Music biz escapes financial blues

Credit crunch? What credit crunch? Monkey only asks after attending the Music Industry Trusts Dinner in honour of Universal head honcho Lucian Grainge, where pop star types and high street retail entrepreneurs flashed the cash for charity. Ooh look, there's Bhs boss Philip Green paying £150,000 for a guitar signed by Bono. There's Bono paying £20,000 for a box at Arsenal - just as they hit an early season dip in form, more's the pity. Ooh, and there's The Edge stumping up £15,000 for the Spitting Image puppet of Jarvis Cocker. And don't even get us started on Snow Patrol and Abba bidding against each other for a print signed by U2. Still, it was all for a good cause, with more than half a million pounds raised for two music charities.