It's difficult losing your parents... but they'll be in my heart when we finally play Wembley

WESTLIFE'S SHANE FILAN TELLS MARION MCMULLEN WHY THE BAND'S UPCOMING SHOW WILL HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING TO HIM

TAKING to the stage at Wembley Stadium will be an emotional experience for Westlife singer Shane Filan.

The sell-out concert on August 6 was originally cancelled because of the pandemic and then his parents Mae and Peter passed away during lockdown, within a few months of each other. Mae from lung cancer and Peter from pancreatic cancer.

Shane says: "It's still very hard and, even when you say it now, it puts a lump in your throat and your stomach goes funny, but my mum and dad got to see the Westlife comeback. They got to see the 2019 show and they were both at Croke Park on my 40th birthday and it was incredible.

"Soon after that my mum died and my dad died nine months later, but i had told my mum and dad about playing Wembley. They had a smile on their face when I told them and my dad was still around when we put the date on sale. That was enough for me.

"They are not going to be there, but they will be there in my heart, looking down on me, and I'm going to sing just as if they were there.

"It is difficult losing your parents, but I get to celebrate them and sing all these songs that are linked with memories of my parents. I'll be singing some of their favourites and I'll be thinking of them. I'll always be thinking of them and holding them close to me." Shane grew up in Sligo in Ireland the youngest of seven children and his mother played a big part in bringing Westlife to the attention of former X Factor judge Louis Walsh.