Westlife brief biography of marks

After winning six awards at the December 2000 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party, the Irish hunks can rightly lay claim to the title of Britain's biggest pop acts - but where did it all start?

Who are the members of Westlife?

Original band members Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily were born and grew up in the windy Irish west coast town of Sligo.

In 1998, after success on local TV, Boyzone's manager Louis Walsh snapped then up and landed them a support slot in Dublin with boy band stalwarts The Backstreet Boys.

For the gig the trio contracted two further singers, Dubliners Bryan McFadden and Nicky Byrne.

Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating then stepped in to manage the band and help nurture its raw talent.

Initial success

In April 1999, Westlife's first single, Swear It Again, stormed into the top of the UK charts and since then there's been no looking back .he boys held the Christmas 2000 number one spot with their version of Abba'