6:40pm UK, Wednesday February 26, 2003

George Michael has delivered a withering attack on today's manufactured chart stars - saying they are too stupid to make an anti-war record.

Blue star Lee Ryan wants to get together with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake and Pink on a new Band Aid-style song.

180 george michael headshot

George: 'They don't sing from heart'

But the ex Wham! star said they did not know enough about the issues.

'Too young'

He said they were "extremely young and extremely lacking" in political knowledge to produce a credible song that would be taken seriously.

Michael was part of the 1984 Band Aid line-up that  had a huge hit with Do They Know It's Christmas, in aid of Ethiopian famine victims.

But he said: "I'm begging, I'm hoping that there will not be a Band Aid 2.

"The reality is that very, very few people in the industry now, that you're hearing on the radio, make their money from their own hearts and minds.

'Fake'

"They make their money from singing the words of others, and so therefore the weight of something called Band Aid 2 would be incredibly slight."

He added: "It's not the same as making a record to send money to Ethiopia."

Ryan revealed at last week's Brit Awards that he wanted to assemble a host of big name artists to record his single Stand Up As People, which he wrote last year.

He said: "We want people like Pink, like Justin, we're trying to get Sugababes and Kylie. All the money will hopefully go to charities like Warchild, for kids who have been affected by war."