Westlife are swearing their love all over again for their fans with their extravagant 25th anniversary plans, and things kicked off at Royal Albert Hall.
Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, and Kian Egan took to the stage of the London venue on Monday night, minus their bandmate and best friend Mark Feehily, who has taken a step back amid his ongoing health woes.
Mark remains ‘very much part of the band’, and proving this, the trio paid tribute to him during their rendition of Flying Without Wings, on which Mark serves as the lead vocalist.
Nicky Byrne of Westlife. Pic: Joseph Okpako/WireImage
Nicky, Shane, and Kian were joined on stage by The Voice star Kirsten Joy, who acted as Mark’s stand-in while the band sang his ‘favourite song’.
Speaking to the crowd before launching into Flying Without Wings, Shane said: ‘I want to take a minute to talk about Mark, who unfortunately is not with us tonight. But we love him, we miss him, and we cannot wait to have him back on this stage with us…’
Shane Filan of Westlife. Pic: Nicky J Sims/Getty Images
‘The good news is he’s obviously on the new music, which you’ve heard already, Chariot, And, the next album as well, we have a new album coming out in February,’ Shane continued.
‘So this next song, I want to dedicate it to Mark because it’s Mark’s favorite song. That might give you a hint. It’s a beautiful song. So tonight we’d like to dedicate it to him, and I’d like to invite Kirsten Joy down to sing it with us.’
@charlottelowe08 Shane addressing Mark missing and dedicating flying without wings to him 🥰🥹@Westlife #westlife25 #25yearsofwestlife #royalalberthall #flyingwithoutwings ♬ original sound – Charlotte Lowe
‘This song is probably the song that changed our whole career,’ he admitted, before he joined Kirsten, Nicky, and Kian in song.
One excited Westlife fan penned: ‘They were amazing, weren’t they!!??? Still on a high this morning,’ as another person wrote: ‘Incredible. I’ve seen them sing this live so many times, [it] never fails to bring on the tears.’
Pic: Joseph Okpako/WireImage
During their recent appearance on the Late Late Show, in celebration of their 13-night 3Arena residency, when host Patrick Kielty asked for an update on Mark, Shane was quick to jump in with, ‘He’s fine.
‘Unfortunately, he’s not able to join us, which is obviously sad and a tough decision for him to make, but I suppose we have to respect that.’
Mark Feehily of Westlife performs on stage at BBC Proms In The Park at Hyde Park. Pic: Getty Images
‘He is on the new music, he is on that song [Chariot], and he’s on all the other songs on the album, which is great. It’s the most important thing for us,’ Shane continued at the time.
‘We’ve got to keep it going, obviously, it’s the 25th anniversary, and he wishes us well, and we can’t wait to have him back as soon as possible.’