Still the biggest way to break a hit seems to be TV - the Faith Hill/X Factor results this week for a start, Iglu and Hartly from Jonathan Ross as a second.

Simon Cowell has been aware of this for ages (he learned it from me, though it is blazingly obvious).

As radio shrinks in importance (and quality), the importance of TV increases.

I cannot tell you how much more I enjoyed radio in France and Morocco particularly this year - though Italy and Germany and Switzerland were fun too.

The key seems to be that North Africa is catching up with the rest of the world - radio, catering to the young, sounds like it did in the UK and USA twenty or thirty years ago; enthusiastic and energetic.

Original? No; but you can't have everything.

That was how I got to hear and love Rihanna's Take A Bow, Mika's Lollipop, Lil Wayne, Beggin' and the other commercial, populist global hits.

A wall of repetitive, mass appeal, cross over sound on the radio.

The UK and USA need to wake up and smell the coffee.

I agree about Radio. When Virgin first went on air, the promise was a return to the glory days of vibrance and quality entertainment. It tried it's best for a while but soon became a predictable drag. I think presenters have a lot to do with it. If left to truly do their own show, without the limitations of station playlists, things could improve slightly, but personality is the key. I still listen to Dave Lee Travis on weekends. I always liked the way he enthused about music and made his shows fun to share. He's still as good as ever, but he's a dying breed.