Westlife come south - to the big screen

POPULAR Irish boy band Westlife gave their last performance at Croke Park in Ireland on June 23.

Westlife had a 14-year career in which the band sold more than 45 million albums worldwide and had 14 No 1 hits in the UK alone.

No wonder then that more than 85 000 fans crammed into the stadium to catch a last glimpse of the favourite four crooners.

Well, the money-making continues and we haven’t even reached the DVD stage of the marketing yet.

Westlife – The Final Concert is coming to a cinema screen near you, courtesy of BBC WorldWide.

The commercial arm of the BBC struck a deal with Sony Music and Westlife to co-produce a live film of this last concert and channelled it through alternative content provider BY Experience to screen it at cinemas worldwide.

Tickets to that final concert sold out in five minutes and more than 50 000 additional people attended live screenings across Europe.

Now SA fans can watch the live concert screenings in a cinema.

This concert screening follows the success of the international theatrical screening of Robbie Williams at the Electric Proms and the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms.

When Williams kicked off his comeback in 2009 with an appearance at the Electric Proms, BBC WorldWide licensed the live show to more than 250 screens in 23 countries, setting a Guinness World Record for simultaneous live screenings in cinemas.

That concert was subsequently screened in Australia and SA – the southern hemisphere countries don’t get the live screenings simply because of timing issues.

While many cinephiles will dispute Ster-Kinekor Nouveau’s claim that it shows art films, the “art house” chain does try to deliver alternative content and it regularly screens concerts, opera and theatre productions and documentaries we would not otherwise see.

The positive response from audiences will hopefully see it expanding its range beyond the commercial Hollywood fare local distributors dish up.

The cinematic experience has changed drastically over the past few years as home-viewing digital platforms become more widely available to South Africans.

If the local cinema chains are to survive they need to provide an alternative and better experience than people can have in their living rooms.

This means not only excellent content but also a different experience with all the bells and whistles, such as excellent sound and picture quality beyond what a big TV can deliver.

It also means access for the audience. Whether this means bringing in good African content or building cinemas where the people are, as opposed to only in cosy malls, there is no easy answer to that conundrum.

 

Westlife perform their last ever gig

It's all over: Westlife perform their last ever gig tonight 

 

It's been 14 years, 12 albums and 31 singles, but all dull things must come to an end, and tonight, Westlife do just that.

Shane, Kian, Nicky and Mark will stand up on the key change for the very last time ever, ever, ever (or until a big money reunion tour in a few years time) tonight in Croke Park in Dublin, because they're Irish (they don't mention that much).

Despite their last single Lighthouse only charting at number 33 last year, the band sold out 170,00 tickets over two nights this weekend - with the first of their two last nights ever happening last night. With support from Lawson, The Wanted and Jedward (hang on, are all 170,000 people going to see John and Edward? That'd be embarrassing) they performed all 'their' hits - Flying Without Wings, Uptown Girl, What About Now and World of Our Own last night (and they'll do the same tonight).

"I'm reading through all your tweets & I'm speechless..Everyone giving such nice messages ! Lump in my throat tear in my eye.. Thank You" Nicky tweeted this morning. The rest of the band don't seem to be out of bed yet. Maybe they went out for a few Guinness's post-show ... or they're really into Saturday Kitchen. One or the other.Sadly, last night's show didn't see a surprise appearance by former band member Brian McFadden, who lives in Australia now, having left the band in 2004. Surely someone could have fired up the Tupac-hologram machine to make Brian there in spirit?
Brian wrote on Twitter: "Sending love to my four brothers and there end of era gigs love you forever and so proud of what you and we achieved. Go out with a bang." None of the band replied. Awkward.
Despite Steps, Stone Roses and er, S Club 3 reforming recently, Nicky promises that Westlife won't be back again. "It's not a publicity stunt. Other bands who have breaks know they might come back. We're saying we're not." See you in five years, boys ...
What's next for recently bankrupt Shane Filan, then? Louis Walsh claims he's going to be the "male Adele". Good. We can't wait.

