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Brian McFadden

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Brian McFadden

Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish singer and songwriter, who rose to fame with Irish boy band Westlife before quitting the band to forge his own solo career. He was married to former Atomic Kitten member Kerry Katona, and is now engaged to Australian pop star Delta Goodrem. Brian has found considerable success in Australia since his relationship with Delta Goodrem. He is also the brother of Grease actress Susan McFadden who competed in and won ITV's Grease is the Word, which was searching for an actor and an actress to play Danny and Sandy in the musical Grease in London's West End.

Early years

McFadden worked as a security guard in McDonald's and as a bingo caller before finding fame with Westlife. McFadden's main interests have always been singing, dancing and football. Together with his sister he attended Billie Barry Stage School in Dublin, and performed as an actor onstage all major theatres in Ireland. He also had a role in the Irish TV show "Finbar's Class", a comedy about a group of teenagers set in a school.

In 1998 he started a pop and R&B-influenced group called Cartel with two other boys named Tim and Darragh Deane. Together they performed live in Dublin pubs.

Relationships

In 1998-1999, Brian dated Aqua singer, Lene Nystrøm Rasted. He also briefly dated S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearritt.

McFadden married former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona on 5 January 2002 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Rathfeigh, County Meath. Their honeymoon was in South Africa. They have two daughters: Molly Marie McFadden (born 31 August 2001, Dublin, Ireland), and Lilly-Sue McFadden (born 3 February 2003, Dublin, Ireland) who were both delivered at Dublin's Mount Carmel Hospital. Brian was voted Celebrity Dad of the Year in 2002, and Kerry was chosen as Best Celebrity Mum in 2002 and 2004[citation needed]. Katona and McFadden announced their separation in September 2004 and their divorce was finalized in December 2006.

McFadden is engaged to Australian singer and actress Delta Goodrem, with whom he collaborated on the duet "Almost Here". Initially, the couple denied being romantically linked. After breaking up with Kerry, McFadden claimed Delta was 'helping him' get over the pain, and the two shared many long phone calls[1] until McFadden admitted that the relationship was romantic.[2] The couple underwent weeks of tabloid scrutiny, focused particularly on the fallout of McFadden's marriage with Kerry Katona. Press speculation suggested that the pair had embarked on their affair before McFadden had separated with Katona. This was denied by both Goodrem[3] and McFadden.[4] According to both parties, Goodrem began dating McFadden in 2004, after the breakdown of Brian's relationship with Kerry, with Goodrem relocating from Australia to the UK to live with McFadden. The couple faced further media scrutiny in May 2006 when a newspaper claimed that Goodrem's mother had advised her to end her relationship with McFadden.[5]

On 29 November 2007, Brian announced his engagement to Goodrem. The couple confirmed their engagement on Friday, amidst false reports that Goodrem had turned down the proposal insisting she was “too young” to settle down. Goodrem’s management issued a statement, saying, “The couple were hoping to keep the news private however they feel it is important to now confirm their exciting news.” It was reported in the Christmas Eve issue of OK Magazine Australia that Brian pre-planned the proposal for months. As of May 2009, no wedding date has been set due to "work commitments".

Westlife career

Westlife are an Irish pop music group, formed in July 1998. They are signed by Simon Cowell and managed by Louis Walsh. The group is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and much of Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. McFadden performed with Westlife as Bryan, reportedly because it made signing autographs easier for him[citation needed].

He departed from Westlife after the release of the album Turnaround.

With Westlife, McFadden sold more than 30 million albums and 7 million singles, had 12 #1 singles in the UK chart and sold out arenas all over the world.

Some of Westlife's songs were co-written by McFadden, such as:

"Fragile Heart" "Bop Bop Baby", "I Wanna Grow Old With You" "Love Crime"

McFadden appears on the following Westlife albums:

Solo career

On the eve of the Turnaround tour, McFadden left Westlife on 9 March 2004[6] to spend more time with his family and work on solo projects. His final public performance as part of Westlife was at Newcastle upon Tyne's Powerhouse nightclub on 27 February 2004.

