"The Irish Connection" is Brian's first UK release in six years and features Brian performing some of his favourite Irish songs by the likes of Snow Patrol, U2, Damien Rice, Enya and The Cranberries.

The former Westlife star has enjoyed a successful music and television career in Australia for the past few years but is now back entertaining his UK and Irish fans as special guest on the Ronan Keating Fires Arena Tour.

Brian performs a brillliant medley of covers ( his take on Snow Parol's Choclolate is particularly strong ), solo hits and Westlife classics during his set. And when it comes to vocals, I'd forgotten how good a singer Brian is. And naturally, when it comes to banter between the songs, the Dublin boy has effortless comedic timing, although this time he doesn't need to act the clown to justify his place on stage.

I caught up with both Ronan and Brian backstage in Cardiff last weekend, the venue where I first interviewed a band called Westside as part of the Smash Hits Poll Winner Tour in 1998. A year later that band were number one in the UK with Swear It Again although by then the group had cleverly decided to rebrand as Westlife and the rest is, well... You know the rest.

Brian told me "this is my fourth solo album now and I was actually working on a fourth original solo album again but in the middle of it I suddenly decided to take on a new little project and for me that was a challenge, definitely. So I basically took so of my favourite Irish songs from people like Van Morrison and Enya and I even got to record a duet with Sinead O'Connor, which was an amazing experience..."

Brian's former band called it a day in 2012, eight years after Brian quit the group but the "Irish Son" star admitted to me that he still hopes for a reunion, sometime in the future."..I don't know what the boys are thinking but I would love it, if the boys ever did get back together but I would love to do something. There were of course two different versions of Westlife so who knows. But now that we're all older, it would be fun to sing again together one day."

And being the subject of numerous tabloid headlines in the British press, whenever they discuss his private life, Brian admitted to me that it's all part of the job. "I think it's part of the job. You don't get success without having that as well. And if I was to go back and take less stick and be less successful with Westlife, I'd say no. I wouldn't change anything.."

And after working on Australia's Got Talent, would Brian be interested for a role on a UK reality show? "I had a great time doing TV but I'm glad to be back on stage again doing my own music.."

Have a listen to my chat with Brian talking about his duet with Ronan, recording the album, plans for the future and his thoughts on the new ITV2 show The Big Reunion.

Brian's album The Irish Connection is out March 4th.