Twenty years ago, Brian McFadden broke teenage hearts when he announced he was leaving Westlife – but we hear he could mend them again with a shock return to the group.
A source close to the Irish boy band says the chance of Brian rejoining is the highest it’s ever been. With Mark Feehily still absent through ill-health and Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne keen to get back on the road, the prospect of Brian returning is being discussed. An insider tells us: “We’ve seen the likes of Oasis, Busted and The Wanted all come back together and embark on massive tours. If Brian came back, it would be huge – and Westlife fans would be delighted. Mark is likely to be absent for a while as he concentrates on his recuperation."
Image:
United Archives via Getty Images)Brian left the group in 2004 to focus on family and solo projects. He didn’t speak to his former bandmates for 12 years, but is now back on good terms with Shane, Kian and Nicky – even featuring on Nicky's podcast earlier this month. During the chat, Brian questioned if a return to Westlife would ever work, but he looked back fondly on their heyday when they had hits like Flying Without Wings and Uptown Girl. He said: “My life is what it is now because of those years in Westlife. I’ll always look on those six years as the best years of my life.”
Chatting with Nicky, Brian admitted his decision to leave Westlife was "selfish". "I obviously didn't take the four of you into consideration, but where my head was at the time I just needed to sort my own head and life out." Explaining his decision, he said: "I needed to just stop. I remember the day. I remember going, 'Oh, no.' We had just worked flat-out for like 300 days straight, finished the tour, blah blah blah, and we were in a recording studio in London. Our tour manager came out with an A4 sheet of what we were up to for the next few months. I looked at it. I was looking for a day off and I went through it. I went down through another month. My stomach just sank. I thought: 'No. I can't.' It would be like playing a football match for 90 minutes and someone saying: 'OK, lads, we're going out for another 90'."
Image:
Getty Images)Insiders say Mark's long-term absence could pave the way for Brian's big comeback. "It was Mark and Brian who didn’t see eye-to-eye – so Brian’s involvement again now wouldn’t come as a huge surprise.," said the source. "The door is open for him.”
Mark stepped back from the band earlier this year due to health issues. He has so far had four rounds of surgery and at one point was hospitalised with pneumonia. Shane said: “He needs the time off as the tour would have been impossible. But he’s happy now at home. There’s no plans at the moment [for Mark’s return] but we can’t wait to have him back.”
Let’s face it, if Oasis can sort out their disagreements, then anything is possible.
Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads
English (US) ·