In usual circumstances this would be a jolly interview. Westlife were, until up very recently, the picture-perfect band with the near-perfect life. They had success, wealth, love, humour, healthy children, flash cars, fine suits and holiday homes abroad. But 2009 changed all that. Nicky knew it was too good to be true, knew the bubble had to burst and when it did, it threw his world asunder. Kian, who also lost his father earlier this year, is a different man. His perspective on life and death has changed utterly. It's also been tough on Mark and Shane and their wives who have all had to watch from the sidelines. But the show must go on and it did.

Following Nicky Snr's sudden passing Nicky was back two weeks later on the promotional grind for the new album, Where We Are. Nicky looked tired and thin but it was he says just the distraction he needed.

So, what's it like being back?
Shane: It's great being back. A year off is a long time doing nothing. Gillian had a baby a year ago so we were getting used to having another baby; it was a big change in the family.

And now there's an even bigger change on the way...
Shane: There is! Gillian is due our third in February; She was pregnant twice in the year off! We are very excited about it, she thinks it's a girl but I have a funny feeling it's another boy. One of us is right!

2009 has been a bad year for Westlife.
Shane: We started 2009 with all our dads and now two of them are gone - it's been a really weird year for deaths. Stephen's death was horrific; I still can't believe it - he was only 33. It made us realise how short life is.

Nicky, how are you coping?
I'm doing okay, publicly, but I have my moments as does anyone who has lost someone. I always felt that life was too good. The band have been flying for 10 years, I'm blessed with two gorgeous kids, happily married, big house, nice few quid in the bank; I always thought something would have to go wrong and then it did.

How's your mum holding up?
She's a strong woman but she was going with dad since she was 14 years old. Mum was the boss but dad always depended on her. We are all around her trying to make it better. It's tough on my brother as well; he's only 19 and still at home, but it's a blessing that he is because if she was completely on her own it would be 50 times harder. We're coping but it's the finality of it all that we can't get into our heads - it's not a dream, he's not coming back. I can't understand how I'm never going to talk to or see him again, that breaks me and if I'm on my own and start thinking like that I need to get out.

Kian you've had a pretty awful year too...
It's been pretty weird. The day we had the final auditions for the girl band, that's when my dad had his brain hemorrhage - he was 63. A few days later we found out he had a brain tumor, he was operated on, the tumor was taken out, he had chemotherapy through Christmas, and then in February they realised that the tumor had come back and was bigger and stronger. Jodi and I were due to get married on the 8th May and we were trying to figure out if it was the right thing to go ahead or to not.

You went ahead with the wedding in Barbados in May as planned. Was it hard to enjoy it with your father absent and very unwell?
Because it was in a different country, we didn't forget about it but we could put it out of our minds a little. It was an amazing time and there is nothing I would change about my wedding. We really lived it up but came back to a very harsh reality that dad was really dying. Jodi's grandfather passed away three weeks after the wedding, then my dad, then Stephen Gately, then Nicky's dad - so many deaths this year. I just want 2009 to be over and I don't want to be at another funeral this year. Jodi had never been to a funeral until my grandmother's last Christmas and this year she's been at five. It's not right.

Kian, how do you think Nicky is doing?
As best as can be expected. It was better for Nicky's dad to go suddenly but it was tougher on the family. If I had the choise of telling my dad to walk across the street and get hit by a bus or get cancer and spend the next year in bed dying, I'd choose the bus. I've leanred a few things about death - I understand the comment, 'Sorry for your loss,' but I almost feel like saying, 'Don't be sorry for me, be sorry for my dad, Nicky's dad. Be sorry for Stephen Gately'. They're gone, we're still here.

Mark, how have this year's losses affected you?
Everything you do is for your family and loved ones so it defeats the purpose if you are so busy you never get the chance to see them. As I approach 30 that's more where I see my life, I want to balance career success with career satisfaction. And it's not all about selling as many albums as you can no matter what the cost. It's about selling albums you are proud of.

You are proud of this album though...
Shane: The last few years we've been cover heavy and a bit lazy. As a band we weren't happy; we thought we were underachieving.
Mark: We allowed ourselves to go too far down that play-it-safe record company path. There is a balance between playing it safe and the record company getting what they want. Music should be organic not clinical.

Where We Are has a bigger sound...
Shane: It's more epic. There's more variety and more tempo; I think it's a bit edgier and sexier. The fans have been waiting for this for years. I honestly think they have been starved.

This album also features Mark's first co-write with Shaznay Lewis formerly of All Saints.
Shane: Mark has always been a talented writer but afraid to write for Westlife. In general Mark is insecure but he has come out of his shell a lot in the last couple of years and is a lot happier and open. He's definitely got a song-writing talent and we are going to encourage him to do more.

Mark, are you really shy and insecure?
I don't know but this has given me a boost. That's another thing that the year off has done for me, it allowed me decide what was important, what made me happy and equally what made me unhappy.

So, what's with the X perfume?
Nicky: It's a box set with body wash and pefume. There are pictures of us on it so you can look at us as you wash yourself!

Are Gillian, Georgina and Jodi smelling of X?
Shane: Oh yeah!
Nicky: The three wives were all involved in the process; it took us ages to decide on a scent.
Shane: We had meeting after meeting and we weren't happy with a smell for a long time but all eventually agreed on this one. It's a lovely smell, kind of lemony, light and fruity.

So Mark, you're the only unmarried. Any plans?
It's a natural progression to any relationship but not something that we are planning at the moment. Kevin is in very good form. He's been getting his teeth stuck into photography. I wouldn't push him if I didn't think he was good but I genuinely think he is.

What's the plan for Christmas, Kian - yours or Jodi's?
This time it's my turn to be in England so we'll have Christmas with Jodi's family. Last year it was more important for me to be with my family because we knew it was going to be dad's last Christmas. But it is our first Christmas as a married couple and I've got to keep it happy.

