It’s the year of musical reunions.
But one band who definitely appears to not be getting back together is Westlife – at least for now, anyways.
There’s been a lot of back-and-forth between band members in recent weeks over the possibility of a reunion – in particular, who would be involved if there ever was one.
Shane Filan pretty much ruled out the prospect of a reunion that includes Brian.
He told Digital Spy:
“I haven’t seen Brian in ten years.
“We’ve just lost touch. It’s like going to school with somebody and then not speaking.
“We all had a good relationship with Brian, then he just left the band very early on. And I don’t think we would ever reunite with him.
“I honestly see Westlife as being four people now.
“The four people who started and finished Westlife are what I consider the band.”
After previously claiming that “ego” was destroying the possibility of a full reunion, Brian McFadden has now said that there was a “major offer” on the table for Westlife to return as a five-piece.
In fact, it’s said that it would’ve collectively netted the band a total of €50million – and that’s before they even hit the stage.
The 38-year-old, who left the band in 2004, said he was “pretty upset” that his bandmates hadn’t wanted him back after the multi-million pound offer.
He told the Irish Sun:
“I was offered a big multi-million pound deal. It was the other boys in Westlife who said ‘no’. They didn’t want me back.
“How does that make me feel? It makes me pretty upset because I didn’t realise they still had those feelings towards me.”
According to the publication, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan were each offered €11.4 million for a Westlife reunion with Brian.
Brian, meanwhile, is said to have been offered €4.5 million to reunite with the band.
A source told the publication that music mogul Simon Cowell was keen to get the full group back together – and wouldn’t budge on the idea.
The insider said:
“Brian had meetings with Simon. The whole thing seemed to be taking off until Simon rang Brian to say ‘one of the partners’ — a former member — was refusing to take part if it meant Brian rejoining Westlife.
“They were adamant they wouldn’t do it if Brian was involved.”
