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Shane Filan
Shane Filan 2021.png
Filan in 2021
Background information
Also known as Shane Steven Filan
Born (1979-07-05) 5 July 1979 (age 45)
Sligo, Ireland
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active 1997–present
Labels

Shane Steven Filan (born 5 July 1979) is an Irish singer. He is one of the two lead singers of the pop vocal group Westlife, which was formed in 1998, disbanded in 2012, and regrouped in 2018. Westlife has released thirteen albums, embarked on twelve world tours, and won several awards, becoming one of the most successful musical groups of all time.

Filan has released three solo albums: You and Me (2013), Right Here (2015), and Love Always (2017). He has appeared sixteen times in the UK Singles Chart with number-one hits, making him one of the most-appeared Irish music artists in British music number-one singles history.

Early life

Shane Steven Filan was born on 5 July 1979 in Sligo, Ireland. He is the son of Peter and Mae Filan (née McNicholas). Filan is the youngest of seven siblings; he has three brothers and three sisters. From a very early age, Filan worked behind the counter of his parents' business - a diner in Sligo - including on school Holidays.

He attended primary school at a local Catholic school, and secondary school at Summerhill College, with future Westlife bandmates Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. All three of them participated in a school production of Grease. The Hawkswell Theatre became a significant part of their careers.

Filan was a fan of Michael Jackson as a child, and claimed the singer inspired him to pursue a career in music. Before Westlife, he studied business and accounting.

Career

Six as One, IOYOU and Westlife (1997–2012)

Before Westlife, Egan and Feehily were with Filan in a band known as Six as One and, later on, IOYOU, with other Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron, and Michael "Miggles" Garrett. He co-wrote the IOYOU song "Together Girl Forever." For six months, Shane's mother, Mae Filan, tried to phone Boyzone manager Louis Walsh, eventually succeeding in talking to him about her son's band. Three of the members were dropped and the other three, Filan, Egan, and Feehily, joined in finding two more singers for the band. The members that joined were Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden, forming Westside. The name of the band was subsequently changed to Westlife as there were already a number of bands with the name Westside. Filan, along with Feehily and McFadden, became the co-lead singers of the band. Their first album was released in November 1999, titled Westlife.

With Westlife, Filan has received twenty-eight platinum discs and sold 55 million records worldwide. In his 2014 book My Side of Life, he revealed that in 2001, he had been the first member of Westlife to be offered a solo record deal, but that he had rejected it, as he was scared of going solo.

Solo career, You and Me (2012–2014)

On 20 October 2011, Westlife announced that they had decided to split and go their separate ways at the end of their 2012 Farewell Tour. Filan showed interest in being a solo music artist for his daily living. In December 2011, press reports announced Filan was close to signing a solo deal with one of several potential competing UK record labels. Filan and his manager Louis Walsh, had been in talks with several of the labels at the time. "There's four, possibly five labels so far who have made it clear that they want to sign Shane," said a music source to showbiz writer Paul Martin.

In a March 2012 interview with Paul Martin, Filan said he would be signing within the next few weeks.

In 2013, Filan announced he had officially signed a record deal with UMG subsidiary London Records worth 20 million British pounds. UMG had previously offered him a solo deal in 2001; the first member of Westlife to have received such an offer, but turned it down. For the new deal, Filan stated that he had spent the past 12 months in both US and UK writing songs and recording, and that a forthcoming single and an album would be released later in the year.

On 10 May 2013, he announced that his first single would be released, along with three other tracks, later revealed in July to be "Everything to Me", and "Everytime", "Today's Not Yesterday" and "Once", respectively. The release date was announced as 25 August.

On 10 September 2013, Filan released About You, the second single from his album You and Me, followed by the album shortly after.

Right Here (2015)

After the Westlife split, bankruptcy, the You and Me Tour, and his debut autobiography My Side of Life, Filan announced on 13 March 2015 that he was working on his second studio album, Right Here. The album was mostly recorded in London and Denmark, and featured collaborations with Cutfather (The Saturdays, JLS), Jez Ashurst (Will Young, Gabrielle Aplin), Jon Maguire (Union J), Tre Jean-Marie (MNEK, Jason Derulo), and Girls Aloud. The album was released on 25 September 2015, reaching #1 on the Irish Album Charts during its first week.

