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In Bed With Westlife!

Sunday People, 12 December 1999 Boy band who are praying they will topple Cliff Richard share pillow talk with the Sunday people Exclusive interview by Olivia Buxton.

It's the dream of every girl with a pulse...The hunks from chart-topping boy band WestLife. All in their pyjamas. All in bed. And I was with them. I slipped into my jim-jams and snuggled up to the five dreamboats to ask some intimate questions. But the replies from the band who are about to seize Cliff Richard's No. 1 spot didn't exactly fit their squeaky clean image. They told me how...

KIAN EGAN is plagued by sex-hungry fans and had to call in police to stop one obsessed girl pestering him with obscene phonecalls.

MARK FEEHILY is worried when girls chat him up but is desperate for a long-term relationship.

NICKY BYRNE is prepared to risk his career by marrying the Irish prime Minister's daughter although marriage is a breach of a pledge to the band's manager.

BRYAN MCFADDEN dumped stunning Lene Nystrom-lead singer with hit band Aqua-because she is too old.

SHANE FILAN has never fallen in love but any girl he does fall for will have to fit in with the band.

I got all the pillow talk while WestLife were filming an ITV Christmas special with presenter Cat Deeley in Co Monaghan. The band's double A-side single of the old Abba hit I Have A Dream and a cover version of Seasons In The Sun is set to knock Cliff's Millennium Prayer from the top of the charts.

KIAN, 19, whispered into my ear how girls have chased him since he was a kissogram in see-through trousers in his home-town of Sligo. He said, "I used to stand in the middle of pubs wearing next to nothing and reciting a love poem. I had one woman grab my waist from behind, grind herself up and against me and say, 'Come on then, how about it?' She was a lot older than me. I politely pushed her away. I just wasn't interested. But that was nothing compared to the absolute nightmare when a totally obsessed woman somehow managed to get hold of my mobile phone number. She constantly harassed me with sexually-explicit phone calls. Initially I was very firm but polite and told her it was a private number for family and friends. But she didn't seem to get the message and when she began to call several times a day, I got really freaked out. Eventually I had to call the police who managed to trace her and warned her off. I don't think I'm any better looking than the rest of the band but I seem to have attracted more obsessive fans. When we were on tour in Spain I had hundreds of girls hammering on my hotel door, begging me to sleep with them. Admittedly it's very flattering to have girls throwing themselves at you, but I prefer to choose who I go out with."

MARK, 18, said: "I can't help but feel wary when I meet a girl for the first time. I might be in a club with some mates and a group of girls will come over and single me out. This immediately puts me on my guard and I have to chat to the girl to suss out her true intentions. But I do miss not having a girlfriend. I'm prone to bouts of loneliness, particularly when I return to my hotel room after a concert. It would be so nice to kiss and cuddle up to someone special. I'm not that lucky at the moment.

" NICKY, 21, who has been dating Georgina Ahern -daughter of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern-for five years said: "We have a gentleman's agreement with our manager not to have kids or get married in the next five years. But if Georgina and I felt the time was right, I wouldn't let that stop us. After all, it's not as if we've signed a written contract promising not to commit ourselves. I don't know how I'd survive without Georgina. She is my absolute rock. I always wanted to be a professional footballer and Georgina was my girlfriend when I was 16 and signed to Leeds United. But I got dropped by the manager George Graham because he wanted taller goalkeepers. At the time I was gutted but Georgina kept telling me everything would be all right. Now I'm in a successful band, Irealise how right she was. I would never let a fan come between us. It would be madness to throw away such a solid relationship for just a fling.

" BRYAN, 19, who began dating Aqua singer Lene Nystrom, 27, after their bands performed the same show, said: "She had a great fun loving personality, but I soon realised that despite that, I didn't really love her. Her age also put me off. I thought it might cause problems eventually. I was worried that at her age she was looking for long-term commitment and might want to settle down. All I wanted was a casual girlfriend to go out and have fun with. I'm determined to get as much out of life as possible because when I was a kid I was stuck in a wheelchair for three months. I had developed a fever and rash and the doctors thought I had meningitis. I was given lots of injections around the spine but I had an adverse reaction to the injections which left me temporarily paralysed. Looking back I now realise how dangerous it was.

" SHANE, 20, Said: " I am very curious to know what it is like to be in love. But I've got a good idea just by looking at Nicky and Georgina-they're excellent role models. I really want to meet my soul-mate but unfortunately I have yet to find her. I never doubt the fact that she is out there somewhere though. And I know the second I set eyes on her I'll know it's the real thing. Before the band took off I was involved with a girl for a year and a half. But the relationship wasn't really going anywhere. I'm not someone who will stay in a dead end relationship for the sake of having a girlfriend so I finished with her. It would be very hard now to meet someone because of my commitment to the band. Any future girlfriend of mine would have to fit in around the band." And then it was off to bed - in my dreams!