Pop icons Edele Lynch and Lindsay Armaou from record-breaking 90s chart toppers B*Witched have revealed they were slighted by a fellow pop star at the height of their fame. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the pair reflected on how they were perceived in their heyday. The band topped the charts with their first four singles, and their eponymous debut album went to number three. However, Lindsay, 46, admitted: "There was one pop star who said something in the media about, 'Oh, does anyone really believe B*Witched write their own songs?' And at the time, it stung a bit, because it was like, 'Wow, we do. We actually do. Now you kind of look back and think, oh gosh, like it's just the preconception people have, isn't it?'" She said. However, Edele shared: "I remember being upset with that said person at the time."
"I think we've always been known for kind of bubblegum," she concedes. "And I've taken on that heading, I think, just from other people sort of placing us in that category. But the songs are bloody good, and they always have been written really incredibly well."
She had good reason to be upset, as the 45-year-old Dubliner not only wrote songs for the band but is also a highly regarded songwriter in her own right.
She co-wrote Some Kind of Miracle for Girls Aloud's debut album, Sound of the Underground, and contributed three tracks to the Sugababes' third album, to name just a couple of her success stories.
She says it is sometimes difficult to give away her music, confessing: "It's terrible to admit, actually, but every time I gave a song away, I was always slightly jealous. I'd be thinking I want to keep it. You just want to keep them all a little close to your heart. It's silly."
The pair were speaking in advance of taking to the seas to perform as part of Marella Cruises ‘90s vs 00s’ Electric Sunsets cruise, which they both exclaim is "going to be great fun" and full of "nostalgia". They will be joined by other icons of the era, including Pussycat Dolls’ Kimberly Wyatt, soulful girl group the Honeyz, and Hip-Hop and R&B collective, Big Brovaz. Although they competed for chart positions at the turn of the century, the ladies insist there is no rivalry between them these days.
"When you've been in the industry this long, there's just a general respect. And even with rock bands and, you know, bands that you might think are a little bit too cool to be seen with us or talk to us. Everyone's just in it together, and I don't ever really remember feeling, you know, kind of in competition or, as you know, rivalry or anything," Lindsay said.
Edele agreed. "We met Ricky (Wilson) from Kaiser Chiefs and took a photo with him. He was no doubt happy to talk to us and keep watching our set. He's not too cool.
"I actually love that. I love that he was just being him. He's just a human being. He's in the music industry, and he respects who we are regardless of whether we're bubblegum."
Marella Cruises, TUI UK&I’s ocean cruise line, is hosting its ‘90s vs 00s’ Electric Sunsets cruise from Saturday 1st November 2025 – Tuesday 4th November 2025, setting sail from Palma calling at Valencia, Cartagena and finishes in Malaga, Spain. Prices start from £815 per person.
