FIRST day sales of Hear'Say's second single were slow, according to record shops in Bolton.

The record, "The Way To Your Love", was snapped up by less than a dozen people -- fuelling speculation that interest in the band is waning.

But industry experts still say the band is on course for their second number one single this weekend - despite selling less than a tenth of what their first effort managed in the same period, chart figures indicated today.

The Way to Your Love is the second single to be released by the chart topping band, who were formed on the ITV programme Popstars.

According to record industry sources, the single is ahead in the race for Sunday's number one slot having sold 16,119 copies.

But the track, taken from their debut album Popstars, has failed to match the incredible sales of their first single Pure and Simple which shifted 160,995 copies on its first day, when released in March.

Hear'Say's phenomenal early success was cemented when their debut album, Popstars, shot straight in at number one, making them the first British band to top both album and single charts simultaneously with their debut releases.

Pure and Simple went onto sell over half a million copies in its first week, with the album shifting over 306,000 copies in its first six days on sale.

The slow sales are sure to disappointed Bury-born Suzanne Shaw, who along with bandmates Noel Sullivan, Myleene Klass, Danny Foster and Wigan girl Kim Marsh, were hoping for another huge success.

One possibility is that the huge sales of their multi-platinum album, 'Popstars', means most of their fans already have the single.

But although it is still early days, a spokesman for HMV in Bolton said he had hoped sales would have been better.

He added: "Up to now we have sold very little and that despite there being two CD versions available. It's not what we expected."

The news came as Radio One bosses admitted they had dumped the song onto their C-list.

The station revealed it will only play the song once a day and the revelation is being seen as a blow for the band's record company since the industry relies on Radio One -- Britain's most listened-to station -- for publicity.

A Radio One spokesman said: "Our song list represents what our listeners want to hear but the listings can change."