Before launching his solo career he co-wrote the song "If My World Stopped Turning" which was sung by Ireland's entry Chris Doran in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004.

Irish Son

In July 2004 McFadden was signed to the major record company Sony BMG and to begin his solo career Brian resumed the original spelling of his name. In September he released his debut single "Real to Me", which went straight to #1 in the UK Singles Chart.[7]

His first album Irish Son charted in the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart.[8] Most of the songs were co-written with Guy Chambers, best known for his successful collaboration with Robbie Williams and INXS. Yahoo Music wrote: "Ultimately, the best you can say about McFadden is that he's unexceptionally inoffensive and probably of equal talent to the other thousand buskers who populate the streets of Dublin."[citation needed]

His second single, "Irish Son", released in November 2004 went to #6 in the UK chart. The music video for "Irish Son" caused controversy as it showed a Christian Brothers school in Sutton, whilst the lyrics falsely implied that McFadden had been physically abused at that school.[citation needed] After the school's protests, the record label decided to withdraw the video.[9] In fact, McFadden attended a different CBS school, in Artane. The song for the most part criticised the alleged negative hold that the Roman Catholic Church held on Irish society in the past, while McFadden claimed in the song that "it was leaving that saved me."

The third single, "Almost Here", a duet with Australian singer Delta Goodrem, peaked at #3 in the UK chart,[8] but reached #1 in Australia in 2005. McFadden and Goodrem have collaborated on several songs which appeared in her album, Delta.

The fourth and final single from the album, "Demons", reached #28 in the UK chart in May 2005.[8] McFadden's career stalled at this point due to the intense media backlash he suffered due to his personal life.[citation needed] The music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh, and was later remade into a different version featuring scenes from the popular TV show Lost by the American network ABC in order to promote the show.

McFadden continued writing songs for artists as diverse as Il Divo and Girls Aloud, as well as co-writing the theme "Together We Are One" for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

That same year McFadden duetted with American singer LeAnn Rimes, the song called "Everybody's Someone" featured on her album Whatever We Wanna. The single reached #48 in the UK chart.

In 2006 McFadden stated that he was disillusioned with life in pop's fastlane and want to follow in the footsteps of country music legends Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks.[citation needed] He revealed: "Country music is great. It's not hick and it's not frowned upon any more. "In country music songs are not just about love but everything. "Every song tells a story. I've already been working with some amazing country songwriters."[citation needed]

On 22 March 2007 McFadden was reportedly dropped by Sony BMG due to disappointing album sales and the failure of recent single "Demons".[10] McFadden later stated that they had simply parted ways as he wanted to have creative control over his music.[citation needed]

In 2007 McFadden set up his own Record label, BMF Records Ireland which would be used in his Future releases allowing more creativity.

Set in Stone

McFadden announced that his second album Set in Stone would be released in Australia in April 2008, and in Australia and New Zealand on April 19. His first single in Australia and New Zealand was a new version of "Like Only A Woman Can".

The album Set In Stone went straight in at No. 5 in Australia in its first week of release.

His second single released in Australia was "Twisted". It peaked at #29 on the ARIA chart but slowly became a hit on radio.

A third single "Everything But You" was released digitally in November 2008 but failed to chart.

The Album is yet to be released in the UK, Europe and Asia.

Wall Of Soundz

In the Summer of 2009, McFadden announced a new project with songwriter Robert Conley creating an Electronic Pop Band Wall of Soundz.

