Teenmusic - Westlife's Bryan Busy Changing Diapers

Westlife hunk Bryan McFadden is worshipped by thousands of females and hangs out with his mates for a living.

But behind the showbiz glamour, Bryan is also a young dad resigned to dirty diapers and sleepless nights.

Speaking for the first time at length about his second daughter, six- week-old Lilly Sue, the 22-year-old says caring for two children with wife Kerry leaves him exhausted.

Now he thinks performing to thousands of fans every night on Westlife's upcoming tour will actually help him relax.

Bryan said: "I'm looking forward to hitting the road.

"I do my share of diapers and it's hard, tiring work. I can hardly believe I'm going through all that again.

"I haven't been getting much sleep but the tour will be much more relaxing and gives me a chance to rest."

This would seem to be proof he has put his hellraising days behind him.

Westlife's Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Tour will have pyrotechnics and flying stunts that promise to make this run their most ambitious yet.

But Bryan, who also has 18-month-old daughter Molly, would not be drawn away from his family.

He said: "I see my children and know I have responsibilities. I had to grow up.

"Lilly cries a lot more than Molly ever did and is quite a different baby. But Molly is very affectionate and protective of her and doesn't get jealous.

"Being a dad again makes life much more worthwhile and I'm loving it.

"From being single to married, then a dad to family man, there have been a lot of big life changes in the last couple of years. But I handled them well."

Bryan will be joined in wedded bliss this year when band pals Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne walk down the aisle with respective girlfriends Gillian Walsh and Georgina Aherne in December.

But he insists they won't be quitting Westlife to set up house. Bryan said: "I can't see that Shane and Nicky getting married is going to change them. They have practically been married anyway because they've been going out with their girlfriends for years.

"It's not going to make any difference to Westlife."

He returns to band duties on Monday when Westlife release their latest single Tonight - a potential 12th No.1.

Their planned single, a cover of Cliff Richard's Miss You Nights, was relegated to the B- side after complaints from the band it was "s****".

Bryan said: "Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell chose the song but I don't think anybody in the band wanted it to be a single."

Band pal Mark Feehily added: "We're fed up with cover versions and this was a bad cover version.

"But it's still out on Monday on the B-side because some will like it.

"We reached a turning point when Miss You Nights was lined up as the single and none of us liked the song.

"It made us realise the next album needs to be fresh and different. If we carry on, we'll be bored."
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Shane Popworld Interview
This week, Ireland's most famous boy band launches their campaign for a twelfth and record-breaking number one, with the release of their new single "Tonight."

Popworld were lucky enough to recently join the lads at a popular Irish bar for a bit of a St Patrick's Day knees-up. And despite being hung over from the night before, they were in good spirits. In fact, they were so cheerful that we even managed to pry Shane away from his football watching to talk tours, Guinness and weddings...

What's the most amount of Guinness you've drunk in one night?
"I actually don't like Guinness at all. I've never drunk a pint of Guinness in my life. I think you'll find that a lot of Irish people don't actually like it. I tend to stick to the spirits."

Who's usually the last one standing on a night out with Westlife?
"Kian. He can out drink the four of us when he wants to. When he goes for it, he really goes for it!"

When's the last time you and Nicky had a Shnicky (regular Shane and Nicky) night out?
"God, it's been a few months since we've had one of them! It's long overdue! I'll have to get on to Nicky about it. In fact we might have one tonight!"

Most boyband have a shelf life of five years...
"So, we have about a month left!"

Do you think Westlife have reached a stage where you can slow down and each concentrate on side projects?
"We all do certain side projects anyway, whether it be writing songs or whatever. I set up a Morgan store a girls' clothing shop in Sligo. We're all into different things, but as a band, this is our job. This what we do for a living, so you've got to concentrate 100% on it. You can't really take it easy; when you start taking it easy, someone else comes and takes your place. You've got to be on top of your game all the time."

