Mark Feehily says watching Westlife perform without him was an ‘out of body’ experience

The singer was forced to pull out of live dates after suffering with pneumonia

Mark Feehily has recalled his experience while suffering from pneumonia for a month last year.

The Westlife singer was forced to pull out of the band’s live dates on their Wild Dreams tour in November due to the illness.

Westlife is usually made up of Feehilly, Brian McFadden, Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan.

Now, Feehily has opened up about his emotions while missing out on the gigs, saying he is “very glad” that the illness is behind him.

"It was almost like being back in lockdown because, for the first couple of weeks, I was just in bed all the time,” the 42-year-old singer explained.

"It was an almost out-of-body experience watching the Westlife tour go ahead while I lay in bed.

"It was the first time any of us had missed a stint of gigs in 25 years, and I’m very glad it’s behind me.”

According to the singer, the doctors had initially assured him that he was only suffering from a “bad chest infection” and that he would be “fine”.

Feehily told The Daily Star that when he first heard the doctor say pneumonia, it had “scared the living daylights out of me”.

“I’m very glad it’s behind me,” he added.

Revealing the news back in November, Feehily posted a statement to inform the band’s fans of his predicament.

Westlife's Shane Filan, Markus Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan (Getty Images)

“Hey to all the fans, Mark here,” he wrote. “Firstly, I’d like to say a sincere thank you to everybody for sending their love and get well soon messages – it means so much.

“I really was gutted to miss the weekend shows in Newcastle but I started to feel quite unwell on Friday and the doctors have confirmed that it’s a bout of pneumonia.”

“I know it’s scary when you first hear the word ‘pneumonia’ but thankfully I got to the doctor and hospital very quickly and got on the antibiotics as soon as possible, so everything is currently under control.”

After explaining that he had been advised to rest and continue his course of antibiotics, the singer said that he was “feeling a bit better every day” and that this “should all be over in no time”.

“This does however mean missing more gigs which is horrible but I’ll be back on stage as soon as I get the all-clear,” he added.