Westlife tell MARION McMULLEN about how impressed their kids are that they helped inspire superstar Ed Sheeran

WESTLIFE are celebrating 25 years of hits and sellout shows, but say it’s their friendship with Ed Sheeran that has won them the approval of their children.

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He has co-written their new single Chariot and it also features on their forthcoming album 25 - The Ultimate Collection, which comes out on in February.

Singer Shane Filan, 46, says: “The whole Ed story still kind of makes us smile. When he started out, Westlife was his big band and he started playing guitar to Flying Without Wings. When you hear that Westlife was maybe a little part of why Ed Sheeran picked up a guitar that's pretty cool.”

He laughs: “Our kids obviously think we are very cool dads now. He’s an incredible songwriter obviously as well. It’s great to work with him, he’s a great guy. We got to sing with him in his home town a couple of months ago and it was very special for us and him.”

Fellow Westlife member Nicky Byrne, 47, adds: “Boy bands over the years have historically taken a lot of flak, particularly when you are a young boy band and marketed to a young audience. Then you grow up and it moves on.