90s boyband Westlife confirm reunion, tour after six years

Westlife is reuniting and going on tour. Photo / Supplied

Westlife have confirmed their much-anticipated reunion and huge stadium tour, six years after their split.

In a playful video, founding members Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne, and Mark Feehily are seen entering a room where they greet one another fondly.

At Shane's prompting, the Flying Without Wings hitmakers say "Hi, we're Westlife" as Nicky stands up. Referring to the group's famous dance move, he jokingly says: "I thought we were doing the key change," as the band laugh.

Shane then says: "We'll be seeing you soon."

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A post shared by Westlife (@westlife) on Oct 3, 2018 at 12:07pm PDT

The absence of original member Brian McFadden, 38, who left the band in 2004, confirmed he will not be a part of the reunion, the DailyMail reports.

The Swear It Again singers have signed a new record deal with Universal Records, recorded a new album and will embark on a mammoth stadium and arena tour in 2019.

Speaking to The Sun, Shane, 39, said: "We genuinely missed each other and missed the buzz of performing on stage together to all our fans. We still have a lot that we want to achieve as a band and we want to bring our new music to fans all over the world."

Nicky, 39, added: "While we were away, we realised what Westlife really meant to the fans — and to us."

While Mark, 38, said that reuniting in the studio to record new material felt "right" after many years apart.

This comes amid claims Ed Sheeran has penned the band's comeback single.

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Yo - so you can win a guitar lesson with me, and an all expenses paid trip to New York to see me in concert, and every penny goes to getting clean water for places that don’t have it. Ain’t that cool? Link in bio, and good luck ! If you win, bring me a muffin please x

A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos) on Aug 21, 2018 at 1:30pm PDT

The Sun reports: "Westlife have really been pulling out all the stops for their big comeback and were desperate to get Ed on board. It took quite some time to pull together and has been done totally behind closed doors, but he has finally given them the right record to make it happen.

"Having Ed involved is a huge coup. They think he will give them a contemporary edge for their reunion. They have already recorded the song and are delighted with the results. They're just pulling together the final promo details including a video before they unveil it. It's going to be huge."

The group were propelled into the limelight in 1998 but disbanded in 2012, with their 20th anniversary being celebrated this year.

Westlife were one of the UK's biggest boybands, first breaking onto the scene in 1999 with Swear It Again, leading to 13 UK Number One singles and ten Top Ten UK albums.

Fans were distraught when the group decided to split in 2011, embarking on a farewell tour to celebrate their 14 years in the music business.

The group became a foursome, made up of Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan, in 2004 following the departure of Brian McFadden.