Shane Filan
Encyclopedia
Shane Steven Filan was one of the lead singers in the Irish pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 band Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...

. Filan is one of the five original Westlife members, along with other current members Kian Egan
Kian Egan
Kian John Francis Kelly Egan was a member of the Irish boyband, Westlife and coach on The Voice of Ireland.-Music career:*Main article: Westlife...

, Mark Feehily
Mark Feehily
Markus Michael Patrick Feehily is one of the lead singers of the Irish boyband Westlife.-Early life:Feehily was born in Sligo, Ireland, to Marie Verdon and Oliver Feehily. He has two younger brothers, Barry and Colin .-Career:Feehily rose to fame as one of the two lead singers of the boyband...

 and Nicky Byrne
Nicky Byrne
Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne, Jr is a singer-songwriter, radio presenter and former footballer. From 1998 until 2012 he was the oldest member of Irish pop band, Westlife....

 and former member Brian McFadden
Brian McFadden
Brian Nicholas McFadden , is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the Irish boyband Westlife...

.

Biography

Filan was born on July 5, 1979 to Peter and Mae Filan, and grew up in Sligo, a busy commercial town in the northwest of Ireland. The youngest of seven children, he has three brothers and three sisters: Finbarr, Peter Jr, Yvonne, Liam, Denise and Mairead. His parents owned a diner in Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...

 named Carlton Caf'e located on Castle Street and Shane used to work there as a waiter
Waiter
Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...

 from a very early age.

Filan attended Summerhill College
Summerhill College
Summerhill College is a Roman Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys in Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland.- History :...

, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 school, with Kian Egan
Kian Egan
Kian John Francis Kelly Egan was a member of the Irish boyband, Westlife and coach on The Voice of Ireland.-Music career:*Main article: Westlife...

 and Mark Feehily
Mark Feehily
Markus Michael Patrick Feehily is one of the lead singers of the Irish boyband Westlife.-Early life:Feehily was born in Sligo, Ireland, to Marie Verdon and Oliver Feehily. He has two younger brothers, Barry and Colin .-Career:Feehily rose to fame as one of the two lead singers of the boyband...

. All three of them participated in a school production of Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...

when they were about 12. The Hawkswell Theatre became a significant part of their careers. Filan was a fan of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 as a child, and claimed the singer inspired him to pursue a career in music.

Musical career

Before Westlife, Egan and Feehily were with Filan in a band known as I.O.U. with other Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael "Miggles" Garrett. He partly wrote the IOYOU's song Together Girl Forever. For 6 months, Shane's mum, Mae Filan, tried to phone Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh is an Irish music manager and judge on the British television talent show The X Factor.-Band manager:...

 (who is also the manager of Boyzone). Eventually, she was able to speak to him and talked about her son's band. 3 of them were dropped and the other 3, Shane, Kian and Mark, joined ventures to finding 2 more slots for the band. Then they were joined by Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden to form Westside. The name of the band then changed to Westlife as there were already a number of bands with the name Westside.

Filan, along with Mark Feehily, is the main lead singer (first voice) in Westlife. Their first album was released in November, 1999, titled Westlife. With Westlife, Filan has received twenty-eight platinum discs and sold 40 million records worldwide.

Filan has also co-written a few songs, along with the other band members, including:
  • Fragile Heart
  • Bop Bop Baby (Became a hit single and made it into #5 in U.K. singles charts)
  • 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 lossing 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 LoveA
  • Love Ain't WarA
  • This LifeA
  • Closer
  • Too Hard To Say Goodbye


ASongs were found to be Filan's co-written songs. No other details whether it's for Westlife or not.

He has also written songs for other artists, (together with his former bandmate McFadden):
  • Listen Girl sung by John Ostberg
  • Let Me Be the One sung by Simon Casey (the song written by only Shane himself)
  • Sei Parte Ormai Di Me sung by Il Divo
    Il Divo
    Il Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...

  • The Music Won't Last / Music Won't Last by Jerry Given


In the week beginning 26 April 2010, an unreleased solo song by Filan called "Beautiful In White" leaked onto the Internet, but it was credited as being recorded by Shayne Ward
Shayne Ward
Shayne Thomas Ward is an English pop singer who rose to fame as the winner of second series of The X Factor. He has sold over 3 million records worldwide and has had number one albums and singles in 9 countries.During The X Factor competition, Ward was mentored by manager Louis Walsh...

 instead of Filan. Filan performed the song on 13 March 2010 at a private wedding ceremony in Co. Kildare Ireland for Irish multimillionaire Mark Walker's daughter.

He also participated and won with a team on Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid
-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...

 2010. Following in the footsteps of his bandmate, Kian, Filan appeared as Walsh's guest judge in the groups category of The X Factor
The X Factor (UK series 5)
The fifth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV in 2008. The series started on 16 August and was won by Alexandra Burke on 13 December, with new judge Cheryl Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges...

.

Personal life

Filan married his childhood sweetheart, Gillian on December 28, 2003 at Ballintubber Abbey
Ballintubber Abbey
Ballintubber Abbey is a royal abbey in Co. Mayo, Ireland, founded by King Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair in 1216. It is said to be the only church in Ireland founded by an Irish king that is still in regular use....

, followed by a reception at Ashford Castle
Ashford Castle
Ashford Castle is a medieval castle turned five star luxury hotel near Cong on the Mayo/Galway Border in Ireland, on the shore of Lough Corrib. Ashford Castle is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World organization.-History:...

, Ireland. Gillian gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Nicole Rose, at Sligo General Hospital on 23 July 2005. Their second child, a son, Patrick Michael, was born at Sligo General Hospital on September 15, 2008. On 5 July 2009 (the day of his 30th birthday) Shane announced that he and Gillian were having their third child. Shane Peter Filan, named after his father, was born at 9.34pm on January 22, 2010 weighing in at 6 lbs 9oz.

Shane likes to play golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 in his spare time, but loves horses much more. He and his family own more than 70 of them, and used to compete at horse tournaments. All of Shane's horses are named Carlton something (e.g. Carlton Flight, Carlton Clover Association of Ireland). A massive Manchester United fan, Filan and bandmate Nicky Byrne
Nicky Byrne
Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne, Jr is a singer-songwriter, radio presenter and former footballer. From 1998 until 2012 he was the oldest member of Irish pop band, Westlife....

 proudly wore their Man Utd scarves as they were half time guests at Old Trafford for the game between United and Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

.

Shane won the 2010 Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid
-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...

, a British charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

 football match with the Rest of the World team.

He and his eldest brother, Finbarr, have a company called Shafin Developments Ltd. They are hoping to expand its portfolio with the proposed construction of 63 luxury apartments at the rear of Lisroyan House, Knappagh Road, Sligo.

Shane is the second cousin of Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...

 guitarist Ryland Blackinton
Ryland Blackinton
Ryland Blackinton is the lead guitarist for the band Cobra Starship. He is from Wilmington MA, but was born in South Kingstown Rhode Island on March 31, 1982. Before joining Cobra Starship, Ryland, along with high school best friend Alex Suarez formed the folk/pop duo This Is Ivy League...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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