westlife go west
Yanks for the welcome... (l-r) Shane, Nicky, Bryan, Kian and Mark in New York
IT may be the Wild West no longer, but they are certainly going wild for Westlife in America.
The band's U.S. campaign has got off to a flying start - and the boys have only been there two weeks and have not even released a record there yet.
Their No1 UK debut single Swear It Again will be out in the States at the end of the month.
But it is already being played on all the American radio networks and DJs are getting very excited about the boyband.
Chris Taylor, of WKSL Radio in Memphis, said: "Hits are very hard to come by and this is a smash.
"This song is more adult lyrically than those by the huge-selling homegrown bands like the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync."
Another jock, Kid David Corey, from WXKS in Boston, said: "I just loved the track. It reminds me of Take That when they first came over here."
A spokeswoman for Westlife said: "The campaign is looking really healthy and the boys seem about to take the States by storm.
"They plan to release their debut album Westlife there on April 4. The album has already gone three times platinum in the UK, selling almost a million copies.
Apple cor... The boys shiver in front of the Manhattan skyline as it hits 20 degrees
"Westlife have also set a record by securing SEVEN teen magazine covers for their first single - a feat Take That never came close to."
The Irish lads were mobbed by hordes of screaming girls as soon as they landed at New York's JFK airport. Besotted fans stole their jackets as souvenirs and pulled clumps of their hair out. One girl even ran off with one of their bags.
Westlife - Bryan McFadden, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan - had to hire FIVE bodyguards each.
Bryan says: "Some of the girls at the airport just ran up and started grabbing us. One pulled my hair so hard that she left with clumps of it.
"Another just grabbed my bag and we ended up having a tug-of-war but she managed to run off with it. It scared the hell out of us. We were completely unprepared."
Shane says: "It was complete madness but we're here and alive."
There was further excitement for the boys when they travelled on to Los Angeles and played a mini-concert for their U.S. label Arista.
Mariah Carey came to their after-show bash - and demanded to record a song with them.
Time out... westlife in Times Square
Mark says: "I couldn't speak when she came over. I thought I was dreaming. I've been a massive fan of hers for years. We're hoping to go into the studio after our tour and lay down a few tracks."
The boys' gruelling schedule will see them visit Argentina, Brazil and then Mexico.
This weekend they fly back to Dublin, their home town, to perform at the Childline Concert hosted by Denise Van Outen.
Nicky says: "We're only home for a couple of days before we fly off to Germany and do more promotional work.
"We'll be back towards the end of the month to promote our next single, Fool Again, on March 20."
If they hit No1 it will be their FIFTH in a row and they will be the first band to achieve the feat.
Kian says: "We can't believe how everything is going. It's great."