You and Jodi still in honeymoon bliss?
We never really got into honeymoon bliss to be honest. We are only slowly falling into it now which is weird six months later, and we haven't physically had a honeymoon yet but we'll probably do that at Christmas.
Mark: I'm going to be in Sligo for Christmas. Kevin's family is coming over - I'm very excited. Christmas can be a bit monotonous going through the motions, but we are going all out with this one. Kevin is practically good enough to be a cook so we're doing it ourselves. It's going to be an Irish Christmas with a couple little elements of his own tradition as well.

Nicky, will Christmas lift the mood for your family a little?
Yeah, it will be hard, but Jay and Rocco are so excited so that will definitely lighten the mood a little. The Aherns and Byrnes will all be together so there'll be strength numbers.

Shane?
It will be a big family Christmas, Santa Claus stopping by! I like Christmas. Who doesn't!

IT may have been a grim 12 months for Westlife but Simon Cowell's favourite band are looking forward to a great 2010.
And the key to that will be keeping their most famous fan happy.

The lads, still our top-selling boy band after 11 years, are pop guru Simon's breakthrough success story.

And they constantly remind the record company chief he was not always the stellar name he is today.

In the final day of our Westlife series, Shane Filan reveals: "The big reason we still do so well is down to our relationship with Simon.

"We have worked together for 11 years and things go from strength to strength. Simon speaks highly of us, which means the world."

But Kian Egan points out: "We used to slag him off about his shoes and his high trousers before anybody knew who he was.

"We used to slag off the shoes so badly, the big heels. Cobbler's shoes, we called them.

"We used to pull his trousers down lower and pull the T-shirt down and rip the p**s out of him, mocking his posh accent.

"As soon as he got on TV, people saw exactly what we saw and started to do the same thing."

Shane adds: "We were one of the first bands on Simon's S Records label, which he sold to BMG for £22million.

"He got a lot of money then before TV took over."

Despite almost 50million record sales, 14 number one songs and a host of sold-out tours, Westlife are still hungry for more.

"We're pocket change to what Simon makes annually but we've got history with him," says Shane.

"The hardest thing to do in our situation is sustain success.

"Every year is like a mountain to climb for us, even though people expect us to succeed now. We s**t ourselves before the midweek chart - we are still so ambitious."

The past year has seen the band rocked by tragedy. They have been hit by what they call "a big wave of death" that has struck their friends and family.

The recent loss of close pal and Boyzone singer Stephen Gately hit them hard, but Kian also lost his father, as did bandmate Nicky Byrne.

But with their usual upbeat, positive attitude they are now even more determined to appreciate everything they have and continue to enjoy life to the full.

Westlife have spent the best part of a year out of the spotlight, but in my interview with Shane, Kian, Nicky and Mark Feehily it was obvious they have used this testing 12 months to grow stronger.

Kian told me about the terrifying moment they discovered their good pal Stephen had passed away and Shane, 30, says: "Until then, we hadn't really thought about people from our generation not being here.

"As singers we are always thinking about the next album, the next tour, the family growing.

"You don't think about being dead. You would never think that about someone in your own band.

"If one of us died... it's a terrible thought but that would be it. Over. We couldn't carry on as a band.

"For us, it makes you realise how important the other members of the group - your dearest friends - are to you, and it makes you appreciate life an awful lot more."

Kian, 29, adds: "I had been out in the local with mates, gone home and fallen asleep on the couch.

"A mate rang me and told me about Stephen and I thought it was nonsense. I rang Louis Walsh (Boyzone's and Westlife's manager) and sure enough got the same response. It was truly awful.

"It has been a really tough year. On top of that both my dad and Nicky's dad died either side of that. My dad was 64 and had been sick for a year.

"My mum said to me we are at that age now where we start losing people.

"My grandmother, my wife Jodie's grandfather, Nicky's dad, my dad, Stephen...

"My mum said in her life, death sadly comes in waves and we are experiencing one of those big waves now. At the funeral of Stephen the four of us sat together with our partners.

"Brian (ex-Westlife member McFadden) happened to be sat in front of us. I remember looking at Brian and just feeling so sad, realising life is too short.

"We all felt the same - like we all needed to give him a big hug. I felt so sad towards him.

"Once the Boyzone speeches came out we were in pieces."

Shane adds: "It was after 1am when I found out about Stephen. I rang Louis and it was like 'boom'.

"He told me it was right and said he couldn't speak. I will never forget it as long as I live.

"In Ireland Stephen was a massive icon, a true pop star. He was one of us and he was dead.

"It just doesn't happen, so it was truly upsetting and tragic.

"We appreciate each other so much more since.

"We're thankful for what we've got and for having each other because life is so precious, and sometimes you can forget that."

Westlife's Kian Egan has said he won't have his wife “tarted up” for her new band like members of Girls Aloud.

The Irish singer turned band manager said that he won't allow Jodi Albert and her colleagues to be dressed up in an “over-sexed” manner like Derry girl Nadine, Cheryl Cole and company.

Egan took a pop at the best-selling girlband, while explaining that he wanted his outfit to have a “classy catwalk, Gucci look”.

Kian made his comments during the band's interview with Cosmopolitan magazine.

He also told of how he will be “very controlling” when it comes to his band's image.

When asked whether there were any outfits he wouldn't like Jodi to wear, he replied: “Yes, I'll certainly be very controlling of their image because I think a lot of the girl bands now are way too tarted up.”

And he explained that his wife wouldn't be too “over-sexed” like Girls Aloud.

“If you look at Girls Aloud's last tour, it's too over-sexed. Jodi's is more of a classy catwalk, Gucci look. That's the sort of sexiness I want to achieve.”