said he could see Face To Face’s first single “You Raise Me Up” becoming a favourite at weddings and funerals like “Swear It Again”! Isn’t that kind of morbid?
Well if a song can reach out to two completely different markets – the sad and the happy – then it’s a very successful song.
Westlife’s Face To Face tour to the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sept 8.Tickets from www.sistic.com.sg
Credit/Source: 8 DAYS / Rachie