Westlife will be celebrating their 25th anniversary, but it will be as a trio without Mark Feehily.
Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan and Kian Egan will take to the stage for two special shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall this October. The trio will play the venue of 27th and 28th October.
Mark Feehily however is unable to join the performance due to ongoing health issues he’s been tackling for the last five years.
In a statement the band said the two shows would include an orchestra.
“The Royal Albert Hall is a very special venue that we have always dreamt of playing. It means so much to kickstart our 25th Anniversary celebrations at this iconic venue. It will be an unforgettable two nights performing all of our hits accompanied by the London Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.”
The band also highlighted that they’ll have new music out soon, and lots of other celebratory events in the works.
“”We have so many exciting plans to share with you very soon which will include new music, an album, special shows and many, many more surprises along the way.
Sadly thouygh Freehily won’t be able to appear at the live shows.
“Sadly, Mark will be unable to join the celebrations. We hope he can join us back on stage when he is ready and able. He sends his love and positivity to you all as always.” the band said.
The singer had surgery for a hernia in 2020 and suffered complications during his recovery which saw him rushed to the emergency department where they discovered he’d developed sepsis. He then spent several months in hospital recovering.
Feehily shared with the word news of his sexuality in 2005 during an interview with British tabloid The Sun. He shared that he’d been aware that he was gay since he was a teenager and all of his bandmates had always known about his sexuality.
In 2019 he announced his engagement to Cailean O’Neill, later the same year the couple announced the birth of their daughter via a surrogate.
Alongside his work in Westlife Feehily has also had a successful solo career, where he uses his full name Marcus Feehily. He’s also popped on reality TV series The Masked Singer where he a Robobunny.
Westlife first formed in 1998 and their debut album came out the following year. The band was originally a five piece but founding member Bryan McFadden departed for a solo career in 2004.
Earlier in their career the band had a string of hits including Swear It Again, If I Let You Go, Flying Without Wings, I Have a Dream, Season in the Sun, Fool Again and they teamed up with Mariah Carey for a cover Against All Odds.
They’ve proved to have longevity, releasing to date twelve albums including an album of Sinatra classics and a covers record of classic love songs. The band’s most recent album is 2021’s Wild Dreams.
