Westlife have slammed the Spice Girls for living in the past.
The Irish boy band - made up of Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan - have dismissed Mel C for boasting, "Seriously, who would you put your money on", when asked about the two group's upcoming chart battle, insisting past success counts for nothing.
Mark told BANG Showbiz: "No one could compete with the Spice Girls 10 years ago. But actually we competed with them eight years ago and we won! We are not living in the past."
Shane added: "Yeah, we put our album out at the same time and we beat them. When they were first around no one could compete with them. But that's not true now. Mel C obviously has some issues with us."
The last time both groups released albums simultaneously, Westlife's 'Coast To Coast' sold 160,000 copies more than the girl's 'Forever' LP.
Nicky has warned Mel C to stop attacking Westlife - before it gets too "personal".
He fumed: "You get a lot of tired old has beens, and I am not referring to the Spice Girls now, saying, 'Oh it was different when I was in the business.' Nostalgia is a big thing and it will work for the Spice Girls.
"I don't have anything against them personally. But if Mel C wants to start opening her mouth and picking on us individually or our families then it is going to become personal. It should be a good chart battle."
Both acts were due to release their new albums on November 5, but the Spice Girls reportedly delayed their greatest hits collection by a week to avoid directly clashing with Westlife's new album 'Back Home'.
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