You don't have to be a looker to work here... but it helps!

I never thought anyone could knock The Pogues off the top spot as one of the ugliest bands in the world. But then came Razorlight, setting the standard for the shallow new wave of guitar brit fop, with cliff sized teeth and hair from a poorly shot 80's sex flick.

But by god, even they have been beaten.

Can anyone actually look The Enemy in the face without screaming? Seriously, their singer has a face like an badly fitted bin bag. And don't get me started about haunted, wonk haired La Roux.

There was a time when to be a chart topping band you had to have the sort of looks that could deftly fill the pages of Smash Hits, making make girls swoon and have boys furiously sweating off a handy one when mum wasn't looking.

Apparently "it's all about the music" these days. But is it, is it really?

I grew up in the 80's where there were two prerequisites for getting a record deal - Talent & Looks - Neither of which seem to be a requirement or criteria for success when looking for the next big thing. What on earth do A&R get paid to do if it's not signing bands, sacking the ugly ones or just totally blanking them and forgetting to tell them about photo shoots. Didn't it used be referred to as 'doing a Craig Logan'?

I mention the examples above, all of whom are fairly successful artists, however the substance of their material is somewhat dubious and actual talent questionable. The fact is, I'm not sure how much of a cultural impact they're going to have without meeting at least one of the criteria.

Let's have a quick think about some people who have their faults:

• Richard D James - a fairly unattractive man and ginger to boot. But his incredible pioneering experimentation created a genre of music that paved the way for the electronica sound infused in almost every pop song today.

• Radiohead - not lookers but they've written a few songs haven't they, some of which may have inspired a generation of young indie kids to looking further afield for material.

• Duran Duran - they had it all didn't they, the looks, the production, the songwriting skills, the swooning chicks. Super talented men.

• Robbie Williams - A total arse, but the ladies love him, he's a great performer and he also happens to have co-written the most played song ever
  

• Bananarama - Hot, mad, great pop songs. Did I mention they were hot?

So the thing is, if our pop stars are getting uglier and less talented you have wonder why none of the real talent out there is getting noticed and rising to the top. Maybe we've all become less discerning over the last few years and consider talent and beauty as a bit too flash - we are after all a nation that revels in the disappointment and failure of others. Mind you, that doesn't explain pop dwarfs '911' who, for some inexplicable reason, were hot shit back in '96.

Perhaps then it might be that music industry marketing campaigns have become so adept at pushing the hype that people believe they might actually die if they don't do as they're told and just BUY EVERYTHING BECAUSE IT'S NEW AND EXCITING AND THAT'S WHAT YOUR DULL MEANINGLESS LIFE NEEDS RIGHT NOW.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is if the Music industry wants to force us to endure a chart full of utter horse toss then they could at least make an effort to disguise the fact that it's shit by blinding us with sheer beauty.

Next up - Is La Roux haunted?