Better Man

Album: Spectrum (2019)
Charted: 26
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Songfacts®:

  • Westlife's Nicky Byrne once read that Ed Sheeran had grown up a fan of the boyband. So, when Westlife decided to record their first album in eight years, he thought there was a good chance he could persuade the English hitmaker to pen some material for them. Steve Mac, who had written several of Westlife's biggest hits, had been working with Sheeran, so Byrne spoke to him about a possible collaboration. Mac replied that not only was he interested, they had already written a couple of songs.

    Sheeran and Mac eventually penned five tracks for Spectrum. This classic old-school ballad with a modern twist was the first one they wrote for Westlife.
  • The 10-year-old Sheeran learned to play the guitar to Westlife's hit singles, many of which were written by Steve Mac. Said Westlife's Shane Filan to Apple Music: "When Ed met Steve for the first time, they were probably a bit in awe of each other. It was a perfect union for them to come together and write Westlife songs."

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