首愚法师金刚诵准提咒:王者归来

Westlife back in the limelight
You would really have to call Westlife a vocal group these days. After seven years at the top of the pop roster, surely the term “boyband” doesn’t stick anymore, what with an average age of 26 years and at least two of them either married or already a father.
Shane, Mark, Nicky and Kian are still very much among the quieter superstars in the British and Irish pop fold. However, their accolades, chart wise, not to mention commercial success, is to be envied. With 34 million album sales and millions of singles, the 12 British No.1 singles they have charted put them fourth in the rankings of chart toppers, behind Cliff Richard (13), The Beatles (17) and Elvis Presley (21). But even for the supposedly quiet quartet, fame does come with some hazards or rumour and gossip. They were a quintet until Bryan McFadden left nearly two years ago to try out for a solo career and also most recently Feehily has declared he is gay.
Now, doesn’t this sound almost exactly like an earlier, almost as equally successful Irish vocal group (remember Boyzone), with which they once shared the same manager – Louis Walsh? So, the question “can it get more exciting” then for the remaining members seems kind of moot.
But apparently, they certainly are excited, especially with the release of their seventh album Face to Face from Nov 7. The guys are back from a four-month holiday, and this recent phone interview from London with Egan has him in an upbeat mood.
“Four months is a long holiday for us, and it was just a complete holiday,” he said.
“It was a time to go home, be with our friends, walk our dogs,” he said with a laugh. Typical quiet superstar life, don’t you think?”
But after the break, it’s now time to head back into the limelight proper. Face to Face features all the hallmarks of the international success that Westlife has garnered – a collection of classic songs and future standards (read: original work sprinkled with a few cover versions).
After a brief interlude with its “rat pack” album (Allow Us to be Frank) of classic songs sung in the style of such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr, Face to Face is Westlife’s first collection of new songs since the album Turnaround topped the charts in 2003.
It’s a familiar blend of lavish ballads and mid-tempo tunes, balanced by the occasional up-tempo song; the seeds for this studio album were sown even before Allow Us to be Frank.
“We started looking for songs two years ago, before the “rat pack” album, but we found the songs were not good enough,” Egan explained.
In the end, it was back to the tried-and-tested when it came to deciding, with long-time collaborator Steve Mac providing many a tune for the album.
“Mac always writes a good pop song and now we have the production team, The Location, from Sweden, back as well,” Egan said. The Location had worked on their first two albums, Westlife and Coast to Coast.
Of course, as you will find in all previous Westlife albums, a cover version isn’t exactly out of order. One of the most prominent is You Raise Me Up, the first single from the album. It was a major hit in the United States for Josh Groban.
“It has been covered by different artistes, but to the Westlife audience it may not be as familiar,” Egan said about the choice of release. As for the other cover versions, Egan continued: “We had nine great original songs but that wasn’t enough. The covers sounded fantastic (to us).”
They include The Eagles’s haunting classic Desperado, and a version of country and western heartthrob Collin Raye’s In This Life. Another notable re-make is a duet with the legendary Diana Ross on When You Tell Me that You Love Me – a makeover of a tune first sung solo by Ross, and later as a duet by Dolly Parton and Julio Iglesias.
Working with Ross proved something special for Westlife although they recorded their parts separately. “We did appear together for promotional appearances, and we worked on the video together,” Egan said. “We met her earlier during the summer and had a good laugh. She was in the middle of recording her new album.”
The guys are now preparing to go back on the road. “After Christmas we’ll get ready for a world tour from March onwards, that’s our plan,” said Eagan. “If the album is not successful, we go back to the drawing board to search for some more good new songs.”
Nevertheless, Egan is optimistic about Face to Face. “We do hope it is successful as we feel it’s our best (yet),” claimed Egan. “We’re more excited than we have been in a long time.
The press conference with WESTLIFE
Now they are back with a new single and album！The broadsheet music critics have given up kicking them and the tabloids have despaired of digging up some dirt. Are Westlife the Teflon boys of pop?
