Westlife In Brisbane!

Yesterday I saw Westlife at their promotional signing and performances in Brisbane.

I arrived in the Queen Street Mall at 8am and was first in line, so I was front row centre for the performances. We were a bit worried that not many people would show up - SonyBMG Australia are completely inept - but by noon it was completely packed out.

Speaking of inept, the occasion was sponsored by the good old B105 breakfast crew, who didn't know Westlife's names, didn't do any promotion, and put up no posters except for ones emblazoned with 'B105'. They also told us that Westlife had 13 number ones (queue a roar of 'FOURTEEN!' from the crowd).

But once the lads got on stage, none of that mattered.

They arrived straight from their hotel across the street, flanked by security and good old Dave 'Lasty' Last who could probably roll a semi-trailer without doing his back in, and stepped onto stage. Nicky informed us all that it was a hot day, even though it was only 28 degrees (gotta love those delicate Irishmen) and they performed World Of Our Own, The Rose, and Easy, followed by You Raise Me Up, which they performed sitting down with their famous 'stand up at the key change'. A short interview followed, and again, totally inept, stupid questions from the B105 gang.

The signing followed. They were all in a great mood and seemed really excited about being in Australia, even if they were slightly jetlagged and tired.

Shane was first, followed by Kian (on great form - he's redeemed his pratty behaviour from last time I met him), then Nicky. I congratulated Nicky on Georgina's pregnancy and he was very excited about it, asking me for a bet on the sex of the baby and looking triumphant when I said 'boy'. Mark was next, and I finally got the chance to tell him how much I love Imaginary Diva (written and sung by the man himself, for the non-fans), and got a photo with him.

Last night was the Ashes To Ashes at QPAC which was a very boring affair for a non-cricket fan like myself. They sang Easy again and, while it wasn't as good as the earlier performance (and they looked very very short in their suits) it was still class.

Again my photos don't seem to be working, but if you go here you can see them all.