2001 Atomic Kitten: Eternal Flame

What's going on? 'When The Going Gets Tough', 'Take On Me', 'Uptown Girl', 'Against All Odds', 'It's Raining Men' and now 'Eternal Flame' - for a decade frequently reviled as the one taste forgot, the eighties are proving a rich seam to plunder for the stars of the 2000's to get their hits, even if they aren't exactly cherry picking the crop. Originally a 1989 number one for Bangles, Atomic Kitten overhaul the stilted chime of that version and paste a steady 'dum dum dum' beat over the top to provide the necessary middle of the road cats eyes for the Kittens to follow, both solo and in harmony. Like a Hollywood remake of a successful 'foreign film', it smoothes the wrinkles of Bangles version flat, but in so doing it also removes the quirky charm of both the melody and Susannah Hoff's original lead vocal to leave a cool, plain dish that's badly in need of some seasoning - if you can't improve something then leave it alone girls.