Love Always (2017–2018)

On 25 August 2017, Filan released his third studio album Love Always. and announced his next tour, the Love Always Tour 2017.

Previously, in April 2010, an unreleased solo song by Filan called Beautiful in White leaked on the Internet, but was incorrectly credited as being recorded by Shayne Ward instead of Filan. During this time, Filan also did a duet with Irish country singer Nathan Carter. The album reached #5 in the UK Album Charts, making it his highest-charting album in the United Kingdom, and therefore making him the most successful Westlife member as a solo artist in the charts to date.

In 2018, Filan also had success in Asia, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea. Beautiful in White was particularly successful in Asia.

Westlife reunion with new single, album, and tour (2018–present)

On 3 October 2018 Westlife announced their reunion as a four-member band. In 2019 four singles were released, penned by Ed Sheeran. The group embarked on a hugely successful 50 date tour called "The 20 Tour", in honour of Westlife's 20th anniversary since the release of their first single in 1999. On 15 November their 13th studio album, Spectrum, was released.

Personal life

Filan married his childhood sweetheart, Gillian Walsh, on 28 December 2003 at Ballintubber Abbey, followed by a reception at Ashford Castle, Ireland. Gillian is the cousin of fellow band member Kian Egan, making Filan and Egan cousins-in-law. They have three children: daughter Nicole Rose (born on 23 July 2005 in Sligo, Ireland) and sons Patrick Michael, (born on 15 September 2008 in Sligo, Ireland) and Shane Peter (born on 22 January 2010), who is named after his father.

He and his eldest brother, Finbarr, ran Shafin Developments – a property development company. The company was placed in receivership in May 2012 and Filan was declared bankrupt a little over a month later after suffering losses in Ireland's property crash.

Philanthropy

Discography

Filan has released three studio albums, eight singles, and two featured songs.

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
IRE
UK
SCO
You and Me 3 6 4
Right Here
  • Released: 25 September 2015
  • Labels: East West
  • Formats: CD, Digital download, streaming
1 11 7
Love Always
  • Released: 25 August 2017
  • Labels: Ocean Wave
  • Formats: CD, Digital download, streaming
5 5 3
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

As lead artist

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
IRE
UK
SCO
2013 "Everything to Me" 7 14 9 You and Me
"About You" 60 54 39
"Knee Deep in My Heart"
92 69 72
2015 "Me and the Moon" Right Here
"I Could Be" (featuring Nadine Coyle)
2017 "Unbreakable" Love Always
2018 "Back to You"
"Beautiful in White"
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist

Year Title Album
2015 "When I Grow Up"
(The Association of Irish Musical Societies featuring Shane Filan & Grace Lee)
non-album single
2017 "Bridge over Troubled Water"
(as part of Artists for Grenfell)

Promotional singles

Year Title Album
2013 "Baby Let's Dance" You and Me

Music videos

As lead artist

List of videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director
"Everything To Me" 2013 Unknown
"About You" Jason Ell
"Knee Deep in My Heart" Warren Smith
"Me and the Moon" 2015 Unknown
"Unbreakable" 2017 Jonathan Lambert
"This I Promise You" Unknown
"Back to You" Unknown
"Beautiful in White" Jonathan Lambert

Songwriting

Sources: APRA, ASCAP, BMI, OSA, SESAC, SOCAN, SUISA Repertoires. In SESAC, Filan uses John Francis Filan as an alias. Filan has co-written a number of songs including:

Westlife (1998–2012; 2018–present)

  • "Starlight"
  • "Alone Together"
  • "Wild Dreams"
  • "Lifeline"
  • "Rewind"
  • "Magic"
  • "Always With Me"
  • "Take Me There"
  • "L.O.V.E"
  • "Fragile Heart"
  • "Bop Bop Baby" (reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart)
  • "Don't Say It's Too Late"
  • "I Wanna Grow Old with You"
  • "I'm Missing Loving You"
  • "Singing Forever"
  • "Where We Belong"
  • "Never Knew I Was Losing You"
  • "Love Crime"
  • "How Does It Feel"
  • "Crying Girl"
  • "Reason for Living"
  • "Miss You When I'm Dreaming"
  • "A Little Part of Me / Little Part of Me / Extraordinary Love"
  • "Love Ain't War"
  • "This Life"
  • "Closer"
  • "Too Hard to Say Goodbye"
  • "Last Mile of the Way"

