Although they may look more like One Direction's dads these days, Backstreet Boys will undoubtedly go down as one of the biggest boybands of all time.

The quintet have maintained their fanbase over the years, which is nothing to be sniffed at - but a recent revelation by band member AJ McLean may taint one of their biggest hits for their more ardent devotees.

McLean revealed in an interview with Billboard that their song 'The Call', from their album 'Black & Blue', actually samples Howie Dorough's flatulence thanks to the work of producer and pop svengali Max Martin.

Yep, that's right - you've been listening to a fart all these years.

"So when we were in the studio with Max making the song ‘The Call,’ Howie was in the booth and we were doing that vocal break down, [sings] ‘dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun'," he explained. "Max gave Howie his harmony, and I think he was just putting so much air into the vocal that as he was singing, he went ‘dun, dun’ and he farted — but he farted not only on the beat, but in key. So Max tweaked it and made it sound like one of his patented bass sounds, and it stayed on the record.”

Hear the song below: