After 14 years as a band, Westlife are going their separate ways. With their Greatest Hits album, last single and farewell tour in the pipeline, the boys are saying goodbye to their fans. We caught up with Kian to talk about the end of Westlife.
How does it feel now you have announced you’re splitting up?
Well, it’s fine, you know. I think we all feel like we’re doing the right thing and it’s the right time. We’ve spent a long time dedicating our lives to Westlife and to each other. I think we’ve all kind of come to the stage where we’re all wanting to spend more time with family and things like that and it just kind of feels right. We feel like we’ve been to so many places and done things we’d never thought we’d get to do. We never wanted it to end badly, we always wanted to end it as friends. We’ve managed to do that after 14 years, so we really feel like we’ve made the right decision.
Does it still feel like you’ve got quite a long to way go, with the tour next year?
Yes, it is a bit like that. I don’t think it feels real to us at the minute. None of it feels real, because we’re still in the middle of it. We’re in the middle of the promotional tour and we’re doing interviews all the time, we’re talking about it all. It’s so strange, but I don’t think we’ve really realised what we’ve achieved and I don’t think we’ve realised what we’ve been doing for the last 14 years. We’re ending with a big concert so, when it all comes to an end, it’ll be quite an emotional moment for us all. Then it’s going to be interesting. It’ll be an awkward few months, seeing what it’s like to live without Westlife. That’ll be when it becomes real.
You’ve just released your greatest hits album. Was it a tough job deciding which songs to include?
We just said put everything that we’ve ever released on this album. There are two different versions of it – there’s one that’s got the definitive hits, all the number ones and the big singles. We wanted to make sure all the big moments are on there. Then they were like: “We’re going to leave off songs that were number two.” But, if it was number two, why wouldn’t we put it on? So it was a little bit funny in that way, but there’s also another version that has literally all the songs ever released. That is amazing, and it’s got every video we’ve ever made on there as well, so that’s the lump package and that’s the one to go for, it’s brilliant.
How long would it take to listen to that whole album then?
I’d say probably four hours. Three to four hours. Maybe more!
Do you have your own personal favourite song or video from the past?
I think songs like Flying Without Wings and You Raise Me Up and World Of Our Own. Those three songs are massive moments in our career and they still feel like we recorded them yesterday. So, from that perspective, they’re amazing songs, but then I remember I loved shooting Fool Again off the first album in Mexico. There were so many different things we did over the years and it’s just crazy looking back on it and trying to pull out moments that were better than others.
Westlife are the longest-running boy band. Why do you think it is that you’ve had such a successful career for so long?
I genuinely believe it’s because we just didn’t argue with each other to the point of disliking each other. We never let things escalate. We had a genuine friendship with each other. From the early days that was the natural thing that happened. And, you know, we knew what we were. We weren’t one of these boy bands that were trying to be something we’re not. We weren’t trying to be cool and hip and trendy. We weren’t trying too hard. We just knew who we were and we stuck to it. We didn’t try to change it. We are about ballads, mid-tempo, up-tempo songs that we like, that are just good fun. And I always think we were just ourselves. We were never fake. What you saw with us was what you got. We always just tried to be ourselves.
Your Greatest Hits Tour in 2012 is going to be amazing. Why is it so important for you guys to kind of do that tour?
It’s a big thank you really and it’s a tribute to our fans, to ourselves. It’s a pat on the back. It’s a celebration. It’s a celebration about what we’ve achieved as a band. It’s a celebration about what the fans have given us. We want to go out on the tour and we want everybody to have a great time. We want it to be happy memories.
CREDIT: BBC Radio 1, Haven
ooow. so sad for their fan who love them since their first year, like me to hear their separate ways. You'll never die in my heart, their heart, our heart.
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