Another key difference is that, whereas Bond were friends who'd met after years performing as session musicians for the likes of Primal Scream, The Spice Girls and Talvin Singh, the members of the 12 Girls Band were selected from 200 hopefuls who descended on Beijing for intensive auditioning in 2001. The criteria were simple - beauty and musical talent had to be offered in equal measure. And, of course, youth. The girls are aged between 23 and 25.

They might all be classically trained musicians, but a non-stop touring schedule has meant they have been living life in one giant pop-star bubble. The commotion that follows in their wake is a little like witnessing a beauty pageant - albeit one with brains. 'We haven't had a day off in the past 18 months,' sighs a defeated-looking Vivien Zhou Jiannan, who plays the guzheng. She bravely attempts a smile, but you can't help but think that she'd rather be anywhere but here. 'But life together is very colourful.'

The idea behind the group apparently dates back to a concept from the Tang dynasty's court musical workshops. The notion of having 12 performers on stage not only provides a spot of eye candy, but also strikes a chord in the connotations of integrity and perfection the number has in Chinese.

It's Wang Xiaojing's job, as the band's manager, to keep everyone happy. 'They're all very happy to play the music,' he says. With his dark shades, mop of jet black hair, black polo neck, black trousers and shoes, he doesn't evoke your average classical music aficionado. It's hard not to feel slightly perturbed as he eyes me coldly. 'They all came from different cities around China - so even though they all have diverse habits and lifestyles before, the girls are all getting along.'

This is just as well - they will be living in each other's pockets for the foreseeable future. Despite the band's projection of Chinese aesthetics, it is not on the mainland where the girls have found mainstream success, but in Japan, where they are a phenomenon.

Their debut album, Beautiful Energy, made an immediate impact on its release last July, topping the chart for 10 weeks and selling a staggering 1.5 million copies in its first three months. Their recently released live CD, VCD and DVD Miracle, meanwhile, is sating fans' appetites (including those in Hong Kong) until the next suite of recordings is out next year.

'The Japanese are more advanced in their tastes,' says Zhejiang-born erhu player Janet Zhan Lijun. 'It's the most adventurous music industry in Asia, so it's great for us in terms of a starting point. This is the first step of our goal.' Which is? 'To win a Grammy,' she says, instantly.

'One of the things about our music,' says Sun, 'is that we're doing something that is already very familiar to mainland listeners. But our success in Japan seems to have woken people up at home a little.'

This new perspective is partly thanks to one Japanese record executive who, having seen the girls perform, quit his job at Warner Music to form his own label that would invest heavily in the band, with the lucrative American and European markets in sight.

In doing so, Kazuma Tomoko, president of Platia Entertainment, may soon be able to sell a Chinese concept back to the Chinese. 'We included a few covers of Japanese hits that would appeal to a crossover audience from 20- to 50-year- olds,' he says by phone. 'At the same time we gave the girls a more natural image, simple makeup and elegant clothing to suit the Japanese market.'

The combination has had an incendiary effect. 'The Japanese success was a surprise,' says Wang. 'When we set it up, our idea was to be an international outfit, to operate outside the mainland. Chinese people already know this kind of music inside-out, so we knew interest wouldn't be as high as it would be overseas. But when people become popular overseas it gets them a lot of attention back home, so now the mainland is taking notice.'

Not that the 12 Girls are trying to hit you over the head with their erhus, however. 'We use other forms of music to attract listeners,' says Gabel Zhang Shuang. 'A westerner may be into blues or jazz, for example. That listener may then like a bluesy number of ours and then hear the traditional elements. It's like wrapping it up in a tasteful package.'

While the girls don't compose their own music, they're given room to interpret their own solos. They also all have an equal share of the profits. It apparently took Westlife 18 months before they began to reap financial rewards, and there were only five of them - so the hard work looks set to continue for these women for some time yet.

And if anyone decides that life on the road isn't for her any more, the band won't be changing its name to 11 Girls. Everyone is replaceable, as if it were a touring stage show. 'There is a Chinese saying that no flower can bloom for 100 years,' says Zhan. 'Basically you never know what's going to happen. So we're taking each day as it comes.'

Additional reporting by Kristine Kwok

12 Girls Band will perform tomorrow with a host of Universal Music Group talent as part of the Canton Road Association Christmas Eve party, at Canton Road, TST, 10pm. Inquiries: 2890 7330