by Heather Phares In the tradition of British and Irish boy bands like Take That and Boyzone comes Dublins Westlife, a quintet consisting of Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Bryan McFadden, Mark Feehily, and Kian Egan. Filan, Egan, and Feehily were among the groups six founding members, but the other half of the group was dispatched when Louis Walsh, Boyzones manager, took interest in them. This made room in the band for Byrne and McFadden; Walsh also introduced Westlife to Boyzone vocalist and solo artist Ronan Keating, who became the groups co-manager shortly after they cemented their recording contract. The groups first single, 1999s Flying Without Wings, entered the U.K. charts at number one, a feat they replicated with Seasons in the Sun and Swear It Again in 2000. Their self-titled debut album met with similar chart-topping success and quickly went platinum in their homeland. Westlife was released in the U.S. by Arista Records in early 2000. The groups popularity in Europe continued through the 2000s, with the release of albums such as Turnaround, Allow Us to Be Frank, and Face to Face; the greatest-hits collection Unbreakable, Vol. 1 was also released on DVD