Lads, the script says you should be on your way by now. What's going on?
K: People thought we would be long gone by now, but as long as fans still want us around, we will be here.
S: At the beginning, we thought we would have an amazing few years and then it would all be over, but it's kept going.
N: There has never been a set plan, except to keep making records and keep going as long as they are selling. And they are, so we are still here.
M: We always read in the papers that we make bubblegum pop and that it is rubbish, but we don't make music for the media, we make it for the fans and they like it a lot, and that's all that matters to us.
When is the big split likely to happen?
N: We have read the headline "Westlife To Split Up"so many times now that we just laugh when we see it.If it happens, then we will be straight out with it, so no journalist need bother writing that story for a while. Seriously, we'll just tell everyone and do some amazing farewell concert and be gone.
S: Bono told us that if you have two really bad albums that do not sell, then that's the time to go.One is OK, you can get away with that, but if you have two, then you have to admit it's over.
M: We have not had a disastrous one yet and we will keep going until there are two duds. Then we will have to say, "Thank you very much, goodbye."
When Bryan left, just about everyone thought that was the end. Surely you guys did as well?
N: To be honest, we really had our concerns about how it would work out as a four piece, but we kept it all inside and did not let the public know. It was hard to read all the stuff that said Shane and Mark would go solo, Kian was going into management and that I was going to be a politician.
S: Bryan going was a shock even though we knew he had not been happy for a while. None of us knew his marriage was on the rocks. As soon as he was gone, we had to pull together as a team and get down to work. When we did our first show as a four piece, it was fantastic. We really nailed it and the fans loved it. It was only then that we knew for sure that it was going to be OK.
M: Some of the papers basically said it was all over, but if anything we are a better band as a four piece.We are closer and there are no secrets, like if someone is wanting to leave or to go solo.
K: As far as the media were concerned, Westlife was finished after the last album, but we think this new album is the best we have done.
And what news of Bryan?
M: We are still really good friends with him and were speaking to him the other day. He has had a really tough time and has been totally hammered by the press.The best thing for him to do is to go away for a long time and let everything calm down. Maybe then he can still do something good with his career. We honestly wish him all the best.
Most cynics — and there are some among journalists — expect that Westlife will end in litigation with your managers having ripped you off.
S: There's no way that is going to happen with us and that's no bullshit. We have done unbelievably well and are secure financially. We're not stupid and have been careful with our money.
K: We got good advice and our own lawyers at the very beginning, so everyone knew who was getting what.
N: I can't see us falling out now. We are like brothers and have been through so much together that we are not going to mess it all up. We have got to be four of the luckiest guys in the world and we know that and have a healthy respect for everything that has happened to us. We have always kept our feet on the ground and much of the credit for that goes to our families and friends. They have all been rock solid for us.
Most of you have been in steady relationships throughout the entire time of Westlife. When you look at all the girls going nuts for you, I can't help thinking that it's been a bit of a waste.
N: We are not rock 'n' roll, we don't put anything up our nose and we don't sleep around. I have never had any interest in that side of things. I have been in love with Georgina since the day I saw her when I was a teenager. She's now my wife and none of this success would have meant half as much without her.
S: The same goes for me with Gillian. She has helped me keep it together and kept me going when things have got tough.
M: I've never wanted to be a tart and have lots of one-night stands.
K: Well, I've had a good time!
How do you explain the continued success?
K: We stick to what we do best — good, solid pop songs with great vocals — and don't try and be something we're not. No matter what you say, we have done some great songs. But I don't think Westlife has ever been a totally typical all-dancing boy band, with bare torsos and stuff. And we're not the type of band that has stories in the tabloids every day, so maybe that keeps it a bit fresh.
M: Even after all this time, nobody really knows us as individuals and I think that has actually helped. Very few people know our first names, let alone our second names. They sort of know our faces and that we are from Westlife. It helps people from getting bored.
S: It's pretty good because when I ring up and order flowers for my wife and I give them the credit card details, they haven't got a clue who Shane Filan is, so I know they're not going to keep my number! The paparazzi don't bother us either, so we can live normally and get the best of both worlds.
