All my respect to Phil Collins, once again.

Your comments reminded me of Brian May.

He also supports Nordoff-Robbins and Prince’s Trust, more than Teenage Cancer Trust and Nelson Mandela’s campaign about AIDS.

He’s also very interested in ecology and environment.

I never liked very much Queen’s music, but I esteem them for the many charity causes they always supported and for the discreet way they had to do it. Just the opposite of their glamorous image on the stage.

I think that, maybe, it’s hard to know where that line is, because everyone feels differently about it.

For me, the line you’re talking about is crossed when something makes me think that all those good words I’m listening to, seems more a self promotion than a way to support a cause.

As I said in other comments, that’s what happens, for example, when I listen to Bono Vox, but I’m aware it could be just my impression, since many people don’t agree with me at all on this point.

That said, I don’t like very much the way he uses his public image (of course, I prefer artists like David, Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Tori Amos…) but I agree with the causes he supports and I think that, if what he does can help raising people’s awareness or even some money, so that’s OK.

Bono, or artists like him, don’t give wrong messages, in the end. Public image can be used much worse than this. I think, for example, of those metal bands who promote violence, Nazism, or racist ideals. Even though they probably do so just to impress their (young) audience and make money, in my opinion, what they do is wrong.

I’ll never actually like a song, if I believe it gives a message I completely disapprove, but I can listen to U2, even though I don’t like very much Bono’s image.

It amazes me that some people think that the celebrities, management, distributors and large multinational companies are a highly educated, serene, well intending, balanced group of helpful individuals that have the average person’s interests at heart…

When in reality, they are a group of get rich quick, low life cowboys, intent on S_H_A_F_T_I_N_G their target customers for every penny they can get, just so they can live the “high life” at the world’s expense…

The “media” that broadcast celebrity opinion funds war and political systems that are enslaving us…

All “charity” should be equally funded by the taxation system.

People’s fundamental needs should be beyond the “money game”…