"What would Westlife 2.0 be like?"

Westlife have said that fans can look forward to a "bigger and better" boyband this time round. Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily, and Cian Egan said that they wanted to get back together to bring Westlife into 2018 and to record some new music that reflected that. They also said that fans were going to be "taken aback" by the new music they were working on with Ed Sheeran. Speaking at a press conference in Dublin's Intercontinental Hotel this afternoon, the lads said that they wanted to "become a band again." Nicky said:

"The nostalgia is brilliant but this is about coming back and making a statement (...) It’s about becoming a band again. "We can never be a tribute to our former selves."

While Mark confirmed that the band had already started recording their new tracks, Cian said that fans were going to be very surprised by what they heard. "People are going to be taken aback by it," he said.

"What we do in the future is super important and the music is the future. "This is Westlife 2.0, it's bigger and better this time around. We’re not here to just do one show in Croke Park. We have a legacy to come back to and we want to grow that."

The lads also said that they "don't feel like anybody's missing" from the band ahead of the tour and that Brian McFadden leaving the band 15 years ago didn't affect their decision to reform. "We were talking about this earlier on and it's a hard one," said Shane.

"It's not something we want to put across as any way bad or ill-feeling towards Brian (...) "But Brian left the band 15 years ago. In this hotel, in this room probably."

"We don't feel like anybody's missing here today," said Mark. "And that's not in any bad way, that's just what Westlife is." Brian left the band back in March 2004 to spend more time with his family. He eventually went on to launch his own solo career and release a number one single, Real To Me.  Following the news of Westlife's reunion tour, Brian shared a message on Twitter wishing his former bandmates the best of luck. He said:

"20 years at the top is an incredible achievement. "I had a wonderful six years with the boys but I have nothing but admiration for the lads working their asses off for this long! Long may it continue boys. Flying the flag X."

Westlife's reunion tour kicks off next summer. The lads will play Croke Park on Friday, July 5. Tickets go on sale this Thursday at 9am.