Westlife stars Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan have responded to claims that the band’s song My Love was used as a CIA torture technique.
Yesterday, we reported that according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ballad was played repeatedly by the US intelligence service to torture prisoners in Afghanistan.
Speaking on the radio about the bizarre story, the former band members tried to find the “light” side.
Chatting to Eoghan McDermott’s show on 2fm yesterday afternoon, Voice of Ireland judge Kian said: “I’m delighted that I’m not being tortured by hearing My Love over and over again. It’s a pretty annoying song to be played over and over again.
“It probably only took two hours to crack the poor guy with that song.”
And speaking on his own 2FM show today, Nicky admitted his phone “didn’t stop beeping” with messages from amused pals
“I did get a few texts from my own friends since last night, my phone didn’t stop beeping,” he said. “I got a text saying ‘are we getting royalties from the CIA now?’ I presume not.”
The claim was made by the ACLU as part of the lawsuit the group is taking against the two men who designed the CIA’s programme to psychologically break down prisoners. As part of the programme, those being held by the CIA were apparently placed in pitch-black cells where loud music was pumped in through speakers.
One of the prisoners, Suleiman Abdullah, says that ‘My Love’ was repeatedly interspersed with “heavy metal, played on repeat at ear-splitting volume.”
Abdullah was held without trial for five years and the ACLU says that he was told by his captors that they were playing the love song especially for him, as he was a newlywed.
