Boy band with a twist

The biggest boy band to come out of Ireland since Westlife already have a potential fan base of 1.1 billion - and it's all thanks to God! The Priests are a musical trio made up of real Catholic clergyman, and when they express their gratitude to a higher power, you can rest assured that they really mean it.

The Priests are Father Eugene O'Hagan, Father Martin O'Hagan and Father David Delargy.

The three clergymen are childhood friends and have been singing together since their school days as St MacNissi in County Antrim. They were nicknamed 'Holy, Holy, Holy' by their classmates because of their shared determination to enter seminary school and become priests.

As luck would have it, all three entered The Seminary in Belfast together, and were able to continue singing lessons as they studied. While they were finishing their training in Rome, the trio's singing came to the attention of the then Pope, and the three performed for Pope John Paul II.

After finishing their studies, all three returned to Ireland and took up duties at their respective parishes. But their lives changed when, earlier this year, they came to the notice of Epic records, whose executives were looking for men of the cloth to record a Latin mass album. The group was quickly signed to a #1 million record deal on April 23.

The deal immediately attracted media attention, and almost immediately The Priests were featured on BBC News, ITV News, Sky News and were the lead feature stories in The Times, The Telegraph, Daily Mail and The Guardian.