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Padraig Meehan |
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Karaoke No More
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Format: Paperback Original |
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Category: Biography |
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ISBN: 9780863223211 |
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Publication Date: Available |
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Description
This is the story of six friends in a country town who set out on an adventure with a group of people who shared their dreams. Half of the boys found cruel heartache. For the others an incredible fairytale was about to come true.
Westlife seemed to arrive overnight, shooting from obscurity to a platform where they were challenging the Beatles’ record of number ones in Britain. Apart from some shenanigans on Bryan’s stag night, and a few kiss-and-tells by alleged lovers, little detail of individual personalities have emerged. There is a standard line. Three of the boys were in a band in Sligo. Shane’s mother rang manager Louis Walsh; Louis took them on, dropped three guys, brought in two Dublin boys. Bingo.
But Westlife have a more interesting history than that. They emerged from a theatre and music scene in Sligo, where their band was once called IOYOU. They were six best friends who came together through the shows of choreographer/producer Mary McDonagh. Some of them had attended her classes since childhood. Mary put a year of her life and considerable resources into the band, and with the help of Averyl Dooher and Pádraig Meehan, she prepared the ground to launch their career.
After IOYOU jumped ship to go off with Louis Walsh, Mary was never thanked or acknowledged by her ex-protegés; she and the others who had helped the band were written out of history. But now the story can be told, a story of the rollercoaster ride to fame and fortune that started out with six friends in a country town. |
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Author
Pádraig Meehan formed a band in the 1980s called Those Nervous Animals. He produced the first CD of Shane Filan and Mark Feehily (now of Westlife) and helped them write the songs. He continues to play in a band, and his radio play, In Beria’s Orchard was broadcast by RTÉ in 2002.
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