---->> Westlife

Extended from Smash Hits Magazine:

February 1998
Shane's mum rings Boyzone manager Louis Walsh to tell him about her son's band IOU – which also features Kian and Mark.

March 1998
Louis gets IOU a support slot with the Backstreet Boys in Dublin.

October 1998
Louis recommends IOU ditch three of their members. He drafts in Bryan and Nicky after auditioning them for Reel. He calls the five lads Westside and gets them £4 million record deal.

December 1998
Westside win the Smash Hits Best New Tour Act.

February 1999
The band change their name to Westlife – not in fear of LA's notorious Westside Crips gang, but in fear of lawyers representing a little-known LA band, Westside.

April 1999
The boys appear with Ronan on their first Smash Hits cover

May 1999
Debut single Swear It Again reaches No1 in the UK charts. The album, Westlife repeats the success.

August 1999
If I Let You Go becomes their second No1.

October 1999
Bryan dumps his girlfriend, Aqua singer Lene, because "she parties too much".

Flying Without Wings makes it a hat-trick of No1s

It's Smash Hits cover No2 – a spooky Hallowe'en special.

November 1999
Manager Louis Walsh makes the boys cry by telling them off for smoking.

Bryan meets Atomic Kitten's Kerry Katona on the Smash Hits Tour and love spreads quicker than warm Flora.

Nicky appears on the cover of Smash Hits, suited and booted alongside Dane Bowers, Lee Steps, Scott Five and Geri Halliwell.

December 1999
I Have A Dream/Seasons In The Sun hits No1 on Christmas Day, making Westlife the first UK-based act to have four No1s in a year.January 2000
Shane opens his heart to <Smash Hits> with his first solo cover.

March 2000
Westlife are awarded the freedom of Sligo – Mark, Shane and Kian's home city.

Bryan and Kian tip a bucket of water over Shane for our `Wetlife!' cover.

April 2000
The boys hear <Fool Again> has become their fifth consecutive No1 while on board a flight to New York. They embark on a bender that ends 14 hours later and racks up a drinks bill of £10,000.

May 2000
Westlife record the duet <Against All Odds> with Mariah Carey on the island of Capri. "Her yacht was bigger than some hotels we've stayed in," lies Mark.

The lads reveal the truth behind the rumours in another SH! cover shoot.

July 2000
Christina Aguilera has Mark removed from a chair at London's Met Bar.

September 2000
Against All Odds reaches No1 and Kian gets naked on our cover.

October 2000
J Five brands Westlife "boring" so Bryan squares up to him at an awards show in Belgium. The pair are pulled apart by bouncers.
November 2000
Westlife are out of this world as we shoot them for the cover – in space.
My Love gives them a seventh No1
Their second album, <Coast To Coast> beats the Spice Girls' Forever to the No1 spot.

December 2000
Westlife pick up a staggering six awards at the <Smash Hits> Poll Winners' party.
Disaster! Well, relatively. What Makes A Man only reaches No2.
They're our(Smash Hits) Christmas issue coverstars.

January 2001
Another month, another <Smash Hits> cover. This time, they talk fame and turnips.
The band win their first BRIT – for Best New Pop Act.

February 2001
The boys begin their `No Stools Tour'. Named after their plan to dance not sit on stools, not because they weren't allowed to go to the loo for a number two.
The Vengaboys are ordered to remove a piece of unauthorised footage of Westlife from their Forever As One video.

March 2001
Uptown Girl, a cover of the Billy Joel classic for Comic relief strolls to No1 thanks to a video starring supermodel Claudia Schiffer.
Kian needs hospital treatment after being ambushed outside a branch of kebab giants Abrakebabra in Dublin.

May 2001
Shane ends up in a wheelchair for a couple of days after some he falls on his back.
Newspapers report that Westlife and new mates Five have been banned from a top Tel Aviv hotel after causing £10,000's-worth of damage on a boozy, male-bonding rampage.

April 2001
Bryan's 21st birthday bash turns sour when Kerry, then three-months pregnant, is accidentally hit in the face by a bouncer.

The band are told by their US label that they will have to cut down on their drinking if they want to crack America.

World Of Our Own hits No1.

September 2001
Kian and Nicky pair up as they take us clubbing for another SH cover.
Kerry gives birth to Bryan's first child Molly.

October 2001
Westlife changed the layout and domain of their official site. From www.westlife.co.uk, which is a flying without wings, airplane and light blue themed site, they changed into a more mature look with www.westlife.com. In the first month of opening, you can download a special 'When You're Looking Like That' into your 'Coast to Coast' cd.

November 2001
Queen Of My Heart is the band's ninth No1 single and World Of Our Own hits top spot in the album charts.
They're back on the SH cover, sharing their deepest confessions with us.

January 2002
Constant newspaper stories that Westlife will split by the end of 2001 turn out to be cobblers.
The boys retain their Best Pop Act crown at the BRITs. Bryan bravely celebrates by throwing a bottle at the So Solid Crew.

February 2002
Collected Best International Pop Act at the first ever MTV ASIA AWARDS (Singapore)

March 2002
Nicky gets his first solo Smash Hits cover and shows us his new tattoo.

May 2002
We join the boys on tour in Germany for the latest Smash Hits cover shoot.
Bop Bop Baby reaches No5 –their lowest ever chart position.

August 2002
Westlife cross the Atlantic for another crack at the US.

October 2002
Greatest Hits Album

November 2002
Release of Unbreakable, which reaches No.1
Release of Greatest Hits VHS in the UK

March 2003
Westlife's Tonight failed to reach No.1, only reaching the No.3 spot.

February 2003
Kian broke up with Liz (Atomic Kittens)

July 2003
Westlife performed 'Queen of My Heart' at 'Tatto' - 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland.

August 2003
Nicky married childhood sweetheart Georgina

September 2003
Westlife's new single 'Hey Whatever' only reached #4. However, the single became Westlife's 15th consecutive top 5 hit single.

October 2003
Westlife visited Hong Kong and Japan for their Asia promotion tour to promote their new album.

November 2003
17- Release of 'Mandy' which gives the lads their 12th UK No.1
24- Release of TurnAround album. Their 5th album reaches No.1.

December 2003
Westlife picks up their 3rd Record of the Year for 'Mandy'
Westlife visited India to perform at the MTV Immies Award, and also to shoot in Gao for their new video 'Obvious'