«Not only are they UK pop's most successful songwriting and production team, they're also its most cutting edge. Xenomania has crafted hits with Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Kylie, but it's their relationship with Girls Aloud that's proved most enduring, authoring an unbroken run of 17 Top 10 singles and making them the most successful girl group in British history. More remarkably, they've achieved this with music that seems enthralled by pop's potential, sonically pioneering songs that have combined dance, rock and rave and resulted in the group being championed by NME as often as MTV.

Xenomania's five-strong team of writers, musicians and a lyricist is led by Brian Higgins, 40, a former magazine sales director and self-confessed 'work obsessive-compulsive'. Their Midas touch is partly down to his singular working practices: turning their backs on London, the team are based at Higgins's house in the Kent countryside.

Since he believes the best pop songs are 'sincere', the artists are always involved in the exacting writing process, so locals have grown accustomed to spotting Sugababes in the village cake shop, or fitness nut Higgins leading Cheryl Cole on a 7am jog. 'Brian is incredibly driven,' says Cole. 'But music is his life. Everything revolves around it and always has done.'»

Labels: Brian Higgins