WESTLIFE fans Christine Smith and daughter Michelle should have been cheering on their favourite boyband – instead they had an early night.

A ticket bungle meant the devoted pair missed the chance to say goodbye to the lads on their farewell tour.

Christine’s husband James, 65, forked out £210 so his wife and daughter Michelle could go and see Westlife’s final tour at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena.

But the birthday surprise was ruined when the tickets failed to turn up.

While the devastated pair headed to bed for an early night, fans of the Irish act enjoyed the performance packed with hits from the pop stars’ 14-year career, including Mandy and Flying Without Wings.

Housewife Christine, 55, and Michelle, 36, a full-time mum to Anna Kennedy, four, had been promised they would be sent by courier last week, but never materialised.

Replacement tickets, said to be for row A in Section A at the Arena, also didn’t turn up.

Online trading market place Viagogo, used by people buying and selling tickets for events across the country, said the blame lies with sellers who were unable to provide the goods.

It has apologised, is refunding the money to Mr Smith’s credit card and also giving the ladies, who live in Seaham, tickets to see the lads when they return to the venue next month.

In the meantime, the Smiths have managed to find their own tickets at the same price, securing their place in the audience.

But they say they are still devastated at missing out on last Monday night’s event, which they had been looking forward since the original tickets were bought in December.

They say they will not use the Vigogo service again.

Michelle, who has seen the band four times before, said: “When they didn’t turn up and we got in touch, they said there was nothing they could do about it.

“I asked to speak to a manager and they apologised, but they couldn’t get any tickets.

“But sorry doesn’t help.

“They said they would give us other tickets for alternative dates, but that’s not the point, we’ve missed out.”

Christine added: “I was fuming.

“We’d been looking forward to this for months and it was sold out.”

In a statement, Viagogo said every ticket it sells is guaranteed and buyers should get their tickets in time.

A spokeswoman added: “In the rare instance that a problem arises, Viagogo will provide similar or better tickets, or in the worst case a full refund.

“Viagogo understands that nothing can replace seeing your favourite band or artist in concert, so in addition to a full refund Viagogo has provided Christine and Michelle Smith with tickets to see Westlife on an alternative night in Newcastle.”

Credit/Source: sunderlandecho.com

HEIDI Michelle Witherington is spending almost £1,000 going to one Westlife concert a week for five weeks.

It is her way of saying goodbye to the boyband that she has loved for the past 14 years.

And the single-mum from Hemel Hempstead is not alone as she will join tens of thousands of fans saying goodbye as Westlife announced their split last year and that this year would be their Farewell Tour.

When Heidi heard the news she bought tickets for the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff for May 10, 18 and June 12 and the O2 Arena in London for May 24 and June 7.

She said: “Everyone was crying at the end of the concert in Cardiff last week. I looked around me and all I could see were tears. I managed to take about 200 photos and some of them are really good and close up because I splashed out on a row two ticket.”

Some people may think queuing for 12 hours or spending a day constantly redialling a ticket hotline number to get a good seat or position close to the stage is too much effort.

And other people may think that by your 30s, getting all teary-eyed over a boyband, waiting in the rain to catch a glimpse of the band members, and screaming their names at concerts is for teenagers. But Heidi, who is 34 years old, doesn’t care what people think.

She is a superfan and dotes on Shane, Mark, Nicky and Kian, who make up Westlife, so much so that she was even considering camping in her car overnight outside their luxury hotel in Cardiff because it’s her ultimate dream to meet them.

In her mind the cold and uncomfortable experience would be nothing compared to being face to face with the famous four.

She said: “ One time we waited for an hour in the freezing cold to see them get out of their car before a concert.

“We waved at them and they waved back. I got a bubble of excitement to think that I was going to see them on stage in a few moments.

“My longest wait for Westlife was 11 and a half hours to get into an open air concert in Dorset.

“We arrived at 9.30am to get in the car park queue where there were so many cars the police had to control the chaos.

“At 2pm the gates opened so we could park up, run across a field and queue for another three and a half hours behind the barriers.”

The chase keeps Heidi going and she admits that if she actually got to meet the boyband she wouldn’t know what she would say or do.

