WE'RE SO VERY, VERY SORRY

There's nothing wrong with a bit of politeness in pop, so hats off to Franz Ferdinand for apologising to Rachel Stevens for taking her place in the charts:

Alex Kapranos said: "Sorry Rachel. But the irony is that people like you, Rachel, made it difficult for real bands for a long time.

"Rachel Stevens is right. There has been a swing to real exciting bands, thank God.

"I looked at the charts the other day and it was amazing. Do You Want To was in the Top 40 along with records by The Test Icicles, The Arctic Monkeys and The Kills. Four Domino bands in the Top 40. I was like, 'Yes. Nice one.' "And it's great to see other bands like Arcade Fire doing well too."

He also made concilatory noises towards Simple Minds, too. Apparently, ver Minds are meant to be angry that Franz will headline T in the Park next year over them - which seems bogus to us anyway, as what chance would Simple Minds have of headlining T anyway? A teadance at the town hall, perhaps, but not T in the Park.

music franz ferdinand alex kapranos rachel stevens simple minds