Louis Walsh

He got married to English TV show host Caroline Flack in September 2012.

Michael Louis Vincent Walsh was born on August 5, 1952 in Kiltimagh, County Mayo, Ireland, as the second of nine children, to working-class couple Frank Walsh, a taxi driver and milk supplier, and Maureen.

He spent his early life in rural Ireland, where he managed his first band – Time Machine, a local heavy rock group, at the age of 15.

He traveled to Dublin when he was 19 and joined Tommy Hayden Enterprises management firm, which was promoting four bands – The Nevada, The Ventures, Lyttle People and Buckshot, at that time.

After struggling for a couple years, he found success when he brought Irish singer Johnny Logan to Tommy Hayden, in 1979.

Upon his request, Logan participated in Eurovision Song Contest in 1980 and won. Soon, he released his first solo album which reached number one within three days across 11 European nations, paving way for a successful career for Walsh.

With more successes and less failures falling into his kitty, he left Hayden and joined Carol Hanna at Carol & Associates, in 1989. Soon, he was managing diaries for Linda Martin and Who’s Eddie.

His history-creating break came with the audition of five new artists – Ronan Keating, Stephen Gately, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham, in 1993 which gave birth to Boyzone, as a tough competition to UK rival Take That.

His creation, Boyzone, went to taste exceptionally huge commercial success topping the Irish and UK charts and becoming a prominent international boy band in the 1990s.

In 1998, he discovered Westlife, another Irish boy band, which saw success right from its first album and went on to give 14 UK number ones and six number one albums, achieving a record for the most consecutive number one singles.

He is responsible for giving Lulu her most successful album till date, which brought together singing legends, like Elton John, Sting and Paul McCartney. The album reached its peak position at number four.

His appearance on ITV ‘The X Factor’ – a music talent contest for budding singers, as a judge, alongside Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell, made him a household name.