GLOUCESTERSHIRE ECHO
6 October 2013 by Janet Hughes
ULTRAVOX frontman Midge Ure and Queen guitarist Brian May have both slammed the X Factor culture as a quick fix to fame.
“I think Live Aid was the pinnacle of pop music,” said Ure. “I, along with artists such as Mark King from the 80s group Level 42, fear that we could be the last generation to make music for a living.
“Today, we have opportunity knocks 2013 in the form of X Factor but this is all about a quick fix and there is no investment made in an artist. They will only become one-hit wonders.”
May echoed these views saying X Factor “sucked out the life of a developing artist, making them unemployed if they had not achieved anything in a year. What would have happened to Bob Dylan if he was in today’s culture? Real talent is still there but it will be hard to make a living out of music as everyone wants it for free these day,” he said.