Review: Westlife at Liverpool's ECHO Arena

May 10 2010 by Joanne Kelly, Liverpool Daily Post

WESTLIFE'S Nicky Byrne saw his dream come true as he sang You'll Never Walk Alone with 10,000 fans at the group’s Liverpool concert on Friday.

In between hits, the blond heart-throb confessed: "I've always wanted to do this!" before kicking off a rendition of the Liverpool FC anthem.

Bandmate Kian said: "It's a pleasure to be back here in Liverpool, one of the best arenas because of all the lovely Scousers.

"You know the reason you make so much noise is because you're so close to the Irish."

A full-house welcomed the boys back to the Echo Arena for their Where We Are tour, which included new tunes Shadows and How to Break a Heart, as well as You Raise Me Up and Flying Without Wings.

Die-hard fans in home-made T-shirts were on their feet throughout the 23-strong set. New additions to the band's repertoire of covers included the Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire and Beyoncé's Halo – but Uptown Girl and Mandy were thankfully not forgotten.

Amid a futuristic light show, the boys had three costume changes, including studded black biker jackets and a single Michael Jackson-esque glove, multi-coloured bomber jackets with jeans, and finally a classic black suit and tie for the encore of You Raise Me Up and I'll See You Again dedicated to recently deceased family members.

As the boys have hit their thirties, got married and had babies, they've realised less is more. There's no dashing round the stage with dance routines typical of a boy band now.

Instead, it's the odd synchronised nod of the head or shrug of the shoulder in time with the music which sends fans wild. And do they go wild, Even the woman next to me who thought she was coming to see Boyzone enjoyed the show.