Westlife 2012 Greatest Hits Farewell Tour

While Take That, Steps and The Stone Roses are all celebrating and cashing in on their reunion successes, it was a bolt out of the blue to hear that Westlife will be going their separate ways after they have finished their 2012 Greatest Hits Farewell Tour.

The band released a statement at 6pm last night 19 October confirming the shocking news.

The Irish foursome have been together for 14 years, and have been one of the most successful boy bands of all time.


Selling over 44 million records worldwide, the group have decided to say goodbye to their devastated fans during their Greatest Hits Tour in 2012.

Nicky, Kian, Mark and Shane thanked fans last night, saying their long career had been a dream come true for all of us.

The band will be releasing their last album of greatest hits this Christmas and will embark on their farewell tour next year.

A source told The Sun that 'The greatest hits album and the tour are their way of giving thanks to their loyal fanbase and saying cheerio.'

Cracks in the band were appearing back in March when it was reported that X-Factor boss Simon Cowell had ended his contract with them after 13 years, the boys then signed with another record company to release their Greatest Hits album.

There have also been rumours circulating that Brian McFadden, one of the original members of the boyband, will be returning to the band to play a one off Christmas special.

Fans wait with bated breath, to see if Brian will be joining the band during their final farewell tour next year.

The band released the statement confirming the split last night at 6pm it said: 'The decision is entirely amicable and after spending all of our adult life together so far, we want to have a well-earned break and look at new ventures.'

They added 'Over the years Westlife has become so much more than just a band. Westlife are a family. We would like to thank our fans who have been with us on this amazing journey and are part of our family too.'

'We never imagined when we started out in 1998 that 14 years later we would still be recording, touring and having hits together. It has been a dream come true for us.'

However, not everybody is saddened by todays news, as many have commented on the timely split and the reformation of The Stone Roses. One member of the public wrote on twitter, '#StoneRoses reform and now Westlife split up. A good week for music'.

Will we see Westlife reform and hit the stage again in another 15 years like Take That? Blimey how old will we and they be then?