Westlife paid an emotional tribute to Gay Byrne on last night’s Late Late Show.
Nicky Byrne, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Kian Egan appeared on the chat show on Friday night, to talk about everything from their reunion tour to their families.
They also spoke about their 1998 debut on the Late Late Show, which was among one of Gay Byrne’s last on presenting duties.
And when Ryan Tubridy asked the band about that night, as well as if they remembered what the beloved presenter told them that night, Shane admitted they felt like they had “made it”.
“That performance was 21 years ago this week. It was our first time to ever perform on The Late Late Show – we kind of felt like ‘Oh my God’ we’ve made it – we’re on the Late Late with Gay Byrne,” he said. “It was a huge deal. It’s something you look forward to your whole life.”
Nicky recalled how Gay had cracked jokes about their outfits on the night.
“We were wearing long coats and he made reference to how Dublin Corporation had lent us the coats for the night,” he said with a laugh. “We all grew up with him. He was a special, special man.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Westlife performed their newest single, as well as some fan favourites – and fans were loving it.
Mark’s voice in Flying without Wings just brings me back in time awwwww. He will always be my favourite from #westlife #LateLate
— Emma Heatherington: Rewrite the Stars ??? (@emmalou13) November 22, 2019
#Westlife have still got it ??#LateLate could listen to @MarkusFeehily singing all day, what a voice
— Jennifer (@Jeanobenn) November 22, 2019
20 years since Flying Without Wings & it still gets to me. Mark’s vocals are STUNNING ? #Westlife #LateLate
— @Aoifs123 (@Aoifs123) November 22, 2019
Keeping up with my tradition of crying everytime I see @westlifemusic preform whether live or on tv. New album probably the best they have had to date. Can’t wait to see them again next year in Cork. #LateLate #Westlife #no1
— Raisa Carolan (@raisacarolan) November 22, 2019