N: When we started, we did not want one person to be seen as the front man, like Ronan Keating in Boyzone. With them, it was always Ronan and the band and that caused a few problems. With Westlife, it is all of us and it keeps it equal and happy.
You have played the normal game and kept girls secret. Has your press always been controlled?
S: I kept Gillian secret in the early days for her sake because it was very important she had a normal life.She was at college for four years without anyone knowing she was going out with me. I picked her up the day she finished her exams and that was the first anyone knew of it.
K: The fans don't want to see you with your girlfriend all the time, so it is only fair to keep them in the background. We have moved on from all that and it's not a problem. The fans are cool about it.
N: I have always been upfront about Georgina. Our press is controlled to a degree, but we are always upfront and there's no dirt anyway.
M: Well, I've just come out in The Sun and you can't be any more honest than that!
I presume that was just a publicity stunt to get you on the front page and you will deny it all once the album has sold out? I am joking.
M: I have dealt with it in my own way for years, like anyone in the same situation, and it just seemed the right time to talk about it. I was fine about people knowing. I am in a happy relationship and if me talking about it helps someone else who is dealing with their sexuality, then I am happy about that, too. I have had some very supportive letters from fans since the story, so it was the right thing to do.
Was there any pressure on you to do the story, like another paper threatening to write it without your approval?
M: No, it was my decision. I have not been aware of anyone trying to do the story over the years. I don't think people knew, but if they had thought about it, they would probably have guessed. It has been a bit awkward in interviews in the past when they have been asking about girls, but I always tried not to lie.I felt uncomfortable because I had all that stuff going on in my head, so it is better that the truth is out there.
