Five things we learned at Westlife in Cork
Westlife delighted a 40,000-strong audience in Cork last night. Pictures: Eddie O'Hare
While the former RTÉ 2FM presenter remarked on the flags he could see from around the world, one customised Irish flag caught his eye.
“To be standing on stage here in Cork and seeing so many faces from around the world… We’ve got some flags here from Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany. We saw Israel, Belgium, and of course the Irish flags are flying high tonight,” he said to increasing cheers.
A flag from a Bridget Byrne from Carrigmacross, Co. Monaghan was passed from the crowd to the stage, featuring an image of Byrne on it — much to his dismay.
“The only problem is, when you Google me, that’s one of the photographs that I absolutely hate!” He jokingly asked Bridget to “change that for me” before adding it would be “one way to lose a fan”. Instead, he walked away with the tricolour, promising to “fly that high later on”.
Speaking on stage during an early number on Friday night, Kian Egan described how momentous both the tour and their Cork gigs are to the band. He revealed that not only were all of their families in attendance but also their manager, Louis Walsh, came to Cork to see them perform.
Nicky Byrne too paid tribute to their families during the show. “Most if not all of them are here tonight… All of the boys’ wives, partners and families are up there tonight.”
Westlife's members have been staying in Cork since Thursday and have been enjoying some of the county's most popular pursuits. Shane Filan spent some time in Fota Wildlife Park on Thursday with his wife, Gillian. Sharing a photo of the couple feeding a giraffe in the popular attraction, he thanked tour guide Willie for "a great day off in the Cork sunshine".
Like most ‘90s boybands, Westlife's early music videos and concerts featured extremely choreographed routines and the boys have clearly remembered their dancing lessons. Every song featured considered steps, whether it was dancing, walking, or simply clapping — all was done in perfect unison.
They had some by-the-book choreography too as they walked to an interlude from Beyoncé’s Single Ladies during World Of Our Own, much to the delight of the crowd, and their moves during their spectacular Abba mashup were flawless too.
It was a masterclass in boyband movements.
On Friday night the lights certainly were low. What was without a doubt the most fun part of the show was their tribute to Abba. The four men sand and danced through Mamma Mia, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Super Trouper, Money Money Money, Take a Chance on Me, I Have A Dream, and Waterloo before wrapping the segement with Thank You For The Music.
If they ever tired of their own back catalogue, there is no doubt in the mind of anyone at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Friday night that Westlife could have a successful career as an Abba tribute band. Last night, they made sure everyone in the stadium felt like a Dancing Queen.
Westlife has been part of our pop culture since 1998 and in that time they never played a major gig in Cork, until this weekend. Mark Feehily told the crowd they were worth the wait.
“Everybody knows we’ve been waiting for this gig for a long time and you did not disappoint this evening. Cork, thank you so much for being a wonderful crowd, making us feel so welcome.” They even claim the Cork crowd was louder than one twice its size in London last week.
“It is an absolute pleasure for us to be in Cork and play this stadium,” Kian Egan said. “We never thought it would take us this long to get here but it was worth the wait. We were in Wembley stadium last week and I think you guys are louder over here.”
