WESTLIFE are on fire at their penultimate gig - literally.
The Irish manband went up in flames in front of 83,000 fans at Croke Park, Dublin last night as they geared up for their last ever show tonight. The lads - Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan - used the pyrotechnic safety suits to signal the end of their hit career together as their partnership finally went up in smoke.
They announced their split in October last year and have spent the first half of this year on their farewell tour, embarking on the European tour in May.
The band formed in 1998 and originally included Brian McFadden in the line-up.
In the last 14 years they have sold 45 million records and bagged 24 top ten singles, including 13 number ones.
Despite their huge success, Shane was declared backrupt last week after a court heard he had raked up debts of £18 million through a failed property business. Manager Louis Walsh has revealed that the 32-year-old singer hid his mounting problems from the band and only told them six months ago in an ‘emotional’ meeting. He said: “We didn’t know it was that serious. He didn’t tell us much because he didn’t want to drag the boys down with it.” And he said the star, who recently moved from a luxury home in Ireland to a smaller pad in Surrey with his wife, Gillian, and three children, was determined to move forward after tonight’s farewell show.        –TS