Love Always (2017–2018)

  • "Completely"
  • "Eyes Don't Lie"
  • "Crazy Over You"
  • "Back To You"
  • "Girl in My Heart"

Right Here (2015)

  • "I Could Be"
  • "Right Here"
  • "Better off a Fool"
  • "I Can't Get Over You"
  • "Effortlessly You"
  • "All My Love"

You and Me (2013)

  • "Everything to Me"
  • "About You"
  • "All You Need to Know"
  • "Knee Deep in My Heart"
  • "One of These Days"
  • "Everytime"
  • "Always Tomorrow"
  • "When I Met You"
  • "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"
  • "Coming Home"
  • "Baby Let's Dance"
  • "In the End"
  • "You and Me"
  • "Just the Way You Love Me"
  • "Once"
  • "Today's Not Yesterday"

– Songs were found to be Filan's co-written songs during his time with Westlife. No other details whether it's for Westlife or not.

Unreleased

  • All About You
  • As Far As I Go
  • Back Home
  • Best is Yet to Come
  • Don't Look Back
  • Counting the Days
  • Fall in Love With Me
  • Feel Alive
  • Headed for a Fall
  • I Can't Get By
  • I Got Nothing at All
  • I Love You
  • Intimate
  • Lean Back
  • Learn to Fly
  • Letting it Go
  • Like 'Em Wild
  • Love and Plan B
  • Lullaby
  • More
  • Never Give Up Lullaby
  • Night Sky
  • No One's in Control
  • Not in This Alone
  • One Last Second Chance
  • Only Got Tonight
  • Only You
  • Our Story
  • Save Me
  • Say We'll Meet Again
  • Shine Down
  • Slowing Down
  • Skyline
  • The Perfect Storm
  • The Truth
  • Things are Looking Up
  • Too Strong
  • Wherever You Are
  • Wouldn't Change a Thing About You
  • You Always Will
  • Your Ordinary Man

Songs written for other artists

  • "Listen Girl" performed by Johan Östberg
  • "Let Me Be the One" performed by Simon Casey
  • "Sei Parte Ormai Di Me" performed by Il Divo, in their self-titled album (2004)
  • "The Music Won't Last / Music Won't Last" performed by Jerry Given

Tours

Concert tours

Headlining

As part of a group
As a solo performer
Year Title Duration Number of shows Notes
2014 You and Me Tour 20 February 2014 – 5 December 2014 52
2016 Right Here Tour 3 March 2016 – 4 December 2016 33
2017-2019 Love Always Tour 16 July 2017 – 16 March 2019 65
You and Me Tour (2014)

Support acts

  • Klarisse de Guzman
  • Ben Montague
Date Country City Venue
Leg One: Europe
20 February 2014 United Kingdom Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
21 February 2014 Birmingham Symphony Hall
22 February 2014 Reading Hexagon Theatre
24 February 2014 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
25 February 2014 Glasgow Glasgow Concert Halls
26 February 2014 Newcastle Newcastle City Hall
27 February 2014 York Barbican Centre
1 March 2014 Blackpool Opera House Theatre
2 March 2014 Cardiff St Davids Hall
3 March 2014 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
5 March 2014 Bournemouth Bournemouth Pavilion
6 March 2014 Southend-on-Sea Cliffs Pavilion
7 March 2014 London Hammersmith Apollo
Leg Two: Asia
13 September 2014 Indonesia Jakarta Upper Road Annex Building
16 September 2014 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Cargo Bar
21 September 2014 China Shanghai Shanghai Grand Stage
23 September 2014 Beijing Workers Gymnasium
25 September 2014 Guangzhou Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall
26 September 2014 Nanjing Wutaishan Gymnasium
27 September 2014 Chengdu UESTC Gymnasium
29 September 2014 Hong Kong Asia World Expo 10
1 October 2014 Philippines Manila World Trade Center Metro Manila
Leg Three: Europe
23 October 2014 United Kingdom Portsmouth Portsmouth Guildhall
24 October 2014 Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Theatre
25 October 2014 Worthing Assembly Hall
26 October 2014 Bradford St. Georges Hall
28 October 2014 Motherwell Motherwell Concert Hall
29 October 2014 Aberdeen Aberdeen Music Hall
30 October 2014 Kilmarnock The Grand Hall
31 October 2014 Carlisle Carlisle Sands Centre
2 November 2014 Barrow in Furness The Forum
3 November 2014 Brighton Floral Pavilion
5 November 2014 Leicester De Montfort Hall
6 November 2014 Bolton Albert Halls
7 November 2014 Rhyl Pavilion
9 November 2014 Warrington Parr Hall
10 November 2014 Crawley The Hawth
11 November 2014 King's Lynn Corn Exchange
12 November 2014 Lowestoft Marina Theatre
14 November 2014 Porthcawl Grand Pavilion
15 November 2014 St Albans St Albans Arena
16 November 2014 Cheltenham Cheltenham Town Hall
17 November 2014 Croydon Fairfield Hall
19 November 2014 Weston-super-Mare Super Mare Playhouse Theatre
20 November 2014 Margate Margate Winter Gardens
21 November 2014 Basildon Towngate Theatre
23 November 2014 Stevenage Stevenage Leisure Centre
24 November 2014 Cambridge Cambridge Corn Exchange
25 November 2014 Ipswich Regent Theatre
27 November 2014 Hull Hull City Hall
28 November 2014 Redhill Harlequin Theatre
5 December 2014 Ireland Sligo Knocknarea Arena

