THE next time you pass a busker, stop and have a proper listen, as you might be missing out on the next big thing in music.

Because, a few years ago, the ladies now known as The Opera Babes - Rebecca Knight and Karen England - spent their days singing their hearts out in Covent Garden for loose change.

"We didn't have any conception of what success would be like at all," Rebecca laughs in recollection, speaking before their appearance at The Anvil on March 5, at 7.30pm.

"When we were busking, we weren't doing it for any purpose other than earning enough money to pay for singing lessons and things like that, so we didn't really have any idea whatsoever of what it would be like to make an album.

"Obviously, we aspired to greater things, because we had worked with touring opera companies. We knew that we were going to have careers as opera singers, but then, when it all happened, it was just completely out of the blue. It was like a roller coaster and we just got on the ride and went with it."

Their spotting by a talent scout was the beginning of the big time. But their first gig singing live before millions at the FA Cup Final, labelled them in a way that the girls have found hard to shake off.

"When we sang at the final, Des Lynam announced us as 'opera babes' and that was it. The press ran with it and the company thought it was inspired, so we've been labelled. Do you think we're mad? We would never have chosen that ourselves!

"We take the name very lightly, although if you're doing anything that's in the media, you do feel the pressure to make sure your hair's not tangled! But the market we're in is more geared towards the music and the serious side of things."

The duo have become known all over the world since the success of their debut album Beyond Imagination. Was there any negative reaction to their fame from established opera figures?

Rebecca says: "It's a strange one because there have been a lot of preconceptions, and the name hasn't helped as it seems to trivialise our actual ability in some way. Critics come along to a performance and you read in the papers the next day that they were surprised.

"Before they've heard us sing, they've lumped us in with a load of other people and they don't realise that we are the genuine article. But now a lot of people have seen us, and they're aware of our ability.

"We're bridging a gap for people who have no idea, but are slightly intrigued. When people come to our concerts, they love to see it presented in this way.

"I mean, we don't go out in fluffy ballgowns and I think that helps. We talk to the audience, and explain what we do and make it entertaining, so people don't have to sit there wearing bow ties and thinking, 'I can't breathe'. We like making people feel at ease, which goes back to our days of busking."

So, basically, busking has prepared them for anything?

"My skin is so thick - it has to be really. Anyone who sticks their head above the parapet is going to be fired at. That's fine, there are a lot of worse things going on in life. But it was a really amazing time. And you just meet everybody, from all walks of life. We bumped into the Sultan of Brunei one day and then, the next day, a homeless guy came and gave us a quid".

At The Anvil gig, the girls will be accompanied by the Foden's Richardson Brass Band, the 2004 British Open champions. That seems a strange combination, does it not?!

"This is a new experiment for us with the brass band. We wanted to do it because we thought it would be so different and unusual, and it's not the sort of thing that we've ever done before. It is really good to get to do a variety of things.

"We've just been singing with Placido Domingo and now we're going to Basingstoke with a brass band. That's what life's all about!"