There's a new British boy band in town, looking to possibly steal One Direction's thunder: The Vamps.

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The Vamps' Brad Simpson, lead vocals and guitar, Tristan Evans, drummer, Connor Ball, bass, James McVey, lead guitarist and backing vocalist, are just beginning their global domination.

Their third hit single, Last Night, a pop-rock confection is currently climbing the charts. Their last songs made it to no. 3 and no. 2. Evans told Metro on April 11, "We said we'd all get a tattoo if we got to no. 1. But we keep getting beaten by dance tracks. We need to release a house song."

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The boys have time to catch fellow boy band One Direction's string of number ones. Their debut album, Meet The Vamps only dropped Monday.

"I just want people to listen to it and appreciate we're songwriters," said McVey. Simpson chimed in, "Being compared to One Direction is no bad thing but we are a completely different band."

The Vamps formed in 2012 via social media and were signed to Mercury Records the following year. One Direction was also propelled to international fame via social media.  While The Vamps sing covers of One Direction's songs on YouTube (amassing hits), 1D has achieved three hit albums in tow, Up All Night, Take Me Home and Midnight Memories. Their albums have shattered records, topped charts, and created hit singles including What Makes You Beautiful and Live While We're Young.

Along the way, the 1D boys also achieved four Brit Awards and four MTV Awards. They currently represent a $50 million business empire (of mostly screaming girls - the mark of true success). According to Daily Mail, 70,000 screaming girls waited (some actually camped out) for their film premiere last year, This Is Us. Girls wore One Direction shirts and held "Harry You Wanna Marry Me?" banners. Just like The Vamps, One Direction has light-hearted music, Beatle-esque fresh-faces, and, of course, fabulous heads of hair - amongst other things. (One banner read, "Louis I love your bum").

When it comes to their growing girl fandom, The Vamps have remained coy and sweet: "We really want to stay grounded and not take advantage of anyone," Evans told Metro, "But we do really appreciate the fans being there."

So do they ever get bored being compared to One Direction?

According to yesterday's BBC News, no. A band member chuckled that their rivals were, "Good looking lads." They added that One Direction is "Very successful" but "a very different band in the sense that the music's very different." They say they don't really compare musically but "hairwise" there are some similarities. 

Who knows? Perhaps one day there will be a good ol' "N'Sync vs. Backstreet Boys" style battle of the boy bands showdown between the two. Perhaps it's just a matter of time.

Tags: One Direction The Vamps