Today's letter from the Editor
Today's Matrices
iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

PHP/ Drupal Developer - £35k - WC

£30000 - £40000 per annum + BENS: Progressive Recruitment: Drupal Developer A ...

C# WEB DEVELOPER

£45000 - £50000 per annum + bens: Progressive Recruitment: C# WEB DEVELOPER Le...

WPF Developer (C#, VB.Net) - North East - 6 Months

£240 - £260 per day: Progressive Recruitment: WPF Developer (C#, VB.Net) North...

KS2 PPA teacher

£85 - £120 per day: Randstad Education Cheshire: KS2 teacher needed to do PPA ...

i Editor's Letter: Some songs should be left well alone

 

Ah, the Brits, the night we feel our age more than any other (p10-11). Don’t be sniffy, there’s a lot of  talent there. It’s not all to my taste, but I’m not a teenage girl. That said, I’m about to get myself into big trouble, worse even than my advocating the eating of bunny. I will risk the wrath of 1Ders everywhere by suggesting that, no matter how good the intentions, some things in life are too sacred to be massacred for charity. One is Blondie’s “One Way or Another”.

For Martians, 1Ders are the fan army of boy band One Direction, whose success is a parable for our times. Third in the 2010 X Factor final behind Matt Cardle (who?) in a year that also gave us Cher Lloyd, 1D have become (yet another) sensation for that nice Simon Cowell.

They have done so, like Gaga and Bieber, via social media: 10 million followers on Twitter, 13 million+ Facebook likes. Harry Styles has even more followers – partly due to his taste for older women, like Taylor Swift. 1D’s first two albums went to No 1 in the US. Their second topped the charts in 30 countries. They make breezy pop too anodyne to hate. Good luck to them.

Once Debbie Harry was a global phenomenon. A poster of her wearing little more than a black bin liner was on teenage walls everywhere. As the 1970s became the 1980s, girls wanted to be as cool as her, boys wanted to... never mind.

Blondie emerged from punk to become huge crossover stars. “One Way or Another” – a sexy, edgy, aggressive track typical of the earthy NYC of its era – was about a stalker-ish girlfriend. Of all the tracks those nice, cute boys could cover for Comic Relief they chose this one? Well, I guess if anyone knows about female stalkers....

Career Services

Day In a Page

The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.
Why bitters are back on the bar: A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails

Why bitters are back on the bar

A few little drops pack a big punch in cocktails. No wonder we're learning to love them again...
The 10 Best barbecues

The 10 Best barbecues

Whether you're cooking on gas or are a convert to charcoal we've got the perfect way to cook when the sun is out.
Style icon David Beckham calls time on his long retirement

Style icon calls time on his long retirement

David Beckham never disgraced himself but former England captain ceased to be a major player years ago. Remember him at his United peak
Steve Harper: My darkest times

Steve Harper: My darkest times

As the popular Newcastle goalkeeper bows out after 20 years at the club, he tells Martin Hardy about the private battle with depression that threatened his career
Sir Torquil Norman has designed a flat-pack OX truck for the developing world

The flat-pack truck with big ambitions

After making a fortune from Polly Pocket and a doll's house shaped like a teapot, the entrepreneur has turned his creativity to a transporter truck for the developing world. Simon Usborne meets him.