McFadden and Conley then later released Demos and Clips of 4 songs, Do You Like Me, Take A Bite, Just Say So and Kickin' Around the Love on YouTube for 5hours at a time for fans to hear.[11]

Wall Of Soundz were due to Tour with New Kids on the Block on their Australian leg of Full Service Tour.[12] New Kids on the Block later cancelled all Australian dates.[13]

Other Work

Television

In 2008 McFadden took on the role of television presenter as co-host of FOX8's Football Superstar in Australia. The reality series chronicles the fortunes of fifteen would-be football stars vying for the chance to take a place in the squad of the Australian A-League team Sydney FC. Mcfadden reprised his role for the second season in 2009.

In August 2009, McFadden appeared as a guest judge on Channel 10's Australian Idol.

Radio

In late 2008, McFadden teamed up with fellow singer Ricki-Lee Coulter and former Big Brother host Mike Goldman to present the Summer Breakfast Show on 2Day FM, and networked around the country on the Today Network.

Solo discography

Albums

Year Title Chart positions Label
UK Albums Chart[8] IRE AUS
2004 Irish Son 4 6 5 Sony BMG
2008 Set in Stone N/A 3 5 Sony Music

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album Label
UK Singles Chart[8] IRE AUS
2004 "Real to Me" 1 1 - Irish Son Sony BMG
"Irish Son" 6 2 -
2005 "Almost Here" (with Delta Goodrem) 3 1 1
"Demons" 28 1 -
2006 "Everybody's Someone" (with LeAnn Rimes) 48 2 - Whatever We Wanna Asylum-Curb
2007 "Like Only a Woman Can" N/A 1 13 Set in Stone Sony Music
2008 "Twisted" N/A 3 29
"Everything But You" N/A 4 99

Trivia

  • He owns a recording studio in Dublin called the 'Vocal Lab'.
  • He has five tattoos. Four are on his back: two Chinese symbols meaning "love" and "truth" in English, which are either side of a peace symbol, and above, the name "Kerry", after his ex-wife. The fifth is on his inner left arm, reading "Sometimes life breaks in mysterious ways" - a line from his song Sorry Love Daddy that he dedicated to his daughters.
  • He is a keen footballer and is a fan of Coventry City.
  • He previously managed South African rock band Franklin, and now manages Irish group Melt Hair And The Love Rats who have covered his hit single "Real to Me".
  • He attends Gateway Church.
  • Susan McFadden asked him not to turn up and support her in TV talent show Grease Is The Word for his own sake. She feared he might be upset by the attention he would get. She said: "I could just see them putting the camera on him in the audience all the time, and that would be annoying for him and maybe a bit distracting for me."[citation needed]
  • He is a passionate Collingwood Magpies supporter in the AFL, and said "I know I might risk sales by saying this in Australia, but I am a passionate Collingwood supporter and, yes, surprisingly I still have all my teeth."
  • He plays for an Australian Rules side in Sydney's Castle Hill.
  • South Yorkshire radio station Hallam FM used to have a spoof slot on their breakfast show that involved an actor speaking in a strong Irish accent claiming to be Brian's brother; Adam.
  • During his tenure in Westlife, he was the tallest member.
  • His nickname in Ireland is Flopstar

References

  1. ^ The Mirror "Kerry on regardless", 3 January 2005. Retrieved 29 November 2006
  2. ^ The Mirror "Kerry's ex admits to new lover" by Cameron Robertson, 10 January 2005. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  3. ^ The Mirror "Delt's a goody", 21 January 2005. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  4. ^ The Mirror "McFadden's at war", 19 January 2005Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  5. ^ The Mirror "Delta's mum: ditch loser Brian" by Kiki King, Eva Simpson and Caroline Hedley, 30 May 2006. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
  6. ^ Westlife Announce The Departure Of Bryan McFadden
  7. ^ Ex-Westlife star storms to No 1
  8. ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 339. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ^ Label withdraws McFadden's video
  10. ^ Brian McFadden dropped by record label
  11. ^ Of Soundz Upload Clips
  12. ^ New Kids Confirm Guests Wall Of Soundz
  13. ^ New Kids Cancel Australian Tour
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