CHART-TOPPERS Atomic Kitten are hoping to create a big bang with a personal appearance in Southampton on Friday.

The popular girl group will be meeting fans when they drop in at Virgin Megastore to help promote their new single, a cover of the Bangles' classic Eternal Flame, which is released today.

The girls - Liz McLarnon, Natasha Hamilton and Jenny Frost - will be signing copies of the single in the Above Bar store from 1pm.

Atomic Kitten, who caused one of the biggest stirs of the day when they performed at Southampton's recent Power in the Park pop festival, stormed onto the British music scene two years ago with their single Right Now.

Their next three singles, See Ya, I Want Your Love and Follow Me, were all big hits but never quite made it to the top spot.

That all changed this year with the release of Whole Again, the Kittens' greatest smash to date, which even managed to beat supergroup U2 to number one.

The group's Southampton visit will be one of the last chances for fans to see them for a while as they will soon be embarking on a major American tour.