Shane Filan

Capitol Records were very keen for me to write and see how I got on; I think that is what defined my sound. The first session I had was with two young up-and-coming writers, Nick Atkinson and Tom Wilding, and I went into a session a bit nervous because I hadn't written that many songs before.

My kids are Irish; I want them to grow up playing Gaelic football and learning Irish.

I've been a solo artist for a year now, and I think I should start thinking about the future now. Every spare time I get, I want to be in the studio and work on music for 2015. It's a lot of work.

I have three children to take care; I have a wife. My job is to take care of them, and I can say it's a pretty cool job to have.

Every year, we couldn't believe it, and even when I look back on it now, to sell 14 million singles, 50 million albums and sell out arenas and stadiums, what Westlife achieved was crazy. It's like One Direction probably don't realise how big they are. They'll look back one day and think, 'Holy God, that was pretty amazing.'

When you look at bands like Take That, who have come back bigger than ever, you can see there will always be a market for good pop bands.

When I finished Westlife, we had - Louie Walsh is still managing me - I was lucky to have options from different labels such as Sony and Universal. When we met Capitol and Nick Raphael, I just believed in them the most, and it looked like they believed in me the most.

Together with a team of financial and legal experts I have spent months exploring all possible alternatives to bankruptcy but to no avail.

The adrenaline of performing on stage to a crowd - there's nothing like it.

It's a big deal to bring your family on the road, you know? I'd love to do it sometime, but you have to work out schools and all that.

I love Ireland. I'll always be 100pc Irish. I get really excited when I go to Sligo; it's my home.

When you realise that money doesn't actually make you happy, it's a quick fix to have things you've always wanted, but then when you have it, you realise that's not what actually makes you happy. It's more about having a great marriage and happy children; that's what life's all about.