We were bigger than Britney

THE group can proudly remember when they were bigger — briefly — than pop superstar Britney Spears.

‘We met Britney first off in Asia. I think we were more known than her at that point,’ recalled Lee.

‘The idea was, because it was the same label, she would come to the UK and support us. Obviously, she exploded and didn’t need us.’

Claire remembers this was before Britney released Baby One More Time. ‘She was with her mum,’ the Londoner said. ‘We were the headliners, which was a bit weird! Cut to a year later and it was, “Do you want to support me on my American tour?”’

Meanwhile, Claire pointed out today’s pop acts don’t slum it with their rivals like they used to. ‘We’d all share a dressing room,’ she recalled. ‘It would be us and Billie Piper, the girls from B*Witched. Now I can’t imagine it being like that… you’ve got your entourage.’

Author: Tom Stichbury