Brian McFadden
| Brian McFadden | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Brian Nicholas McFadden |
| Also known as | Brian McFadden |
| Born | 12 April 1980 Artane, Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Pop, Soft rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Sony BMG (2004–2005) BMF (2006–present) Universal Music (2006–present) |
| Associated acts | Westlife, Delta Goodrem Kerry Katona (married 2002, divorced 2006) |
| Website | brianmcfadden.com.au |
Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980), is an Irish singer-songwriter, who rose to fame as a member of the all male Irish band Westlife, before leaving the band to forge his own solo career.
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Early years
From Artane a northern suburb of Dublin Ireland he (together with his sister) attended the Billie Barry Stage School and performed as an actor in most of the major theaters in Ireland. He also had a role in the Irish TV show "Finbar's Class", a comedy revolving around a group of student-swingers. In 1998 he started a pop and R&B-influenced group called Lapdance, who performed live in Dublin pubs.
Music career
1998-2004: Westlife
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 Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and much of Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. 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 Number 1 singles in the UK chart and sold out arenas all over the world.
Prior to becoming successful, Kian, Mark and Shane along with fellow Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael Garrett, were part of a six-member pop vocal group called IOYOU. Managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh along with two other informal managers, they released a single titled "Together Girl Forever". Louis Walsh, the manager of the 1990s boy-band Boyzone, was contacted by Shane's mother and came to know about the group. However, IOYOU did not meet Simon Cowell's approval for a record deal with BMG, and thus changes were needed. Three members of IOYOU were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden were recruited. The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was re-named Westside but as the name was already taken by another band, it was changed to Westlife; also changing the spelling of Brian's name to Bryan. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Walsh. Westlife then released an EP titled Swear It Again, though only in Asia.
On 9 March 2004, just three weeks prior to embarking on their fourth world tour, Brian McFadden left the group to spend more time with his family and work on solo projects. On that day, a press conference was held where all the group's members were present and gave emotional individual speeches.
Some of Westlife's songs were co-written by McFadden, such as: "Fragile Heart", "Bop Bop Baby", "I Wanna Grow Old With You" and "Love Crime". McFadden appeared in the following Westlife albums: Westlife, Coast to Coast, World Of Our Own, Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and Turnaround.
On the eve of the Turnaround tour (9 March 2004), McFadden left Westlife 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.
2004-06: Irish Son
In July 2004, McFadden was signed to the major record company Sony BMG. In September he released his debut single "Real to Me", which went straight to Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. His first album Irish Son charted in the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. Most of the songs were co-written with Guy Chambers, best known for his successful collaboration with Robbie Williams and INXS. His second single, "Irish Son", released in November 2004 went to Number 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. After the school's protests, the record label decided to withdraw the video. In fact, McFadden attended a different CBS school, in Artane. The song 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 Number 3 in the UK chart, but reached Number 1 in Australia in 2005. McFadden and Goodrem have collaborated on several songs which appeared on her album, Delta. The fourth and final single from the album, "Demons", reached Number 28 in the UK chart in May 2005. McFadden's career stalled at this point due to the intense media backlash he suffered due to his personal life. 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 on the song called "Everybody's Someone". The song featured on her album Whatever We Wanna. The single reached Number 48 in the UK chart.
2007-08: Set in Stone
On 22 March 2007 McFadden was reportedly dropped by Sony BMG. McFadden later stated that they had simply parted ways as he wanted to have creative control over his music. Later that year, McFadden set up his own record label under the name of BMF Records Ireland, which he would use for all future releases, allowing him more control and creativity over his music. McFadden announced that his second album, Set in Stone, would be released in Australia and New Zealand on 19 April 2008. The album peaked at number five on the ARIA Albums Chart, during it's first week of release. "Like Only A Woman Can" was the lead single off the album. His second single, "Twisted", peaked at numebr twenty nine on the ARIA Singles Chart, but slowly became a radio hit. The third single, "Everything But You", was released digitally in November 2008, but failed to chart.
2009-: Wall of Soundz
In Summer 2009, McFadden announced a new project with songwriter Robert Conley. McFadden and Conley released demos of four songs to their YouTube channel, entitled "Do You Like Me?", "Take A Bite", "Just Say So" and "Kickin' Around The Love". The pair were due to tour with New Kids on the Block on their Australian leg of their Full Service Tour, but later cancelled all dates. "Just Say So", the lead single from the album, which features American rapper Kevin Rudolf, was released in April 2010. The single debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum.[1]The album was released just a week later, debuting at #27 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The second single from the album, "Chemical Rush", was released in June 2010. It peaked at #12 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Discography
Studio albums
- 2004: Irish Son
- 2008: Set in Stone
- 2010: Wall Of Soundz
Television career
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, on the last episode of the season as a joke Brian McFadden played a game for Sydney FC agains Blacktown City Demons. McFadden reprised his role for the second season in 2009. In August 2009, McFadden appeared as a guest judge on Australian Idol. In 2010, McFadden became one of the new judges on Australia's Got Talent. He judges alongside the other new judge, Kyle Sandilands and judge Dannii Minogue.
Radio career
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. On 22 September 2009, McFadden returned to radio by co-hosting on 2dayFM with Jackie O and Andrew G for breakfast.[2]
Homophobic radio comments
In August 2008, GayNZ.com drew attention to a number of disparaging remarks about gays and lesbians McFadden made while he co-hosted the morning breakfast show on More FM in Auckland, New Zealand. He stated, "Saying pink is a form of red is the same as saying homosexual is a form of male... In the old days there was no such thing as gay. It was frowned upon. The church would burn you at the stake. Modern day, if you are not gay, a man should not be wearing pink. Unless of course you're in the Americas Cup and you're one of these pansies who walk around with Gant t-shirts with your collars up, and you wear pink and you wear white trousers with those dirty brown slip-on shoes. Then you're just an idiot."[3]
McFadden's comments were reported in news reports, gossip websites and weblogs worldwide, provoking considerable condemnation from the LGBT community.[4] The singer later denied he was homophobic, saying through his publicist that his comments had been "taken out of context".[5]
Personal life
During 1998 and 1999, Brian dated Aqua singer Lene Nystrøm Rasted. After the split, he briefly dated S Club 7 singer Hannah Spearritt. McFadden married former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona on 5 January 2002 in Rathfoe, County Dublin. They have two daughters: Molly Marie McFadden (born 31 August 2001) and Lilly-Sue McFadden (born 3 February 2003). Katona and McFadden announced their separation in September 2004 and their divorce was finalized in December 2006. McFadden began dating Australian singer and actress Delta Goodrem, with whom he collaborated on the duet "Almost Here". On 29 November 2007, McFadden announced his engagement to Goodrem.
References
- ↑ ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2010 Singles Retrieved 23 August 2010
- ↑ How Kyle Sandilands has saved his radio job at 2DayFM Daily Telegraph, 17 September 2009
- ↑ Ex-Westlife star's Kiwi radio homophobia GayNZ.com, 16 August 2008
- ↑ Irish Singer Brian McFadden: Straight Men Don't Wear Pink Towleroad, 19 August 2008
- ↑ Brian McFadden says he's not homophobic GayNZ.com, 20 August 2008
External links
- Official website
- Brian McFadden at Myspace
- Brian McFadden at Facebook
- Brian McFadden at Twitter
- Brian McFadden at the Internet Movie Database
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