Review: Westlife bring full-fat power ballads that light up the room like a Christmas tree doused in napalm as they return to their spiritual home
Westlife: Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan and Shane Filan are fashion disasters, which is entirely as it should be for three middle-aged Irishmen. Photograph: Barry CroninThe resurrection of Westlife has been nothing less than a pop miracle. When the quartet announced they were breaking up, in 2012, they already appeared to have one foot in obscurity. Lacking Take That’s laddish chutzpah or One Direction’s cheeky Gen Z charm, the consensus was that they put the “bland” in boy band.
A decade on, the re-formed group – now all in their 40s, with the greying stubble to prove it – have been through an astounding rehabilitation. Ed Sheeran came out as a fan and wrote their hit Hello My Love. In August they headlined Wembley Stadium, in London, for the first time, in a sold-out gig. Now they’re back in Dublin for three more sold-out concerts – albeit down a man, with Mark Feehily recovering from pneumonia.
His absence does not detain his bandmates. From the outset Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan and Shane Filan – playing their spiritual home, the former Point Depot, for the 72nd occasion – whip their audience into a state of seasonal glee. Their voices intertwine on their frothy take on Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl while Swear It Again is a full-fat power ballad that lights up the room like a Christmas tree doused in napalm.
They can certainly carry a tune. But these middle-aged Irishmen are also – and this is entirely as it should be – fashion disasters. They arrive in black-and-white patterned suits that make them look like a three-part pantomime cow, and later they put on bulky jackets with vast lapels that suggest they’ve come straight from their First Communions.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Eamon Ryan aiming to take one in five cars off the road by 2030 | JOE.ieEamon Ryan aiming to take one in five cars off the road by 2030
Read more »
Eamon Ryan aiming to take one in five cars off the road by 2030 | JOE.ieEamon Ryan aiming to take one in five cars off the road by 2030
Read more »
Eamon Ryan aiming to take one in five cars off the road by 2030 | JOE.ieDescribing the changes as 'significant', Ryan stated that they will see each sector required to 'step up to the plate'
Read more »