Westlife singer Shane Filan declared bankrupt

The bursting of the Irish property bubble has claimed perhaps its most famous victim: the Westlife singer Shane Filan, who has been declared bankrupt by a British court.
The 32-year-old, whose boyband career gave him a share in the group's estimated £31m fortune, said he was devastated by the move, which happened just days before Westlife play their farewell show in Dublin.
Filan was forced into bankruptcy after the collapse of the property business he owned with his brother Finnbarr. Between them they owed more than €5.5m (£4.45m) to Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland.
The Westlife singer has followed dozens of other Irish debtors who have sought to use Britain's more liberal bankruptcy laws to wipe out their debts. One financial expert managing the debts of Irish people caught up in the country's property crash told the Guardian he will have helped wipe out €1bn of Irish debt in bankruptcy courts by the end of this summer.
Property prices have slumped dramatically across Ireland – in December 2011 they were 50% lower in Dublin than in the boom year of 2006. The latest figures from the Irish central statistics office revealed that 10% of Irish mortgage holders were unable to repay their loans.
It emerged on Thursday that Filan was declared bankrupt this week at Kingston county court in Surrey, a month after his Irish-based property development company went into receivership.
Filan said in a statement he was forced to make the move after exhausting all other options. "Together with a team of financial and legal experts I have spent months exploring all possible alternatives to bankruptcy but to no avail.
"I have worked long and hard to try to reduce my debts, and I am devastated that it came to this conclusion. I now intend to focus on the remaining dates of the Westlife tour and my commitments to the band before looking to rebuild a future for my wife, my three children and myself."
Westlife, currently on their farewell tour, have had 14 No 1 singles in Britain, including Flying Without Wings and Fool Again, and more than two-dozen top 10 hits. In 2010, the group were estimated to have amassed a £31m fortune after selling more than 44m records.
The group will wind up their 14-year career with a show at Croke Park in Dublin on 23 June. Other celebrities have lost millions after investing in Irish property, included actor Colin Farrell, who lost £3m over the past year, according to the Sunday Times rich list.
Irish people with large debts, such as Filan, are turning to British courts to declare bankruptcy because individuals face only one year in financial purdah. In Ireland the penalties last for 12 years.
The ruling in London means Filan's assets are transferred to an official appointed by the court and used to settle his debts, while he is allowed an income to support himself and any dependants. His name has also been published on Britain's insolvency register which gives details of all individual bankruptcy rulings.
The register describes Filan as a singer and gives his address as Cobham, Surrey. He, with his wife Gillian Walsh and their three children, moved to Britain some time ago.
Filan will be discharged on 11 June 2013. At that point, all debts due to his creditors, including his Irish creditors, will be considered cleared. He will not be able to borrow money or act as a company director until he is discharged.
Just weeks ago, Filan agreed a solo record deal with entertainment company Universal. Their farewell concerts at Dublin's Croke Park stadium on Friday and Saturday are already sold out while the cost of hotel accommodation in the city has soared for next weekend as thousands flock to the Irish capital.

Westlife's final show to be broadcast live in cinemas

Westlife have announced plans to broadcast their final concert live in cinemas.

The boyband's final ever show in Dublin's Croke Park on June 23 will be streamed live to 200 venues across the UK, Ireland, Europe, South Africa and Australia.
BBC Worldwide and content producer By Experience have inked a deal with Sony Music and Westlife to co-produce the live event.

Westlife said in a statement: "Over the past 14 years we were lucky enough to have a pop career that any band or musical artist would have been proud of. During that time we developed and built up an amazing bond with our fans all around the world.

"On June 23rd 2012 we will wrap our musical career as a band with one amazing final show in Croke Park Dublin, Ireland. We're working hard to make it everything we had ever dreamed of from our final concert - a farewell and a homecoming in front of 85,000 fans."

The group added that the gig will be "a hugely emotional night and we expect to have tears in our eyes for nearly every song.

"Westlife has changed our lives and this final night will live on in us all forever."

Salim Mukaddam, Director of Music at BBC Worldwide, said: "Westlife has been a major presence on the pop music landscape for the past 14 years.

"Only 85,000 fans can be present in the stadium, but we're delighted to be able to extend the event to their millions of fans across the UK, Ireland and further afield who can now be part of this incredible event at their local cinema."

The live broadcasts have been organised after the Croke Park concert sold out within five minutes.

Westlife record song for Niamh Curry's funeral

About 300 people have paid tribute to five-year-old Niamh Curry, who died from a rare form of cancer.

Pop stars Westlife recorded a message of condolence and an acoustic version of their Number One hit Unbreakable for the funeral at Kettering Crematorium.
Niamh was well known in the county for her and her family's work campaigning for awareness and funding to treat her neuroblastoma.
Her charity, Niamh's Next Step, attracted support from Westlife.
'Amazing little girl' When news of her death on 20 May was announced on social media networks, the group was so moved they recorded the song and a message that paid tribute to an "amazing little girl" who had been an inspiration.
They said they had been "very sad" to learn of her death.
Niamh was was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2010 when she was three. She underwent several bouts of medication, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and an operation to remove a tumour, but the cancer returned at the end of 2011.
Her family were due to take her to Philadelphia to receive specialist care in September but she developed an infection which gave way to severe pneumonia.