N: A while back, the papers might have been on a mission to out someone, but things are different these days. If someone is gay, it's like, so what. We have known about Mark for two years and we were cool about him doing the story. As a band, we have never played on the fact that we appeal to young girls. Our music is made to appeal to everybody, young and old, girls and guys.
A fair few showbiz stories are total flyers to keep some hype going. Can you think of an example involving yourselves.
N: Our manager Louis Walsh has been pretty bad at making stuff up in the past, especially when we needed press in the beginning. He looked after Boyzone before us and they had all kinds of things happen to them that weren't true. I am not sure if this was down to Louis or not, but there was a story in one of the Irish tabloids that we had gone on safari and got out of the jeep for a better look.
At that point some of us were attacked by lions, but Kian came to the rescue and got us back into the jeep. There was a mock up picture in the paper of this big lion and its claws all over us. It was "Westlife defy death" or something. The truth is that we were in Africa and we were due to go on safari, but we got so drunk in the bar the night before that we didn't make it. When you hear what could have happened, it's probably just as well!
王者归来
现在你也许得该称西城为“演唱组合”，而不是“男孩组合”了。毕竟他们已经在流行乐的榜首长驻了7年，平均年龄也到了26岁，你还能叫他们男孩吗？更何况他们中已经有两个结婚了，还有一个都当了爸爸了。
尚恩，马克，尼基和奇恩应该可以算是英国和爱尔兰流行大牌中比较低调的了，但他们受到的大堆赞美，漂亮的排名，更别提商业方面的成功，可真是让人眼红呢！他们有34，000，000的专辑销量，几百万张的单曲销量，还有12首使他们成为乐坛排行第四的英国冠军单曲，仅次于克里夫李查德（13首），甲壳虫（17首），猫王（21首）。（现西城的最新单曲“你让我飞翔”已成为他们的第13首冠军单曲——译者注）
但即使是对像他们这样低调的四人组合，有时流言蜚语也会给他们增加些人气。直到大约2年前布莱恩·麦菲登离开组合去开拓自己的单飞生涯，他们一直都是五个人，而最近马克·菲海力刚刚宣布自己是同性恋。
这听起来是不是有点像早先几乎同样成功的爱尔兰组合“男孩地带”呢？况且这两个组合的经纪人都是路易斯·威尔士。“能不能来点新鲜的？”这个问题看来值得余下的四个人好好讨论讨论了。
但很显然对于他们即将于11月7日发行的第七张专辑《真情相对》，这四人都很兴奋。他们为期四个月的假期刚结束，在下面这个来自伦敦的奇恩·伊根电话访谈中我们可以感受到他乐观的情绪。
“四个月的假期对我们来说真是个长假，这才算是个完整的假期嘛。”他说道。
