Mark Feehily Misses Westlife’s 25th Anniversary Plans
Mark Feehily will not perform live with Westlife during the group’s 25th anniversary celebrations. The 45-year-old singer is still part of the anniversary rollout through his vocals on the new track Your Love Amazes Me and on Chariot, but the stage lineup will move ahead without him.
Westlife’s 25-year rollout
Westlife is marking 25 years together with a brand new single, a greatest hits album and a huge world tour. That puts the live campaign in the hands of Shane Filan, Nicky Bryne and Kian Egan, narrowing the onstage lineup to three original members for the anniversary run.
In June, the band said, “Sadly, Mark will be unable to join the celebrations. We hope he can join us back on stage when he is ready and able. He sends his love and positivity to you all as always.” That leaves the recorded side of the anniversary intact while the live side loses one of the group’s four familiar voices.
Feehily’s 2024 departure
Feehily announced a temporary departure from Westlife in 2024 and tied it to health problems stretching back to August 2020. He said the trouble began after surgery that year, then escalated when he was rushed into A&E with severe pain and later developed severe sepsis after a complication with the operation.
He said he spent the next few months in hospital during lockdown and was not allowed visitors, including his fiance and his then 10-month-old daughter. He later became ill in Newcastle in late 2021 before a concert, was told he had pneumonia and had to go straight home to recover.
Touring without one voice
By May 2022, Feehily said he needed more surgery, which forced him to miss more of The Wild Dreams tour. Three months later, he tried to return, but the physical demands of the concerts and the travel were too much for him. For Westlife’s anniversary campaign, that history explains why the band can still sell the familiar sound on record while presenting a reduced live lineup on the road.
Feehily’s absence means the anniversary push is built around continuity rather than a full original reunion on stage. The practical takeaway for anyone following the rollout is simple: Westlife’s new music and catalogue remain active, but the live shows will go ahead as a three-man performance until he is ready and able to return.
