Markus Feehily

Markus Feehily

Feehily in 2015
Background information
Birth name Markus Michael Patrick Feehily
Also known as Mark Feehily
Born (1980-05-28) 28 May 1980
Sligo, Ireland
Genres Pop
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1997–2012, 2015-present
Labels Sony, Syco (1999–2012) Kobalt (present)
Associated acts Westlife
Website markusfeehilyofficial.com

Markus Michael Patrick Feehily (formerly known as Mark Feehily, born 28 May 1980) is an Irish singer and songwriter. He was one of the lead singers of the boy band Westlife from 1998 to 2012. He will release his debut solo studio album Fire in October 2015.

Career

1998–2012: Westlife

Main article: Westlife

He rose to fame as one of the three lead singers of the boyband Westlife. He shared lead vocals with Shane Filan and Brian McFadden. Before Westlife, Feehily, Filan and Kian Egan were members of the band IOYOU, which released the single "Together Girl Forever".[1] Louis Walsh, the manager of Boyzone, was contacted by Filan's mother and came to know about the group. The group was established on 3 July 1998 with the addition of two more members, Nicky Byrne and McFadden. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Walsh. Feehily has also co-written songs, some with the other band members.

Feehily has sung completely solo on songs for the band in some instances:

During live performances, he also sang completely solo for the songs "Oh Holy Night", "Imaginary Diva", "Talk Me Down", "Before It's Too Late", and Boy George's "Il Adore". He has also co-written songs, some with the other band members.

Feehily is banned from the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles following an incident during which he got drunk and threw some items from a window of the hotel.[2]

Feehily has spoken to The Boston Globe of his embarrassment about Westlife's Rat Pack-tribute album, Allow Us to Be Frank; he blamed Westlife's label for forcing them to record it after Robbie Williams had success with this type of music. He dismissed the instance as a "weird time" in Westlife's career.[3]

Solo career

2015–present: Fire

In February 2015 Markus launched his solo career with a radio premiere of his debut single "Love Is a Drug" on RTE 2fm in Ireland.[4] The next day the track premiered online, via Wonderland Magazine.[5] Moments after the premiere of the song, it was made available for pre-order on iTunes,[6] with the official video for the track launching on his Vevo channel two weeks later. The song was released on 19 April 2015.[7] He will release his debut solo studio album Fire on 16 October 2015, it includes the single "Love Is a Drug"

Personal life

In August 2005, he publicly revealed he was gay during an interview with the British tabloid The Sun.[8] Feehily had recognised his sexual orientation when he was 14 or 15 years old.[9] His family, band mates and close friends knew his sexual orientation.[2][8] Westlife's manager Louis Walsh, however, was unaware of Feehily's sexual orientation when he began managing the group.[10] As the only gay member in Westlife, Feehily had kept his sexual orientation private and never had a boyfriend.[1] Unlike his band mates, Feehily did not discuss his private life in interviews, although he had dated women prior to his coming out.[1][11] In yet another interview, he told The Sydney Morning Herald that despite the fact that the majority of Westlife's fans are female, there had really been no negative reaction.[12]

During the interview with The Sun, Feehily also announced his romantic relationship with British fashion photographer Kevin McDaid, a member of the now-defunct British boy band V.[8] The pair, who lived together,[1] had been dating since January 2005 after having met at a Cheerios Childline Concert in Ireland. Feehily said that while he did not intend on getting married right away, he was happy to know he could form a civil partnership in Britain with the recent passing of the Civil Partnership Act.[12] In December 2007, Feehily and Kevin appeared on the cover of Attitude. The couple became engaged in February 2010.[13] On 31 December 2011, Feehily announced via his Twitter account that the couple had split up.[14]

Feehily is interested in charity works and supports the charity group Aware. He was shortlisted in 2011 as one of the top 50 most influential gays in United Kingdom.[15] He congratulated his local football club Sligo Rovers on its victory in the 2011 FAI Cup Final.[16]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
IRE
[17]		 UK
[18]
Fire
  • Released: 16 October 2015
  • Label: Harmoney Entertainment
  • Format: Digital download, CD
 2 25

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
IRE
[17]		 UK
[18]
2015 "Love Is a Drug" 65 56 Fire
"Butterfly" — —
2016 "Sanctuary" — —

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hinton, Laura (28 November 2009). "Mark Feehily Opens Up on Westlife". Female First. First Active Media Ltd. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 Newton, Victoria (9 November 2007). "Mark: I'm so glad I came out" (Email Adds). The Sun (London: News Group Newspapers). Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Mark Feehily embarrassed by LP". The Boston Globe (NY Times Co.). 28 November 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "Mark Feehily debut single announcement".
  5. ↑ "AUDIO PREMIERE: Markus Feehily – ‘Love Is A Drug’". Wonderland Magazine. 19 February 2015.
  6. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/love-is-a-drug-single/id967961514
  7. ↑ "Markus Feehily premieres 'Love Is A Drug' music video". Digital Spy. 4 March 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Westlife singer reveals 'I'm gay'". BBC. 19 August 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "Music News Westlife star wants to be a father". RTÉ. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "Louis 'mightn't have picked' gay Gately". Irish Independent. 23 November 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  11. ↑ "Mark Feehily's Jolie desires". Female First. First Active Media Ltd. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Feehily happy to be a gay role". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 March 2006. pp. 2006–03–02. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  13. ↑ "Mark Feehily: 'I want to have children'". New!. Northern and Shell Media Publications. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Mark Feehily split: Westlife singer and boyfriend Kevin McDaid break up after 7 years". 1 January 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  15. ↑ Marrs, John (12 August 2011). "The DS 50 – The Most Influential Gays 2011". Different Scene. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  16. ↑ Feehily, Markus (6 November 2011). "Congratulations Sligo Rovers". Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  17. 1 2 Hung, Steffen. "Discography Markus Feehily". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  18. 1 2 "Markus Feehily". Officialcharts.com/. Official Charts Company.

External links

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