A Comprehensive Guide To The Best Westlife Music Videos Of All Time

Westlife have returned to our lives this year, releasing a brand new song as well as announcing a comeback tour, where they’ll play Croke Park again for the first time since 2012.

It’s not like we ever forgot about the lads, however. During the hiatus, the songs still dominated every family party playlist and you best believe we weren’t leaving Coppers until ‘World Of Our Own’ bid us farewell. In saying that, have you ever taken the time to sit down and watch the music videos that accompany these legendary hits? Well it’s time you did.

Prepare to travel back in time (to the best years ever), and take a look at our comprehensive guide to the best Westlife music videos of all time.

When You’re Looking Like That (2001)

The music video for ‘When You’re Looking Like That’ is that music video every band has when they think they’ve really made it. You know that music video where they show all the behind the scenes footage from their tour, which you’ll see was *allegedly* captured by Brian McFadden on a LITERAL CAMCORDER.

It’s the video that shows all the lads having the lols and being messers because, at the end of the day, they want to convey how much they love each other and are bffs even though we all knew they were killing each other because Brian was an-out-and-out scallywag. The video features lots of terrible dance moves, some serious white-on-white outfits, and my god so much denim.

The lads also use this video as an opportunity to draw attention to the sheer amount of girls who love the bones of them, at one stage displaying the underwear they had thrown at them while on stage (Brian). In one excruciating moment, Nicky Byrne winks at the camera in slow motion and can also be seen at 2:15 zipping up his trousers on stage, the minx.

P.S Mark has a shaved head.

Bop Bop Baby (2001)

Now listen, the video for ‘Bop Bop Baby’ opens with a piece of paper on screen that tells a medieval story of a maiden who wants to marry for love, but her da wants to marry her off for cash. To set the scene, a voice describes a time when “men were still men, women were still virgins and sex was still sexy”…what a time to be alive.

The Westlife boys are the five musketeers whose job it is to save this gal, and so the video begins with them trapped in a cell in their lovely puffy sleeved outfits looking very sad and disheveled. Eventually, Kian realises he had a stick of dynamite on him the entire time, thank god, and blows up the cell so they can get out and save the lady. Shane Filan rides in on a horse, the rest of them backflip up the aisle, a big sword-fight breaks out and they save the gal. An Oscar-deserving performance.

Uptown Girl (2000)

Just when we thought the acting skills couldn’t get better, we rediscovered the video for ‘Uptown Girl’, in which the lads work in a shabby diner in Kings Cross and have to serve some posh blokes who are the HEIGHT of rudeness. Mark is throwing around drink shakers, Shane won’t stop cleaning the same glass, Nicky has a single gold hoop earring and, for a reason unknown, all of their eyes are heavily edited blue.

Then, in walks Claudia feckin Schiffer, who is, in fact, THE uptown girl. Brian gives her a wink, she realises she definitely wants a back street guy and they all leave their shift early to spend a lovely day with her.

What Makes A Man (2000)

In a ‘splash the cash’ display of events, this video starts with Shane driving a fancy black car through what looks to be the backroads to Blanchardstown. Brian gets out of a helicopter that he’s been flying, Nicky rolls in on a motorbike with sunglasses on at nighttime and the other two follow suit in equally as fancy cars.

They all enter a big house and Shane proceeds to sing to the camera through a fish tank. Cinematography at its finest.

Mark writes some poetry in his little notebook and then, without a dribble of warning, they all put on navy satin suits that don’t quite fit. In this video we’ll give Nicky’s haircut a solid 7/10.

My Love (2000)

The video for ‘My Love’ could be our most favourite ever. It begins with the boys in an airport waiting on their flight, when Nicky breaks the news that the flight is CANCELLED. How dare anyone cancel a flight on Westlife?

Shane is talking on his phone that slides up, Mark thinks Nicky surely must be joking, Kian offers to fly the plane himself and then Brian has the idea that, wherever they’re going, they’ll actually be quicker walking. With that they begin their journey through the airport until they magically begin teleporting to different locations around Ireland. We’re talking the streets of Limerick, a beach in Co. Clare and then, wait for it, the Cliffs of Moher!!! Inspiring.

World Of Our Own (2001)

In the ultimate “we’re bad boys” turn of events, the music video for ‘World Of Our Own’ features scary dogs, police cars, a tattoo artist and lots of terrible outfits. There is little to no cohesion to the video at all, but we think it deserves an honourable mention because, for some bizarre reason, Nicky Byrne is wearing a hat and holding a cane for almost the entire thing. A cane.

 

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• westlife