Westlife: 'We thought we were finished'

Westlife have claimed they were on the verge of splitting up after their Allow Us To Be Frank album in 2004.

The Irish boyband revealed that the album's lack of success meant they expected the subsequent Face To Face LP to be their last.

Nicky Byrne told the Daily Star: "After the big band-theme album Allow Us To Be Frank was our least successful, we thought we were making our last album on Face To Face .

"If you’d asked me then...I’d have said we were on our arse. Then 'You Raise Me Up' was the biggest comeback."

Talking about the group's forthcoming release Back Home, he commented: "The single ('Home') is a cover, but it’s 90% original material and I think this is our best album."