西城男孩成长的岁月

　　There may be no need for a special telephone line to be opened up to provide counselling to distraught fans but the news that Westlife are to split will have had many a besotted groupie1 crying into their pillow.

　　也许不用开辟专门的热线电话来安慰歌迷受伤的心，但西城男孩解散的消息足以让许多忠实拥趸哭湿枕头了。

　　[2] After a hugely successful 14-year career, the Dublin-Sligo boyband say their decision to break up “is entirely amicable” and that “after spending all of our adult life together we want to look at new ventures. Westlife has been a dream come true for us.”

　　〔2〕这支来自都柏林和斯莱戈的男孩组合拥有14年辉煌的演唱生涯，他们称，解散的决定“完全是在友好的气氛”下达成的，“我们的成年时光都是在一起度过的，这之后，我们希望探索新的事业。西城男孩使我们梦想成真”。

　　[3] Having sold 44 million records worldwide—including 15 number one singles and seven number one albums in the Irish/UK charts—Westlife remain one of Ireland’s best-selling musical acts. They set a new chart record for having their first seven singles go to number one and had massive merchandising sales.

　　〔3〕西城男孩唱片的全球销量达4400万，其中包括爱尔兰/英国排行榜15首冠军单曲和7张冠军专辑。西城男孩是爱尔兰最卖座的组合之一，他们最初的7首单曲连续夺冠，创下了排行榜的纪录，其相关产品也是大卖。

　　[4] They formed in 1998 when their manager, *Louis Walsh2, held auditions in Dublin for a younger Boyzone3-style band. Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily were from Sligo, a small town in Northwest of Ireland, and Nicky Byrne and Bryan McFadden (who left the band in 2004) were from the hometown of Boyzone, Dublin.

　　〔4〕西城男孩于1998年成立。当时，他们后来的经纪人路易·沃什在都柏林举办试唱，以期组建一支更为年轻的男孩地带风格的乐队。尚恩·菲南、奇恩·伊根、马克·菲海利来自爱尔兰的西北小城斯莱戈，尼基·伯恩和布莱恩·麦克法丹（2004年离队）来自男孩地带的老家都柏林。

　　[5] They were signed by *Simon Cowell4 to the BMG label and their immediate success was helped along by (for the boyband genre) a very strong group vocal ability and a photogenic, clean-cut image. Although all still teenagers when they first tasted success they handled their fame and popularity very well and avoided the usual tabloid scandal pitfalls.

　　〔5〕他们被西蒙·考威尔签到BMG旗下。凭借（对于男孩组合来说）出色的组合演唱功力和清纯上镜的形象，西城男孩成立后便迅速蹿红。尽管他们在初获成功时还都是十几岁的孩子，但却很好地处理了成名与声望的问题，并没有落入经常会出现的小报丑闻的陷阱。

　　[6] Shane did his first proper stage show when he was 12 years of age, the show was Grease at the Hawkswell Theatre in Sligo. The three Sligo lads, all studying at Summerhill College at that time, started to know each other by performing this. Boyzone’s success really made Shane want to be in a pop group. Then Shane asked Kian if he was interested and he just laughed at that time since Kian was really into heavy rock band then. Later Shane, Kian and Mark joined 3 other members—Michael Garrett, Derek Lacey and Graham Keighron—from the same school and started off a group called IOU and realease their debut (and last) single “Together Girl Forever” which was co-written by Shane and Mark.

　　〔6〕尚恩12岁时首次正式登台，在斯莱戈的霍克斯维尔剧场演出音乐剧《油脂》。三个来自斯莱戈的小伙子当时都在萨莫希尔中学读书，他们通过这次演出相识。男孩地带的成功让尚恩很想参加一个流行乐组合，于是他问奇恩是否有兴趣，奇恩嘲笑了他，因为当时奇恩迷恋的是重摇滚乐队。后来，尚恩、奇恩、马克以及来自同一所学校的其他三人——迈克尔·加雷特、德里克·兰西、格拉汉姆·凯隆——组建了一个叫做IOU的组合并发行了第一支（也是最后一支）单曲《和女孩永远在一起》，这首歌由尚恩和马克合写而成。

　　[7] Shane’s mom Mae Filan got in touch with the manager of Boyzone Louis Walsh, he came to hear their group in some *Backstreet Boys5 songs. Three members of the band were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Byrne and McFadden were recruited. The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was named Westside but as the name was already taken by another band, it was later changed to Westlife.