Instead she loves them from afar – her collection of Westlife merchandise is worth thousands of pounds – and she talks about them with fans on some of the thousands, if not millions, of social networking pages and blogs dedicated to their every move.

There is nothing that makes Heidi more happy than putting Westlife on the CD player, getting her collection out and singing at the top of her voice while having a good dance around her flat.

She said: “It has only been recently that I have been listening to music other than Westlife.

“If you had asked me what was in the charts last year I wouldn’t have had a clue. The only music I have listened to for years has been Westlife. Some people get sick of it but I love it.

“Westlife has been a passionate 16-year love affair.”

Credit/Source: www.hemeltoday.co.uk

Summerhill College: Summerhill College Building Fundraiser to help build our new school and a chance to win VIP tickets+meet and greet passes to Westlife at the O2 London on June 7th

FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN two V.I.P. TICKETS to see Westlife
(Including Backstage Passes and €500/£400 expenses)
The O2 Arena, London on 7th June 2012

Answer the following question:

True or false:

Shane, Kian and Mark are from Sligo?
Text: WEST followed by your name and answer to

57800 (ROI)
*€2.50 per text. Network charges vary. Minimum of €1.74 goes to charity
81108 (UK)
*£1.50 per text. Network charges vary. Minimum of £0.54 goes to charity

Terms and conditions.
- Prizewinner will be notified by phone on Monday 4th June 2012.
- The prizewinner will be posted on www.facebook/pages/Summerhill-College and on www.summerhillcollege.ie
- All entries must have the entrants name and correct answer.
- There is no alternative cash prize.
- There is no post-event publicity planned.
- The winner will be picked at random from all correct entries.
- The decision of Summerhill College fundraising committee is final.

Credit/Source: www.summerhillcollege.ie / facebook.com/SummerhillSligo

*The following links contain TOUR SPOILERS*

We’ve added loads of videos, reviews and pictures, including High Quality, from Westlife’s London, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle concerts to the Farewell Tour Minisite.

A BIG FAT thank you goes to our dutchies Kim and Monique for sharing the stunning fanpictures of the lads performing at Sheffield Motorpoint Arena last May 13th. Lovely Jessica at Kian Egan Daily with whom Mark-Feehily.Net and Westlife.GR co-run the Farewell Tour Minisite uploaded her own gorgeous videos from the concert in Newcastle. And also to Alfee for all the help and support and everyone that is sharing the videos on the net for those of us watching from home

Keep checking the minisite for all the updates on Westlife’s Farewell Tour! And enjoy if you’re going to the coming gigs

Credit/Source: Westlife Japan / Monique / Kim / thestar.co.uk / chroniclelive.co.uk / Glenn Ashley Photography / Laura Povey / WireImages / GettyImages / youtube.com/kimmy2k6 / WENN / Bullspress / youtube.com/sheepsrawk / liverpoolecho.co.uk / clickliverpool.com / Jessica

By Kim Dawson

SHANE Filan is to make his first solo album with Universal, despite Westlife enjoying a 14-year career with rival label Sony.

The 32-year-old is on the manband’s farewell tour but is already plotting a debut disc away from the group.

Mark Feehily, 32, is also expected to make an album, while bandmates Nicky Byrne, 33, and Kian Egan, 32, focus on television.

I’ve already revealed how Nicky is in talks with US show Dancing With The Stars.

Credit/Source: www.dailystar.co.uk

Only a few weeks left now until Westlife are no more….they play Cardiff tonight and they only have about 2 or 3 days where they won’t be doing a show before the final concerts on the 22nd and 23rd of June at Croke Park.

So the next thing for the lads is figuring out what to do next – we know that Shane Filan will be focusing on a solo career as will Mark Feehily and it seems after his stint on The Voice of Ireland, Kian Egan has been getting some TV presenting offers over in the UK so are the rumours true?

Kian told 98FM “I have been in talks with Sky amongst other people aswell about other TV projects. Nothing is in the bag, nothing is finalised. I haven’t signed any contracts or anything like that – it’s all talk at the minute. I signed up with a big agency in the UK. It’s looking good. It’s looking like I will probably be doing one or two more things in the UK in the coming months and the next year or so but to be honest, I’m not chasing anything. I don’t want to be running after anything – if something comes up that feels natural, then I’ll go for it”.

