After ten years, still best at what they do

WITH Home Park Stadium filled with girls, boys, mums, dads, grannies, grandads and couples, many with cowboy hats and bunny ears, you couldn't help wonder how Westlife would manage to keep the attention of such a diverse age range.

After Simon Webb's great support act, Westlife stormed the stage dressed in black leather, and it was soon clear that the white-suited barstool routine so long associated with the band was clearly a thing of the past.

Reeling off numbers like 'Uptown Girl', 'Mandy', 'Queen of my Heart', 'If I let you go', and 'What makes a Man', you remembered just how many hits the boys have had – in fact they've notched up 14 number ones.

The party continued in an electric atmosphere with the crowd jumping around wildly to 'Let Me Entertain You', 'I'm Your Man' and 'Don't Blame It On The Sunshine'.

When the boys donned Argyle shirts, fans responded by shouting the soccer chant 'Who are ya?!'

As fireworks flew off the stage and the stage lights flashed across the stadium, the fans danced on into the night, foot perfect with all their moves and word perfect with the lyrics... even the dutiful husbands couldn't help but get into the swing of it.

When the band finally said their goodbyes and thanked the audience for such a great 10 years, they saved the best till last. A heartfelt rendition of 'Flying Without Wings' sent shivers down the spine and brought a tear to the eye of many adoring fans.

After a stadium-wide singalong and more screams to get the band back on stage there just had to be an encore, and the boys didn't disappoint. 'When You're Looking Like That' soon had thousands of middle-aged women and teenage girls screaming, followed by the power ballad 'You Raise Me Up'. Well, if Home Park Stadium had a roof it would certainly have been raised.

With endless lashings of cheeky grins and slick dance moves, this show was pure gold.

Well done, boys...here's to 10 more years.

.