Are you worried about your popularity slipping, what with more energetic boy bands like Triple Eight coming up?
"No, not at all. I mean, best of luck to triple Eight; I hope they do brilliantly. The way I see it, there's room for everybody, so long as they've got good music. There's plenty of rock bands and pop bands out there, and it doesn't do them any harm to have one more out there. We don't see anybody as competition because we worry about Westlife, that's all. If we don't have a good single, then we're worried. If we don't have a good album, we worry. Luckily, we've had decent enough songs and decent enough albums."

What can we expect from the Greatest hits tour?
"Obviously, we're going to be singing all the greatest hits, but it's not going to be in the round (perfomed on a central stage) this time. Instead, it's going to be very Las Vegas."

Any showgirls?
"Yeah, actually, there will be. There's going to be lots of staircases- very grand - and we'll also have a lot of musicians this year."

Your Cliff Richard cover of 'Miss You Nights' is on the B-side to your new single 'Tonight' which has a very Bryan Adams feel to it. Are Westlife turning into a middle-of-the-road rock group?!
"Nah, I don't think so. It's just a song that Steve Mac and Wayne Hector wrote which just happened to be rock. We thought it was cool and that we should do it. It's just the way it ended up. We didn't try to do a rock song; we just wanted to have different song - to reinvent ourselves, if you like - for the next album. For us, at this stage, we have to do something that's different. We're experimenting a lot more, but we're not going to change our style of music. Hopefully it'll work out and people will be really surprised by some of our new material. We're not going to do something drastically shocking; we're just stepping our game up a bit."

And, lastly, are you getting married this year?
"Yes, I'm getting married on 28th December in County Mayo, which is just outside (my hometown) Sligo. I can't wait."
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Top Of The Pop - Testing, testing!
They've been a long time running - gone Coast To Coast and made the world their own. So in all that time have they really learnt about each other? We put WESTLIFE to the Westlife test!

Kian

Right then Kian, can you reveal Mark's most embarrassing momment?
Kian: Oh dear! I don't know my most embarrassing moment ever, never mind Mark's!
Nicky: I know one bad moment...he got up on stage at school to sing a song and he forgot all the words. It was a talent contest when we were in first year.
Kian: Oh yeah, he went on the stage singing and basically the whole school were laughing!
Bryan: Did you forget all the words, Mark?
Mark: Not all of them!

When did Shane last have his hair cut?
Kian: The last time was...before yesterday? Is that close enough? Maybe when we were having photo shoots, was it last Thursday?
Nicky: I reckon it was last week.
Shane: Yep, it was last Thursday.

Who has Bryan just spoken to on the phone?
Kian: Probably Kerry. I mean he probably spoke to her in his lunch break cos that's when everyone speaks to their girlfriends.
Bryan: Actually, I spoke to my Mum a few minutes ago!

Do you remember the last time Nicky was in a bad mood?
Kian: Yesterday! We were at a photo shoot and another member of the band really (bleep)-ed him off. We knew he was annoyed cos he goes really quiet for about five minutes and then he blows steam off on us!
Bryan: He stands around and twitches and goes b-b-b-bbbb!
Nicky: Can't I answer this question? Actually it's true, ha-ha!

Score: 2 out of 4. Is this guy even in Westlife?

Mark

What did Kian get up to last night?
Mark: He went with us to a meeting with our accountant and then he went to bed. That's all I know!
Kian: That's all I did! I went to sleep at 10pm last night.

Can you name Shane's fave TV show?
Mark: I'd say it was either an award show like The Grammys or else Friends. I know Shane likes the whole award show thing - all the stars out in their best outfits and seeing who gets what. And The Grammys is all about music - it's just interesting.
Shane: That's totally spot on. Friends is definitely my favourite sitcom. Chandler's my favourite character but I love Joey, too.

Tell us what Bryan likes to scoff for breakfast?
Mark: Well, lately he likes to have fruit salads, cereal and maybe an omelette or scrambled egg. I'd say if he had cereal, he'd go for Cornflakes.
Bryan: All that is true. Obviously I wouldn't have that all at once! One day I'd have fruit salad and cereal, the next day scrambled egg or an omelette.