Credit/Source: www.98fm.com

N’aww Gillian turns 33 today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GiLL!!! Wishing her to always be very happy, healthy and to have an amazing day! <3

x Villy x

By Melanie Finn

IT’S a case of ‘all aboard’ the Westlife bus this week as the chart-toppers are joined by all their partners on their last ever tour.

THE four crooners have kicked off their Farewell tour and will play a string of arenas all over Britain before bringing it to Ireland this summer.

But as proof that the boys have definitely grown up, this time around they’ll be bringing all their partners with them on the tour bus.

Nicky Byrne’s other half Georgina said being able to travel around with the band made it much easier for them as a family.

“I wasn’t able to get over to Cardiff because I had to mind the boys,” she explained.

“But we are all going to the London gig and going out on the road with them for the week. I don’t know how rock and roll the lads will think it is but all the wives are going on tour.

Special

“We will be piling into the tour bus each night with them after the shows and heading on the road. It is the last time they will be doing this together, so it will be special,” she said.

However, she won’t be stuck for company either, given that Shane’s other half Gillian will also be there, as will Kian’s wife Jodi Albert.

Nicky, Kian Egan, Shane Filan and Mark Feehily kicked off their tour last week at Cardiff Motorpoint arena, performing to almost 10,000 fans. They’ll now spend the next few weeks taking to the stage in major venues all over the UK before building up to the grand finale of their Croke Park concerts.

Such was the demand to see them performing to their home crowd that promoters had to add an extra date to their Dublin gigs on June 22 and June 23.

Last November saw the chart-toppers confirming they were going their separate ways after more than 14 years together.

In that time, they have sold over 45 million records and clocked up some 12 number one singles in Ireland.

The group was recently voted the best ever boyband during a two-week poll of an MTV audience of some 12 million viewers.

They beat off a total of 32 groups to the coveted title including rivals like The Wanted and Disney stars The Jonas Brothers.

mfinn@herald.ie

Credit/Source: herald.ie

EXCLUSIVE
By JENNIFER O’BRIEN, Showbiz Editor

WESTLIFE star Kian Egan has admitted to being so sick of stardom he often considered walking out on his bandmates.

The Unbreakable singer yesterday told the Irish Sun how he finds life in the limelight “hard to take” — especially since launching into a new career on telly.

And as Kian kicked off the boyband’s farewell tour after 15 years at the top, he revealed he’d readily turn his back on fame — to run a kids’ STAGE SCHOOL in his beloved Sligo.

He said: “A lot of the time I think, ‘You know what, I just want out of this business’, it has been like that all the time.

“It’s such a focused world where you expose yourself so much and it can be tough sometimes.”

Having successfully cut his teeth on TV as a judge on The Voice of Ireland, Egan, 32, looks likely to remain in the public eye after Westlife’s final gig next month.

But he says he has often spoken with wife Jodi about taking off and living a quiet life.

He said: “I found with The Voice you’re so much more exposed than when I was in the band.

“People really scrutinise your comments and how you act and that can be hard to take.

“Even going to the supermarket, people come up and say things and I never had that with Westlife — it’s on a different level.”

Despite reservations about showbiz life, the new dad was fired up by the recent reaction his TV ideas got from chiefs at Sky.

Kian let slip: “They really got excited. There’s like 15 shows been thrown around with my name attached.”

But he admitted his dream is to retreat to his native Sligo, where he lives with Jodi, 28, and five-month-old son Koa.

He said: “I’ve always had the idea of starting a performance arts school at home.

“I went to a dance school and drama school as a kid and would love to have all of that under one roof.

“Jodi’s a dancer, an actress — there’s a lot of things there we could do.”

jennifer.obrien@the-sun.ie

Credit/Source: thesun.co.uk

Hiya everyone!

Some of you may have already read on Twitter but for those who haven’t I am very happy to let you know that Nat and I have opened a brand new fan site for Marky – Mark-Feehily.Net, we hope you will all like it!

Love,
x Villy