Me: “I’m going to see Westlife....”
Friend: “Really? Are they still around.....?”
The answer my friend is yes. They are well and truly still around. They took a little break, said their farewells to their fans to take some time out of the spotlight and focus on their families, in the summer of 2012.
I know this because I was lucky enough to be at their ‘last ever concert’ on June 22nd 2012, lucky enough to be stood in Croke Park with 82000 other diehard Westlife fans... I was stood with my mother-in-law and my two sister in laws....who are of course Irish, watching them belt out classics like ‘You raise me up’ and ‘Flying without wings’. It was emotional. And I couldn’t believe I’d been at their last ever concert.
So fast forward 7 years when Westlife announce their comeback. The shock right......but literally the best news ever.
I’m straight on the phone to my friend who is also a mega fan, we’ve shared many a gin, belting out ‘Fool Again’ whilst standing on the balcony and singing into our hairbrushes, and we agree that whatever the cost we are going. And of course we manage to get tickets.
June 2019 comes around and it’s finally the night. We are seeing Westlife. We managed to get tickets in Birmingham. And while we are on the topic.....i’d love it if someone could tell me that it’s not just us that got confused with the different arenas in Birmingham, they’ve given them all new different names.....any need?! Stick to the old ones....we knew where we were then.
We saw them at The Arena..(used to be the NIA!) and what a venue. Loads of bars, restaurants, easy parking and such a great atmosphere. Can I say at this
point, I love how it’s virtually impossible to not wear glitter to any concert nowadays?! Loads of people selling face glitter but of course we had our own already!!
We didn’t know the support act....an Irish bad called The RUA who reminded me of The Corrs. They were upbeat and cute, a family band who got the crowd going. They had some really good songs that I’m still listening to.
And then.....the time came. Out came 4 gorgeous men (no longer boys) opening the set with one of their newer classics “Hello My Love”. Wow. What an opener. Everyone was dancing. Grannies, grandads, young children, mums, dads, boyfriends, girlfriends. Everyone. Such a mix of people, young and old. It was special.
And then they reeled off hit after hit after hit. Considering they’re known for the ballads and stool sitting we danced non stop. “If I let you go”....”Uptown girl”.....”When you’re looking like that”. I could go on......
In between the sets they talked, laughed and joked with the audience and between themselves. It literally felt like 4 best mates getting together and having some craic. They even belted out a few Queen classics for good measure.
The encore was something special. They turned up in white suits. I know. Nostalgia at its finest. And gave us “Flying without wings” and “World of our own”.
We didn’t stop singing, we didn’t sit down but we did loose our voices. They made every bit of me happy as I let the songs that I grew up with, bring back memories of my teenage years.
Their music is classic, fun and a little cheesy. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s my cup of tea. And a cup of tea I like very very much.....
H x