“这段时间我们可以回家，和朋友待在一起，再遛遛狗，”他笑着说，“典型的田园明星生活，不是吗？”
但休息之后，就又得回到公众的焦点下了。《真情相对》收集了一些经典歌曲（老歌新唱）以及将来的标准曲目，这张专辑集所有成功歌曲的特点于一身。
西城在他们的上张专辑《纯爱年代》中以一些诸如福兰克·希那特啦，迪恩·马丁，萨米·戴维思.JR等名人的风格，演绎了些经典歌曲，趁机做了个小小的休息。西城的专辑《回首真爱》于2003年夺得冠军，《真情相对》是他们那张专辑后的第一张新歌收录。
这里面有有着浓郁感情的中速情歌，还有几首快歌与之混合。甚至在《纯爱年代》之前，录音棚就开始在四处撒播寻觅新歌的种子了。
“我们是两年前，就是发行上张专辑之前，开始四处寻歌的，但我们觉得找到的都不够好。”EGAN解释道。
最后当他们不得不做决定时，他们还是选择了久经考验的，同时也是他们的长期合作伙伴的史蒂夫·麦克，来为他们写歌。
“麦克总是能写出好的流行歌曲，而且现在我们有来自瑞典的制作组THE LOCATION来帮助了。”伊根说。THE LOCATION曾参与制作过他们最初的两张专辑，同名专辑《西城男孩》以及《咫尺天涯》。
当然了，就像你能在他们其他专辑里发现的一样，他们的翻唱并不差。最典型的一首就是新唱片中的第一首歌“你让我飞翔”，它曾经是乔诗.葛洛班在美国一首很流行的歌。
“它曾被很多歌手翻唱过，但你如果听了我们的版本，可能会有别样的感受。”当谈到为什么选择这首歌时，伊根是这样解释的。提到别的翻唱歌曲，他又说道，“我们有了9首很棒的原创歌曲，但这还不够，翻唱的（对我们来说）真是超酷。”
专辑还收录了老鹰乐队的一首令人难以忘怀的经典“亡命之徒”，柯林瑞伊的西方柔情乡村乐“今生今世”。还有一首不得不提的翻唱“当你向我诉爱”，由原唱——传奇人物戴安娜·罗斯与西城合作完成，这首歌曾被多莉·帕顿和胡立欧·以格雷西亚斯合作翻唱过。
尽管西城是和罗斯分开录音的，但和她合作对西城仍是很特别的经历。“在宣传表演上我们是一起出场的，而且我们一起录制了音乐录影带，”伊根说，“我们是今夏早些时候和她见的面，大家都很开心。她当时正在录制她的新专辑。”
这四名成员现在正为回到原先的轨迹做准备，“圣诞后，我们计划从三月起开始全球巡回演出，”伊根说道，“但如果这张新唱片不能大卖的话，我们会埋下头来找些更好的新歌。”
然而伊根对《真情相对》还是很有信心的，“我们确实希望它能获得成功，因为我们认为这是我们（到目前为止）最好的一张。这么久以来从没这么兴奋过呢。”
“即使是《回首真爱》我们都觉得它本来应该更好的。《真情相对》是布莱恩离队后我们的第一张原创专辑，感觉就像出前两张时的兴奋劲儿又回来了一样，好不好还是由我们的歌迷决定喽。”
西城的新闻发布会
西城带着最新的单曲和专辑又回来了！那些音乐评论人这次可不打算泼他们冷水了，小报也对找到他们的负面消息不抱任何希望。西城真的是流行乐坛霸主吗？
伙计们，一般情况下你们都解散过了，现在情况如何呢？
伊根：他们原以为我们早该散伙了呢，可是只要歌迷还爱我们，我们就不会离开。
尚恩：刚开始我们就想，辉煌几年就该算了吧，但我们仍在前进。
尼基：本来就没什么定好的计划，只要他们还卖我们的歌，我们就不停地发唱片，不停地努力。他们还在卖，所以我们仍旧在这里。
马克：报纸上老是说我们制作热门流行乐，还说这是垃圾。但我们又不是给他们做音乐的，这是给我们歌迷的，只要她们喜欢就足够了。
你们大概什么时候会解散呢？
尼基：“西城要解散了”，这“头条新闻”我们都看了几百次了，每次都一笑置之。如果真要解散，我们肯定会直说的，所以目前麻烦记者朋友不要费心写这种新闻了。认真地说，到时候我们会告诉大家的，接着来几场超棒的告别演唱会，然后就再见喽。
尚恩：博诺跟我们说过，只要你们有了两张卖不掉的烂唱片，那就玩儿完吧。一张烂的还说的过去，可如果有两张，那可就不得不承认该退出了。
马克：我们到目前为止还没有过一张特糟的专辑，所以我们会一直继续，直到有两张破烂出来。那时我们就会说：非常感谢，再见喽。“
当布莱恩离队的时候，大家都以为你们要结束了，你们肯定也是这么想的吧？
尼基：实话说，我们确实很认真地考虑过我们剩下的四个怎么才能让演唱会继续成功，但我们都把这埋在了心底，没让公众知道。媒体上说尚恩和马克要单飞，奇恩要做经纪人，我要从政之类的，读到这些时心里其实挺难受的。
尚恩：我们都知道布莱恩那时已经郁闷了好一段时间了，但他的离去确实是个沉重的打击。我们谁都不知道他的婚姻出现了变故。他一走，我们就立刻凝聚成一个整体，认认真真地工作。我们第一次作为四人组合进行了表演，结果真的好棒！我们很确定这一点，歌迷也喜欢它。直到那时我们才明白了：我们还能行。
马克：有的报纸就说我们完了，但如果我们和以前有什么区别的话，那就是：作为四人组合，我们会更好。我们更加亲密无间，彼此间也没什么诸如”我要单飞“之类的秘密。
