THIS

is case-in-point why I adore Girls Aloud.

From hipsters to housewives, they're Britain's most untouchable popstars. Teenyboppers love their sparkly style, indie bands love hanging out with the kind of girls who dissed them at school and David Cameron loves them because... well, there's an election to win, right? They're scientific proof that pop music - when done with sass, style and lots of fizzy synth bits - works . And, unlike the production line of media-tamed drones clogging up the rest of the charts, you can spot Girls Aloud a mile off, the kind of group who don't just settle at being snapped getting carried out of clubs - they get snapped being carried into them as well (as Sarah did after this year's Q awards).