The 11 Best UK Boy Bands Of The Past 25 Years: From Take That To One Direction

John Hamilton | October 10, 2012 5:30 am

With a blockbuster year nearly behind them (their platinum hit “What Makes You Beautiful” hit the top four, spawning a number one album and a sold-out tour) and new single “Live While We’re Young” burning up the airwaves, British boy-band One Direction remind us of one of pop music’s most enduring truths: the most compelling all-male pop groups often hail from Ol’ Blighty.

Certainly one could make an argument for Stateside superiority on the backs of such legends as NKOTB, Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, but how do those guys stack up against the lads of The Wanted, Take That and 1D? And more importantly, which ones would win in a fight over us? Peruse our Top 10 list of the UK’s cuddliest crooners below and tell us who you think comes out on top in the game of pop!

11. Boyzone: Okay, so this boy band was Irish, but that didn’t stop them from becoming permanent fixtures in the British charts! (And sorry, Westlife — Boyzone won the coin toss here.) They hit the Top 40 there 19 times, most famously with their panty-melting ballad “No Matter What.” Just ahead of their 2000 break-up, “cute one” Stephen Gately came out of the closet, while “older one” Ronan Keating went on to a hugely successful solo career.