George Michael took part in the original Band Aid as a 21-year-old

Michael said today's chart stars were too manufactured and trivial for any song to carry weight.

There were fewer credible artists around compared with when he took part in the original Band Aid with Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Sting and U2 in 1984, he has told the BBC's Hardtalk programme.

Boy band Blue are reportedly trying to enlist stars including Kylie Minogue and Justin Timberlake to record a charity version of their anti-war song Stand Up As People.

'Begging'

"I'm begging, I'm hoping that there will not be Band Aid 2 because 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," Michael said.

"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 told Hardtalk.

I really hope the current pop industry stays away from it because I really don't think it would be a very genuine move George Michael Click here for interview

The people involved in such a project would be "extremely young and extremely lacking" in political knowledge, he said.

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

"This is different and I really hope the current pop music industry, the current generation stays away from it because I really don't think it would be a very genuine move."

The former Wham! star said he was the first celebrity to speak out against a possible war, and that he moved the debate out of political circles.

He was heavily criticised in the press when the video for his latest single, Shoot the Dog, showed Tony Blair as a poodle on the White House lawn.

Inspiration

He also performed an anti-war version of his hit Faith with Ms Dynamite at the Brit Awards.

Blue have often credited the singer with being one of their inspirations.

Michael said he had met Tony Blair in the past but had lost faith in him recently over his support of President Bush.

"I've been very distressed at Mr Blair's behaviour for several years in the way that he has removed the idealism from politics," he told Hardtalk.