No Rock And Roll Fun

GET INTO AGUILERA'S KNICKERS: Because, for some reason, there seems to be a connection between being well-known and the assumption that this must make you a designer, Christina is going to be given the chance to design her own range of panties. We're picturing Mike Baldwin opening an envelope one morning, sliding out a sheet of paper, and discovering the words "Crotchless Thongs" crayoned thereupon.

Why is it that pop stars set their sights so low, designing clothes and the odd handbag? Why doesn't someone get Kim Deal to design a diving bell, or approach Britney Spear to rustle up some plans for a prefab school that could be used in Africa? After all, if singing suddenly endows Gwen Steffani with the skills of a clothes designer - something that most people have to spend three or four years studying to develop the skills for - why not see what other magic design skills are endowed upon people with pretty faces and voices?

Rachel Stevens says "It's odd, until my first solo record I had no idea what sort of steel was best used in load-bearing lintels; one trot out on Top of the Pops and I suddenly realised exactly how to design a house to maximise light and space while minimising the demand for fuels."