By Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON (Reuters) -Westlife celebrate 25 years with a new album and tour they say will take fans down memory lane as well as treat them to "the best show" the Irish pop group have ever done. The boy band, formed in 1998 when its original five members were teenagers, has sold more than 55 million records and scored 14 UK No. 1 hits with songs such as "Swear It Again", "Flying Without Wings" and "Uptown Girl". A foursome since 2004, members Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily parted ways in 2012 before reuniting in 2018. They released single "Chariot" last month, one of four new songs on upcoming album "25 – The Ultimate Collection", out in February. They also expanded their 2026 "Westlife 25: The Anniversary World Tour", which marks 25 years since their first world tour. Feehily, who in recent years has suffered health-related issues, is not joining them on tour but features on the album. In an interview with Reuters, Filan, Egan and Byrne spoke about the tour, recording with Feehily and looking back on 25 years. Below are excerpts edited for length and clarity. Q: What can fans expect from the tour? Filan: “We want to put on our best show we've ever done … probably picking the setlist is always the hardest part because every fan has a different memory for that song. But it'll be full of hits, obviously, but we're going to elevate it from a kind of visual aspect as well." Q: What was it like working all together on the album? Filan: “It was great to have Mark on there. Obviously, he can't tour with us at the moment, he's unable to, but it was very important obviously that he was on the songs and he's singing better than ever … one of the songs coming out is some of his best vocals … We can't wait to have him back obviously as well when he's ready." Q: You recently performed at the Royal Albert Hall. What was that like? Byrne: “It just felt like an event … the Oscars meets a brilliant wedding and we were on fire … And now it's like, ‘Wow, did that just happen?’ We're tired today, but by next Saturday we'll be going ‘Right lads, how do we do this again? Where could we go next?’ And the truth is, who knows? Can it be … Madison Square Garden? Can it be the Sphere? There are no rules." Q: How does the success you imagined in those early days compare to the reality? Egan: "I don't think any of us would have ever been able to say to our young selves ‘This is what you're going to be doing when you're 45 … We like to think we're normal guys … yes, we're in this big pop act and we travel around the world … but we go home and we live quite normal lives … We’ll be back to taking the bins out tomorrow." (Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Alison Williams)
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