When did Nicky have his first kiss?
Mark: I dunno when his first kiss was! I could tell when his first something else was though, ha-ha! I'll guess and say he was about nine or ten.
Shane: I think it was in his back garden...
Mark: ...yeah, he was in his back garden and he went and got a blanket for them to lie down on and everything. I think she was his neighbour.
Nicky: You see you did know Mark. That's about right!

Score: 3.5 out of 4. Mark it good!

Shane

When was the last time Nicky spoke to Georgina?
Shane: It was about half an hour ago as far as I remember - that was the last time I heard him on the phone.
Nicky: Absolutely, it was just when everyone was waiting for me.
Bryan: That's what we were blimin' waiting for!
Nicky: Sorry!

Name Kian's favourite subject at school?
Shane: He probably don't have one - he didn't really like school! No, his favourite subject at school was probably when he got to play guitar in his rock band!
Kian: Ha-ha, that's about right!

What was the first record Bryan bought?
Shane: I think it was Kylie Minogue, I Should Be So Lucky.
Bryan: Actually that one was bought for me.
Shane: Then the first record you bought was probably Nirvana.
Bryan: The first ever record I bought for myself would have been Guns N' Roses - that was before Nirvana,wasn't it?

Reveal Mark's nickname at school? Shane: Ha-ha! I think it was Fat Lips. We used to go. 'Oi, fhat flips!' (in a funny voice)
Mark: That's true actually. I didn't really get upset though - cos all the girls used to love it, ha-ha!

Score: 3 out of 4. We'll tell you What Makes A Man - four points!

Nicky

Who did Shane have a crush on at school?
Nicky: I'd say it was Gillian. Didn't you have a crush on Gillian in year two or four? Shane loves high heels and short skirts so there could be a bloke walking by in high heels and a short skirt he'd look.
Shane: That's all true! I had a crush on Gillian when I was 12 and I went out with her for a couple of months but she gave me the boot!

If Mark wasn't a pop star what would he be?
Nicky: A teacher - if he wasn't working in music he'd like to teach music. He'd be good at it cos he's got a lot of patience, but if he went out drinking on a school night, first of all he'd be late and everyone would havw free classes for the rest of the morning. And then when he did get in he'd be asleep for half an hour!
Mark: Yep, that's all true!

When did Bryan and Kerry get hitched?
Nicky: 5 January last year. We were all there - I'm not going to forget that, am I?
Bryan: Spot on.

What's Kian listening to on his Discman?
Nicky: It'll either be Metallica or Guns N' Roses. That's what it is a lot of the time.
Kian: That's totally wrong. It's J.Lo remixes. It's very good, there's not one track that's my favourite but it's all really good.

Score: 3 out of 4. Nicky, don't be a Fool Again!

Bryan

If Mark could date any celeb who would it be?
Bryan: Angelina Jolie cos she's gorgeous. And she's got big lips like him!
Shane: She'd tear him apart in a second. But she's single again at the moment, isn't she?
Mark: Didn't she wear blood from Billy Bob Thornton in a necklace round her neck! I don't think I'd be into that. But she is gorgeous! She looked lovely in Tomb Raider.

Do you know what position Nicky plays in football?
Bryan: Centre midfield - he's very handy.
Nicky: Yep, me and Keane-o. That's Roy Keane-o!

Can you name any of Shane's horses?
Bryan: Condor, Carbon Fight...err...Barney?
Shane: Barney? Well you got two of them right at least!

What does Kian wear to bed?
Bryan: White Calvin Klein boxer shorts. They're about four sizes too small. You just hope he doesn't bend over cos you'll see so much, ha-ha!
Kian: I do wear white Calvin's - but I buy the right size.
Nicky: Who wears the naughtiest boxers?
Bryan: It's got to be me!

Score: 3.5 out of 4. Who'd have thought Bryan is Flying Without Wings!
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