B*Witched

By Tom Lanham

Nov 30 1999

One thing's for sure: You can't dismiss Irish-bred, London-based sugar-pop phenomenon B*Witched as just another quartet of pretty faces. Their music - on a platinum self-titled debut and the anthemic new follow-up, Awake And Breathe (Epic) - might be as light and fluffy as the most gossamer cloud, but these girls are as tough and sassy as they come.

Twenty-year-old twin sisters (and co-founders) Edele and Keavy Lynch kicked things off at age three by accidentally setting the family car on fire. Self-proclaimed tomboys, the sisters grew up around cars in their dad's garage where Edele worked for a while changing tires. Fellow aspiring thrush Sinead O'Carroll dropped by to have her tires checked and checked into B*Witched instead. In her off-hours, Edele attended rough 'n' tumble kickboxing class, where she recruited her final member, fellow self-defense student Lindsay Armaou. The girls all reside in the same rambling house in England, and swear they only get on each other's nerves when someone returns a barren Frosted Flakes container to the pantry.

From the beginning, there was one thing that set the combo apart from its teen-pop contemporaries: They take a serious hand in their songwriting, and it has paid off. The first four B*Witched singles all entered the UK charts at #1, setting a record. Says Keavy: "A lot of people presume that just because you're a pop girl you don't take any real interest in your songs. But we knew we could write and we like to be a part of everything we can."