Girls Aloud beat male rivals to top charts

ALL-GIRL band Girls Aloud have topped the Christmas charts in Britain, giving pop promoter Louis Walsh his 22nd British number one.

The band, which was created on the ITV Popstars show, beat their male rivals, One True Voice, with the single Sound of the Underground.

The number one spot is a victory for Louis Walsh, who last week clashed with his rival, One True Voice manager Pete Waterman. Mr Walsh called Mr Waterman a liar for claiming that Girls Aloud weren’t even singing on their debut single.

But the success of Girls Aloud is also a triumph for Derry teenager Nadine Coyle. The Girls Aloud member was disgraced last year for lying about her age on the Irish version of Popstars. Despite the requirement for contestants to be aged 18 or over, the 16-year-old kept her age a secret until the final episode.

Nadine Coyle’s success with Girls Aloud means that she will now be competing with Six, the band she was thrown out of.

However, Louis Walsh’s publicity campaign has not given Girls Aloud the Irish Christmas number one. Rapper Eminem has claimed the top spot with Lose yourself, an untypical Christmas song with downbeat American lyrics. But DJs here are relieved that Eminem has beaten Girls Aloud and One True Voice.

“I’d much prefer to see Eminem winning than some awful Louis Walsh manufactured outfit. But I can’t remember when we had a solid Christmas number one.

“These days, the singles charts are fuelled by 9-15-year-olds, and if you sold 3,000 copies, that would probably get you into the top five,” said Keith Cunningham, a DJ with RED FM in Cork.

Novelty songs such as Bob the Builder’s “Can we fix it” and the infamous 1993 single from Mr Blobby, are a traditional feature of the Christmas charts. They’ve been thin on the ground this year, with the most unusual offering coming from former Manchester United and Aston Villa manager Ron Atkinson. His track, Let’s Give Love A Try’ has performed well in the English charts but has made no impression here.