Westlife: frustration at doing "one type of music all the time"

LONDON, England -- In a toe-to-toe bout for top spot on the British charts, Irish boy band Westlife have delivered the knock-out blow to the Spice Girls.

Their latest single "My Love" became their seventh consecutive number one, a feat only equalled by The Beatles in their Sixties heyday.

In reaching the top of the British charts on Sunday night, Westlife ousted the Spice Girls in a "Girl Power versus Boy Band" clash set to be replayed in the album charts.

The band, who sprang to fame less than 19 months ago with ther debut single "Swear It Again," were thrilled to be mentioned in the same breath as The Beatles, whose chart-topping run began in July 1964 at the height of Beatlemania.

"Being in the same sentence as the Beatles is an honour for us. We've only been together a year-and-a-half, so we've done an awful lot in a short space of time," the five fresh-faced singers said in a statement.

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Last week The Spice Girls were celebrating being the most successful girl band ever when their double A-side "Holler/Let Love Lead The Way" went straight to number one.

But their triumph was short-lived in the singles chart and Westlife have now set their sights on beating The Spice Girls in the race for the coveted number one spot in the album charts.

Westlife launched a publicity blitz for "Coast to Coast" while the Spice Girls hope to fight them off with "Forever."

Media hype in the pop papers sells records but Westlife said they felt frustrated by this constant emphasis on who will be number one.

"A lot of people think we release records to get to number one but it's more because we enjoy what we are doing," said band member Kian Egan.

Westlife attribute much of their success to producer Steve Mac who has worked with them since the beginning, moulding a consistent output of ballads and cover versions. But that can be frustrating.

"Steve Mac has created the Westlife sound," said fellow band member Mark Feehily. "It's frustrating to do one type of music all the time. We definitely feel like going a bit mad but you can't disturb the flow," he said.

The notoriously difficult and fickle U.S. market is next in their sights. "I have absolutely no doubt we will crack America. We have the right attitude and the right songs," Egan said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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