　　〔7〕尚恩的妈妈梅·菲南联系上男孩地带的经纪人路易·沃什。路易过去听他们唱了几首后街男孩的歌。其中三个成员被告知不能留在新的组合里，而在都柏林的试唱选定了伯恩和麦克法丹。这个新组合于1998年7月3日成立，起名西部男孩，但由于已经有另一个乐队叫这个名字，所以后来改名西城男孩。

　　[8] Westlife’s first big break came in 1998 when they opened for the Boyzone and Backstreet Boys’ concerts in Dublin. In 1999, the group released their debut single, “Swear It Again”, which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in UK for two weeks. Later, their second single “If I Let You Go” and the third one “Flying Without Wings” all went straight to No.1s in UK single chart.

　　〔8〕1998年，西城男孩迎来首个重大突破，他们在都柏林为男孩地带和后街男孩的演唱会暖场。1999年，西城男孩发行了第一首单曲《再次发誓》。这首单曲立即登上了爱尔兰和英国排行榜的榜首，并在榜首待了两周之久。接着，他们的第二首单曲《如果放你走》和第三首单曲《无翼飞翔》也在发行的第一周便拿下英国单曲排行榜冠军。

　　[9] Westlife’s eagerly-awaited debut album, Westlife, was released in the UK in November 1999, with their fourth No.1 single “I Have A Dream / Seasons In The Sun” becoming the UK Christmas number one of the year. With their fifth UK No.1 single “Fool Again”, they became the first ever British group to have 5 consecutive No.1s in the UK chart, so they broke this record in the UK music history and they even have a Guinness Record for this.

　　〔9〕1999年11月，西城男孩在英国推出了众人期待的第一张专辑《西城男孩》，他们的第四首冠军单曲《我有一个梦想/阳光季节》也成为了那一年英国圣诞节冠军单曲。随着第五首单曲《爱情愚痴》登上英国排行榜榜首，他们成为第一个连夺五首单曲冠军的英伦组合，创造了英国音乐史上的纪录，也因此被列入了吉尼斯纪录。

　　[10] Already in their brief career Westlife have broken records as fast as they have set them—their second album, Coast To Coast, went triple platinum in Ireland after only one day of release, and their seventh single release, “My Love”, gave them a place in chart history as they became the only band in UK chart history to have their first seven singles debut at number one.

　　〔10〕尽管成立时间不长，西城男孩打破纪录的速度和创造纪录一样快——他们的第二张专辑《咫尺天涯》上市后仅仅一天便在爱尔兰创下三白金的成绩。而第七首单曲《亲亲吾爱》使他们成为唯一一支从一开始发行单曲便在英国排行榜上连夺七冠的组合。

　　[11] While largely specialising in cover versions they did make a fair stab at writing their own material and as a hard-working touring band they became not just a big live attraction in Ireland and the UK but also in Europe and Australasia6.

　　〔11〕尽管很大程度上依赖翻唱歌曲，他们仍然进行了很多的创作尝试，还勤奋地到各地巡演。他们的现场演出不仅在英国和爱尔兰受到欢迎，还风靡欧洲其他国家以及澳大拉西亚。

　　[12] March 2004 saw a new chapter begin for the group as Bryan McFadden announced his departure from the band, citing his desire to spend more time with his young family. Rumours suggested that this might be the beginning of the end for the group, however Westlife have set the critics wrong once again.

　　〔12〕2004年3月，西城男孩翻开了新的一章。成员布莱恩·麦克法丹宣布离队，他说他想多花些时间给新组建的家庭。有人说这可能是西城男孩解散的开始，但是他们又让评论家们跌了眼镜。

　　[13] Even reduced to a four-piece following the departure of Bryan, their appeal showed no signs of wavering and although they were most popular in the teen market they did have a substantial fan base among older fans who appreciated their slick and shiny music and dance routines.

　　〔13〕麦克法丹离队后，西城男孩减为四人，但其魅力不减。尽管他们的歌迷多是十几岁的孩子，但也有很多喜爱他们流畅明亮的音乐和舞步的成年歌迷。

　　[14] In October 2005, Westlife returned with their comeback single, “You Raise Me Up”, which was taken from their Face to Face album. On 5 November 2005, both the album and the single were at No. 1 in the UK at the same time at the second week of the single. It was the first time that Westlife have held both top album and single position in the same week. “You Raise Me Up” was awarded as their fourth *Record of the Year7 in UK for 2005.