Cancelled Shows

Date Country City Venue Reason for Cancellation
19 September 2014 Taiwan Taipei Nangang 101 Transportation Issues
Right Here Tour (2016)

Support acts

  • Joe Miles
  • Nikki Loy
Date Country City Venue
Leg One: Europe
3 March 2016 United Kingdom Reading Hexagon Theatre
4 March 2016 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
5 March 2016 Northampton Royal and Derngate
7 March 2016 Plymouth Plymouth Pavilions
8 March 2016 Bournemouth Bournemouth Pavilion
9 March 2016 Cardiff St David Hall
10 March 2016 Southend-on-Sea Cliffs Pavilion
12 March 2016 Eastbourne Congress Theatre
13 March 2016 London London Palladium
15 March 2016 Belfast Ulster Hall
18 March 2016 Ireland Cork Cork Opera House
19 March 2016 Dublin Olympia Theatre
21 March 2016 United Kingdom York Barbican Centre
22 March 2016 Manchester Bridgewater Hall
23 March 2016 Llandudno Venue Cymru
25 March 2016 Newcastle Newcastle City Hall
26 March 2016 Birmingham Symphony Hall
28 March 2016 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
29 March 2016 Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
30 March 2016 Inverness Inverness Leisure
Leg Two: Asia
29 September 2016 Indonesia Jakarta Colosseum
30 September 2016 Medan Retrospective
Leg Three: Europe
12 October 2016 United Kingdom Dundee Caird Hall
13 October 2016 Motherwell Motherwell Concert Hall
14 October 2016 Newcastle Tyne Theatre and Opera House
16 October 2016 Hull Hull City Hall
17 October 2016 Bradford Alhambra Theatre
18 October 2016 Peterborough The Cresset
19 October 2016 Watford Colosseum
21 October 2016 Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Theatre
22 October 2016 Portsmouth Portsmouth Guildhall
23 October 2016 Stoke-on-Trent Victoria Hall
Leg Four: Asia
4 December 2016 Indonesia Manado Megamas Marina Plaza
Love Always Tour (2017–2019)

Support acts:

