Flying on his own

He might have spent years flying under the wings of fellow band members Westlife but Shane Filan is striking out on his own.
Shane FilanShane Filan
Shane Filan

And part of that is bringing his Right Here tour across the UK and Ireland, and coming to Northampton’s Royal & Derngate on Saturday, March 5.

Even though he has been performing for nearly 20 years, the singer says the biggest buzz he gets is from performing live.

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The 36-year-old said: “It is the thing that I most like to do - perform. That is what it is all about for me as a performer.

“There are a lot of places that I have never performed at before, including Northampton. It is great to take the music to different audiences and give them something

“I always go into making the new album and singing the best music that is possible.

“I have worked a lot of time on this album and while it is pop music, it is songs that I really like.

“I love ballads and love songs because my voice suits that.

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“For me this is not just being with some friends when I was 18. This is something that I am doing professionally and want to be doing for the rest of my life.”

While many artists simply sing songs off the new album, Shane will be rewarding the loyal Westlife fans who he praises throughout the interview.

He added: “I will only be doing four songs or so off the new album. I am very lucky in that there are a lot of fans, and for some people it might be the first time they have come to see me, and they will want to hear some of the songs that 
I performed with Westlife, especially as the band isn’t together.

“While I love singing the new songs, I do love to sing songs like Raise Me Up and Uptown Girl. The audience always go absolutely nuts when you sing Uptown Girl and I just want to give people the best possible show.

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“I wouldn’t be singing those songs if I didn’t love them. I have been a solo artist for a couple of years and I am very lucky to have a back catalogue of the Westlife songs that a lot of people don’t have when they have been singing solo for two years.”

But he added there was no imminent hope of a Westlife reunion in the future.

Shane said: “It is the question that we always get asked about whether we would reform Westlife. There are no plans to do it at the moment as we are all very happy and busy doing our own things.

“But I wouldn’t rule it out because we all had such a good time and they are very good friends. I have fond memories of being in Westlife. But I wouldn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up because it is not something we are looking at at the moment.”

The show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets cost between £33.50 and £51. Call 01604 624811 or visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk to book.