　　〔14〕2005年10月，西城男孩重整旗鼓，推出单曲《你鼓舞了我》，这首单曲被收入《真情相对》专辑。2005年11月5日，在单曲推出的第二周，《真情相对》专辑以及那首单曲同时成为英国排行榜的冠军。这是西城男孩首次在同一周同时登顶专辑榜和单曲榜。2005年，《你鼓舞了我》为他们赢得了第四个英国年度最佳单曲唱片奖。

　　[15] With soulful harmonies, angelic voices and drop-dead good looks, Westlife remain Ireland’s most well-known and biggest selling pop export and undoubtedly one of the world’s biggest pop groups. As of October 2007, Westlife have released eight albums, and have achieved a massive fourteen number ones in the UK—the third-highest such total in UK history, behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and tied with *Cliff Richard8.

　　〔15〕凭借着深情的和声、天使般的嗓音以及英俊的面庞，西城男孩一直是爱尔兰最著名、在国外最卖座，而且无疑是全世界最走红的流行组合之一。到2007年10月，西城男孩已经推出了8张专辑，并且拥有了14首英国冠军单曲——这是在英国历史上第三高的成绩，仅次于猫王和甲壳虫乐队，与克里夫·理查德持平。

　　[16] To mark their tenth year in music, Westlife staged a special 10 Years of Westlife sold-out concert at Europe’s fourth biggest stadium, Croke Park, on 1 June 2008. With a capacity of 82,300, it was the group’s biggest show to date.

　　〔16〕为庆祝成立10年，2008年6月1日，西城男孩在欧洲第四大体育场克罗克公园举行了“西城十年演唱会”，演唱会门票提前告罄。到现场观看演出的歌迷达82300人，是西城男孩迄今为止规模最大的演唱会。

　　[17] On 14 March 2011, Westlife confirmed that they had left Cowell after 13 years and his record label Syco Music after nine years. After going back to RCA Records for a one year album contract, they announced their Greatest Hits album to be released on 21 November 2011. On 19 October 2011, Westlife officially announced they were splitting after the album and a farewell tour.

　　〔17〕2011年3月14日，西城男孩确认与考威尔及其唱片公司Syco Music分道扬镳，他们与考威尔合作了13年，与其公司合作了9年。在和RCA签了一年的合同后，他们在2011年11月21日宣布推出《精选集》。2011年10月19日，西城男孩正式宣布在这张专辑以及告别巡演后解散。

　　[18] While each member of the group has had their own individual humanitarian advocacies and activities, Westlife has been supporting various projects for a charity cause from the start. On 4 November 2005, they performed together with *Christina Aguilera9 and Diana Ross10 at Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa for The “Unite of the Stars” Gala Banquet charity concert that supports four charities: the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Unite Against Hunger, St. Mary’s Hospital and the Topsy Foundation.

　　〔18〕西城男孩的每个成员都有自己单独的慈善活动，作为团体，他们从组建之初便支持各种慈善项目。2005年11月4日，他们与克里斯蒂娜·阿奎莱拉和戴安娜·罗斯等人一起，在南非约翰内斯堡的可口可乐剧场参加了“众星云集”慈善演唱会。这一演出旨在为纳尔逊·曼德拉儿童基金会、消除饥饿联盟、圣玛丽医院、托普赛基金会等四家慈善机构筹款。

　　[19] The boyband genre is one of the most difficult and demanding areas in the music industry, with many casualties who have been unable to keep up with the workload, the clean-cut image and the derision from serious music fans. Within the parameters of the genre, Westlife achieved excellence. Having a 14-year career in boyband circles would be the equivalent of a rock band having a 35-year career.

　　〔19〕在音乐界，男孩组合是最难、要求最高的音乐形式之一。很多人无法应付高强度的工作，无法保持清纯的形象，也无法面对严肃乐迷的嘲笑。在男孩组合里，西城男孩成就卓著。男孩组合圈中14年的演艺生涯相当于摇滚乐队35年的演艺经历。

　　[20] Worth an estimated €15 million each (and that would be a conservative figure), Shane Filan plans to embark on a solo career; Mark Feehily will stay in the music business as a songwriter; Nicky Byrne has plans to become a radio DJ and Kian Egan is planning to work in television.

　　〔20〕西城男孩每名成员的身价估计有1500万欧元（这还是保守的数字）。尚恩·菲南将要开始独唱事业；马克·菲海利仍会留在音乐圈里，从事歌曲创作；尼基·伯恩有做电台DJ的打算；奇恩·伊根则计划去电视台工作。