Dig out the Music Week issue dated 31/08/2012 and you’ll find Lucy Spraggan on the cover. The 23-year-old singer/songwriter was asked to pull her self-released debut album, Top Room At The Zoo, offline after the record climbed into the midweek charts following the airing of her X Factor audition. The demand (from the talent show’s lawyers) was to ensure “all contestants are treated fairly during the competition and receive the same exposure”.

Before X Factor asked for it to be ...