奇恩：在媒体看来，上张专辑就应该是个结束了，但我们觉得这张新的是我们迄今为止最好的一张。
布莱恩最近有什么消息吗？
马克：我们还是很好的朋友，前几天还和他通话呢。他这段日子挺不好过的，那么多的新闻给他打击不小。他现在最好离开一段时间，等到一切都平息下来之后，也许他的事业还能再有所发展。我们真诚地祝他一切都好。
大多数愤世嫉俗的家伙——有些还是记者——希望你们最后会因老板骗你们的钱而起诉他们。
尚恩：这根本不可能的，真是胡说。我们现在做得出奇的好，经济上也有保障。我们也不傻，知道要小心处理金钱问题。
奇恩：刚开始我们都有自己的律师，也能收到很好的建议，所以大家都知道什么是谁的。
尼基：我觉得我们现在还没闹翻呢。我们像亲兄弟一样，大家一起走过的这么长的路，谁都不会搅局的。我们肯定是这世上最幸运的四个男人了，并且对所有发生在我们身上的事持尊敬的态度。多亏了我们坚如磐石的家人和朋友，我们一直都脚踏实地地努力。
你们几个大多在西城成立以来就有固定的恋人，但看看那些为你们发狂的女孩子吧，我都觉得有点浪费了。
尼基：我们可不是玩摇滚的，不会整天趾高气扬的还乱采野花，我对那一点兴趣都没有。我少年时代看到乔治娜第一眼就爱上了她，她现在是我的妻子，如果没有她，这些成功对我而言，还不及现在的一半呢！
尚恩：我和吉莲也是这样，她和我一起共渡了难关。
马克：我可不想做多情种子哦。
奇恩：怎么说呢——我很快乐！
你们怎么解释接踵而至的成功？
奇恩：我们坚持做自己能做好的事，例如好的流行乐，不要去尝试搞不定的事。不管怎么说，我们做过几首很棒的歌。但我觉得西城并不是那种赤身跳舞的男孩组合，我们也不会每天都会上小报，这样也许会有些新鲜感。
马克：即使是到现在，也没有人真正的了解我们以个人身份出现是什么样的，这的确挺好的。很少有人知道我们姓什么，更别提我们第二个名字了。他们只是认识我们的样子，知道我们是西城成员。这样大家都不会感到太无聊。
尚恩：我打电话为妻子订花,当我向他们提供信用卡信息时，他们压根就不知道尚恩·菲兰是谁，所以我不用担心他们会记下我的电话号码。那些摄影人也不来打扰我们的生活，所以一切都挺正常的。这样无论是日常生活，还是演艺生活，我们都能做到最好。
尼基：我们从一开始就不打算让谁成为我们的代表人物，就像男孩地带里的罗南·奇丁那样。对他们来说，好象这组合只有罗南一个似的，这可有点别扭。对西城而言，我们是一体的，大家都很平等，也因此而感到快乐。
你们一直都保持正规，关于女友也闭口不谈。你们的言谈一直都受到约束吗？
尚恩：开始时为了吉莲，我一直都把她保密，因为她也得有自己正常的生活嘛。她在大学的四年里，谁都不知道她当时在和我约会。直到她毕业考试结束的那天我开车去接她，大家才知道我们的事。
奇恩：歌迷可不想看到你整天和女友在一起，所以公平起见，只好让她们呆在幕后喽。现在都全部公开了，也没什么问题，歌迷都能接受这个。
尼基：我和乔治娜一直都一起出来，我们的言谈是受到一定的限制，可是我们还是这样，毕竟也没什么丑闻嘛。
马克：我刚接受了太阳报的访谈，在那里面可绝对是实话实说。
那是不是只是用来宣传用的，好让你们上头版头条，然后等专辑大卖后再否定它呢？
马克：我这些年来一直和别人一样，在努力处理这件事，现在也该是时候讨论下这个问题了。别人知道了我觉得也没什么，如果我的公开可以帮助别人的性取向观念，我也挺乐意的。公开这事之后我收到了很多歌迷的信，她们都支持我，这也更坚定了我的信念。
你公开这件事是不是因为什么压力呢？比如别的报纸威胁你，还没等你承认就报道你的事情呢？
马克：没有，这全是我自己的决定。这些年来我都没听说有谁想报道这事，估计也没人知道。但要仔细想想的话，大概也能猜出来。过去接受采访时，他们如果问有关女友的问题，我都尽量不说谎，但感觉挺傻的。脑子里一直想着那些事，感觉很不舒服，现在都说出来了，也挺好的。
尼克：过去报纸的任务仿佛就是揭露别人的隐私，但现在情况不一样了。如果有谁是同性恋的话，又有什么大不了的呢？我们知道马克的事已经有两年了，所以他公开我们都无所谓。作为一个组合，我们从来不是只为吸引年轻女生才做音乐的，我们的歌应该是老少皆宜，男女无别的。
很多娱乐消息纯粹就是用来炒作的，你们有没有什么类似的新闻呢？
尼克：以前我们的经纪人路易斯·威尔士编假新闻的功夫真是糟糕，尤其是我们刚出道最需要关注的时候。他之前管理的是男孩地带，结果他们身上有很多子虚乌有的新闻，我也不知道是不是路易斯干的。记得有份爱尔兰小报的消息，说是我们去非洲旅行时从吉普车上下来看风景。然后我们被狮子袭击了，但奇恩扮了回英雄，把我们救回了车里。竟然还有张假照片，上面是只大狮子用爪子抓我们。可事实是什么呢？我们当时在非洲，本来准备去狩猎旅行的。但前一天晚上在酒吧喝得酩酊大醉，结果就没去。如果知道了本来可能发生什么事的话，还不如这样呢！