Westlife: World Of Our Own 2002 World Tour, MEN Arena

WESTLIFE smashed their way out of miniature globes in a spectacular opening to their gig.

And for 90 minutes last night the massive Irish five-piece group took the North-west by storm.

Thousands of feverish female fans packed the MEN Arena to sing and dance long into the night.

They almost threatened to drown out singers Bryan McFadden, Kian Eagan, Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Mark Feehily, whose show was slick but also refreshingly human.

An appearance by one of the lads on the huge screens which hung over the hexagonal stage prompted a wave of screams and whistle-blowing.

But far from becoming big-headed, the five members appeared to enjoy the show as much as the audience. It is all so easy to have a pop at Westlife, a boyband which, on the surface, does little to distinguish itself from its peers.

Ex-Boyzone singer Ronan Keating managed the lads back in their early days, taking them through many of the basics.

But, like any good students, they surpassed their teacher and went on to become one of the most successful boybands of all time.

They play generic pop, driven mainly by sex appeal, and there's little doubt the group would not have enjoyed such success if it had been made up of spotty sixth form oiks.

Yet that would be missing the point because, for all the pretty boy jibes, these guys are high on talent.

That much was in evidence when they belted out fantastic renditions of classic songs from the 60s and 70s such as Elvis's 'Jailhouse Rock' and Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.

Hits such as 'World Of Our Own', 'Flying Without Wings' and 'When You're Looking Like That' vibrated fantastically through the arena.

Best of all, each song was sung live, whether the boys were running around or spinning on ropes about five metres above the heads of the screaming girls.

There were fireworks, there were set pieces, there were moments when it wasn't just about the music.

But when the group put their vocal talents to the test, they surpassed the expectations of even the harshest of critics.

And for that reason, it's not hard to see why they keep selling out, gig after gig.

SETLIST

World Of Our Own

Bop Bop Baby

Bad Girls

Uptown Girl

Tell Me What Makes A Man/ Swear It Again

If I Let You Go

Angel

Imaginary Diva

Jailhouse Rock

Build Me Up Buttercup

Brown Eye Girl

Gotta Be Startin Something

Bohemian Rhapsody

Queen Of My Heart

My Love

Flying Without Wings

I Cry

When You're Looking Like That