WEMBLEY ARENA 7th May 2004
Lesley
As with last year my review starts on the morning of the concert. I left my house in Dorset at ten am Friday morning along with my daughter Alison. We stopped in Swindon to collect my friend Sarah and then it was back to the motorway, stopping only once for a KFC. As someone who detests motorway driving and has always vowed never to drive anywhere near London, by the time we reached Ealing Common I was feeling very pleased with myself. This however didn’t last when on finally reaching Wembley it took another half hour to find the arena!! (I blame the lack of signposts myself!) We killed time getting something to eat and spending a fortune on merchandise…something I knew I was going to have to confess to my husband the following day!!
At six thirty we were in, myself and Sarah in loyal (but expensive) Westlife t-shirts and Alison in a special Nicky design, complete with Irish flag (minus the stick!) and black Westlife hat. Once seated Alison decided it was time to start taking some pictures.
*** CUE DRAMATIC MUSIC SIGNALLING IMPENDING DOOM ***
The camera batteries were flat!!!! Alison dissolved into tears fearing she wouldn’t get a picture of her beloved Nicky (sod him I wanted some of Mark and Shane – I felt like crying too!) Or a picture of her and the school bear she had been allowed to take with her. After frantically searching the arena for a stall selling batteries and finding none (no surprises there) I was faced with no option but to buy a cheap (I wish @£10!!) disposable camera.
With everyone happy once again the lights dimmed and the support acts began. First up Sub Base 5, a group of lads who tried hard, sang well – but let’s face it – weren’t Westlife! Following them were Twen2y4se7en, more lads and this lot were a lot like Busted, good looking, good voices and very entertaining. Then it was Bellefire, three very pretty girls with good voices – me jealous? Well only a little!
After a short break it was finally time, the TV’s started showing clips of the lads along with the song ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ and the crowd went wild chanting “WE WANT WESTLIFE!” One by one they emerged in sharp suits and sexy looks, launched into ‘Turnaround’ and never stopped. They were so energetic they left me breathless!
We were treated to hits old and new including ‘Swear it Again’ and ‘Flying Without Wings’ then bringing it bang up to date with ‘Obvious’ and ‘Hey Whatever’. Their moves were amazing and you could tell by the looks on their faces that they were truly enjoying what they were doing.
It was nice to hear more of Nicky singing, I’d never realised that he had such a good voice, just a shame there wasn’t more of Kian.
The stools were brought out for the second set and I wish I could remember which song it was that during the set Shane introduced a low growl, so sexy I nearly had to grab the chair in front of me!
Then the Medley, well what can I say, with covers of ‘Help’, ‘I’ll be There For You’ and ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ it was brilliant, but my favourite had to be ‘That’s the Way (a-ha a-ha) I Like It’, the pelvic thrusts alone were enough to make your knees go week let alone their voices!
The fourth set on the suspended walkway was a lovely chance to see them all a little closer and wearing more casual clothes, mind you they could wear sacks and still look good! The encore was the chance for someone to go on stage (not me sadly) and it was back to suits, they sang ‘My Love’, ended on ‘Mandy’ and a promise that they would be back next year – HOORAY!!!
My best bit?? Had to be the hip swinging, pelvic thrusting ‘That’s the Way (a-ha a-ha) I Like It’, that and Shane’s growl, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. My worst bit?? It just wasn’t long enough – WE WANTED MORE!!!!!!
My final word. I am not ashamed to admit I was a little worried when Bryan quit as to how they could go on without him, what they would sound like without one of the strongest voices of the band, but I have to say they sounded every bit as good – if not better – without Bryan. And they have shown us that despite what the critics have to say, they can do it and they did do it – here’s to next year!!
P.S. It was a very long drive home and you wanna know what kept me awake? Knowing that I was gonna see them again in just two weeks, only this time I’m gonna be in the very front row!