AFTER last year's successful 'Love Always' Tour, former Westlife star Shane Filan is coming to Sage Gateshead on April 30. Matt Westcott spoke to him.

Was there always a plan to take the tour back out on the road?

"No, there wasn't necessarily a plan. The last couple of tours, I always did a second leg but you never know until the first leg finishes how successful it has been and whether the promoter wants to do a second leg.

"It is always great news and nice to get to new venues and see new towns and cities. It's very exciting to get back out on the road. It's the best thing I do, I love being on stage and love being on tour. It's exciting times.

Were you in any way nervous when it came to going onto the stage on your own and not as part of a group?

At the start, going back four years ago now to my first tour, yes the first couple of days were a daunting experience. But once I did the first couple of shows, I realised that it's on stage singing, what I always do, so there is no real major difference. It was comforting more than anything to realise that this was going to be great. I haven't looked back since, I have just been focused on the future, making albums, making music, putting on good shows and thankfully it's gone very well so far.

The fans are coming to see you and not Westlife now, is that a nice feeling to have?

Absolutely, it's very a reassuring feeling to have. For all of us it was a very scary time. Coming out of such a huge band, you are starting life again really. You are only 32, 33 and definitely too young to retire. You want to keep working and see what is out there - for me it was always going to be singing. Since then it has been a really good five years. You look forward to future, I wake up every day and think about what's next, what do I need to do to improve and become better. When you are solo you are learning every day. It's not the Westlife bubble that's been wrapped around you for years protecting you. You are on your own and you have really got to go for it.

How is life in music different now?

Maybe it's more serious now. In a band, you are young, you are kids starting out and it's all fun and games. Look at us, we are all incredibly successful - it continues on for so long and then all of a sudden the band is over and you are in your early 30s and it's like right, now life is getting serious. You have children (Patrick and Shane, eight and nine, and Nicole, 12), a family to support and everything is a lot more serious.

Do the children provide an inspiration musically that maybe you didn't have before?

Absolutely, especially with the first couple of albums when I was doing a lot of songwriting. A lot of the songs I write about are either about my family, they are about my experiences with my wife throughout our relationship - I find writing about true stories easy or it just makes more sense to me. I can't write about all my heartbreak and my relationships that fell apart because I didn't have those experiences. I have a new song coming out quite soon, but it's about being away from my family, being away from my kids. It's one of those songs that will resonate lyrically.

The tour is called Love Always, so what does love mean to you?

I think love means complete happiness. I think being in love or just loving something or somebody, it makes you feel complete, there is nothing outstanding, there's nothing more you could wish for. Love Always is actually my autograph, I always sign 'Love always, Shane'. It's a love songs album so I thought it would make for a good name.

How did you choose which songs made the track-listing?

You could make 100 albums with all of the incredible songs to choose from. For me, I had to pick ones that either had memories for me as a kid or a song that I just really wanted to sing or one that I just love when I hear it on the radio. This album is not about changing the songs, most are very similar, maybe more acoustic, or full production, or adding cello or strings, but it is my voice on these songs and made for my fanbase. You never want to change a memory for someone else who loved this song for their own reasons. It was quite a tricky album to make, it probably took the longest to put together.

Have you played the Sage before?

No, I haven't. It is nice to get to an incredible venue that has an atmosphere because the one thing about these crowds is that you are so close to the audience. They are all fairly similar sizes. I love the fact you can touch the front row of hands if you want, you can 'high five' them. I never had that before in Westlife, there was always that separation because you were in an arena or stadium and you are 20 yards away from the front row. With this it is special, it is different for me and it is something I love. If I play roadshows or summer festivals, I lose that connection. It is nice to be able to do both, but it is nice to play these venues, they are so amazing.

You still sound grounded, despite the success you have had over the years. How important are your fans?

Without the fans, I don't have a singing career and I don't take it for granted. I count myself quite lucky, I do what I love for a living, it's my job. My family get to experience it. I have a great relationship with my fans, I always ask their opinions or I come out and see them and sign autographs - there will always be a gang of 50 or 100 people outside the door. Even that I never had with Westlife because they never got near the back door because the venues were too big. You have that other connection with them that you never had before. They are coming to see me now, my name is on the ticket and without the fans there is no gig. They are very important to me."