  • Guy Sebastian
  • Matt Gresham
  • Max Restaino
  • Andy Brown
  • Sitti
  • Sabrina
  • V.O.S.
  • Angeline Quinto (replacement for Morissette in the Davao leg)
  • Morissette (cancelled due to voice rest)
  • Jed Madela
Date Country City Venue
Leg One: Asia
16 July 2017 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Lan Anh Stadium
22 July 2017 Indonesia Surabaya Surabaya Convention Hall
Leg Two: Europe
29 July 2017 Ireland Naas Punchestown
Leg Three: Asia
18 August 2017 Indonesia Jogjakarta Prambanan Jazz Festival
19 August 2017 Bandung Trans Studio
Leg Four: Europe
20 September 2017 United Kingdom Dundee Caird Hall
21 September 2017 Glasgow SEC Armadillo
23 September 2017 Edinburgh Edinburgh Festival Theatre
24 September 2017 Carlisle Carlisle Sands Centre
25 September 2017 Newcastle Tyne Theatre
26 September 2017 Halifax Victoria Theatre
28 September 2017 York Barbican Centre
29 September 2017 Buxton Opera House Buxton
30 September 2017 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
1 October 2017 London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
3 October 2017 Northampton Royal and Derngate
4 October 2017 Telford Oakengates Theatre
6 October 2017 Liverpool Liverpool Olympia
7 October 2017 Colchester Charter Hall
8 October 2017 Swindon Wyvern Theatre
9 October 2017 Peterborough The Cresset
11 October 2017 Leicester De Montfort Hall
12 October 2017 Margate Margate Winter Gardens
13 October 2017 Reading Hexagon Theatre
14 October 2017 Salisbury Salisbury City Hall
16 October 2017 Birmingham Birmingham Town Hall
17 October 2017 Portsmouth Portsmouth Guildhall
18 October 2017 Cardiff St David's Hall
19 October 2017 Ireland Dublin Olympia Theatre
22 October 2017 United Kingdom Belfast Waterfront Hall
Leg Five: Asia
4 February 2018 Singapore Esplande Annexe Studio
6 February 2018 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur The Westin KL
9 February 2018 Philippines Manila Robinsons Mall - Ermita
10 February 2018 Cebu City Robinsons Mall - Cebu
11 February 2018 Quezon City Robinsons Magnolia
4 March 2018 Indonesia Surabaya Ciputra Hall
10 March 2018 Singapore Resorts World Sentosa, Hard Rock Cafe Hotel Coliseum
17 March 2018 Indonesia Yogyakarta Sahid Jaya Convention Hall
18 March 2018 Palembang Palembang Sports Convention Centre
Leg Six: Europe
30 April 2018 United Kingdom Gateshead Sage Gateshead
1 May 2018 Leicester De Montfort Hall
2 May 2018 Sheffield Sheffield City Hall
4 May 2018 Hull Hull City Hall
5 May 2018 Birmingham New Alexandra Theatre
6 May 2018 Northampton Royal and Derngate
7 May 2018 Ipswich Regent Theatre
9 May 2018 Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall
10 May 2018 Cambridge Cambridge Corn Exchange
11 May 2018 Guildford G Live
12 May 2018 Manchester Opera House
14 May 2018 Swansea Swansea Grand Theatre
15 May 2018 Liverpool Liverpool Olympia
16 May 2018 Glasgow Theatre Royal
Leg Seven: Asia
27 July 2018 South Korea Seoul Jangchung Gymnasium
Leg Eight: Europe
11 August 2018 United Kingdom Doncaster Yorkshire Wildlife Park

(Wildlife Safari Night)

25 August 2018 London Dagenham Central Park

(Now That's a Festival)

Leg Nine: Asia
15 September 2018 Philippines Quezon City Kia Theatre
16 September 2018 Davao City SMX Convention Center
31 December 2018 Vietnam Hanoi Hang Day Stadium
19 January 2019 Malaysia Shah Alam Elmina Central Park
16 March 2019 Indonesia Jakarta Panin Bank Super Bonanza
12 April 2019 China Chengdu Hewlett-Packard Event at Shangrila Chengdu

Supporting

Lionel Richie (2018)
Date City Venue
Europe
16 June 2018 Leigh Leigh Sports Village
17 June 2018 Carlisle Brunton Park
23 June 2018 Hove County Cricket Ground
24 June 2018 Wells-next-The-Sea Holkham Hall

Promotional tours

  • 2013–2017 UK and Ireland Tour
  • 2013, 2014, 2018 Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore Tour

Honours and awards

Year Ceremony Category Result
2000 TV Hits Awards Voice of the 21st century Won
2000 TV Hits Awards Good Looking Pop Star Won
2000 Smash Hits Awards Most Fanciable Male Won
2001 Smash Hits Awards ... Male Celebrity Won

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Shane Filan para niños

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Shane Filan para niños

  • Westlife songlist
  • Westlife tours
  • Westlife awards
  • UK Singles Chart records and statistics
  • List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
  • List of best-selling music artists in the United Kingdom in singles sales
  • List of artists by number of UK Singles Chart number ones
  • List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2000s
  • List of UK Singles Downloads Chart number ones of the 2000s
  • List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2000s
  • List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
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