U2 star Bono and British modern artist Damien Hirst have joined forces with Sotheby's and the Product RED to auction off contemporary art to raise money for Aids relief in Africa.
I met them in the Gagosian art gallery in Manhattan's trendy Chelsea neighbourhood, where the super-rich hang out - and the talk doesn't often turn to the plight of Africa.
Today it did though. Bono, Damien Hirst, and I (I like the sound of that!) wandered round in front of a few million dollars' worth of modern art, and tried to untangle whether it might actually help Africans with HIV.
Plenty of rock stars have been here before of course, and Africa still has its problems.
"Everybody's dug deep and given us major works rather than drawings and that"The short answer is that by selling the art work, most of which has been specially-made by some of the world's top modern artists, they will raise up to £15m ($30m).
That money will go directly to HIV/Aids programmes in Africa - providing drugs to people who need them.
'Real exhibition'
I'm no art expert, but walking into the gallery, out of the sludge and sleet of a cold, dark New York February morning, was like walking into a different world.
It's a huge bright white space, with bright colourful art on the walls - serious art.
"We may raise $25 million in one evening and that is preposterous"
"I handwrote letters to everybody," said Hirst. "I didn't expect the result to be as good as it was, but everybody's dug deep and given us major works rather than drawings and that. It feels like a real exhibition."
One of those he wrote to was the graffiti artist Banksy. "He said 'give me a painting and I'll mess around with it'."
Hirst was enthusiastic as we stood in front of one of his now defaced spot paintings.
Banksy had painted over the top: a maid "holding up" the painting and pushing some dust underneath it.
"I love his work and I have to say I like my own," said Hirst. "I think it looks brilliant, doesn't it? Sweeping it under the carpet."
Life-saving drugs
There were huge works of art from names I'd never heard of, and others I had. Antony Gormley. Jasper Johns. Tracey Emin. Jeff Koons. Richard Prince.
Is it a good time to be trying to get people to part with their money? We are after all told the US might be heading for a recession.
With a wry smile on his face, Bono replied: "The people who can afford these paintings can afford these paintings."
"We may raise $25 million in one evening and that is preposterous," he said. "But it will provide life-saving drugs for a lot of folks who would be dead otherwise."
Bono helped create what's called the Red concept.
Red is an organisation that gets private companies and individuals to raise awareness and money for the United Nation's Global Fund.
That in turn works with organisations in Africa on HIV/Aids, as well as malaria and tuberculosis.
So the Red project breaks away from one of the classic charity traps.
Life force
It doesn't rely on day-to-day public handouts from people like you and me. It's about energising the private sector to give money and raise awareness among the public.
I asked Bono whether they were winning the battle in Africa.
"The answer is Aids numbers are coming down. We may have crossed over the worst spot, but you can't take your foot off the pedal.
"Universal access to these drugs is what we're fighting for. Two pills, that's all it takes."
It may be all it takes, but the truth is that without efforts like this, the painfully slow reaction to Africa's Aids crisis would be even slower.
"What's so extraordinary about this is there's so much life force," Bono said to Damien Hirst as he looked around the gallery.
"You know maybe it's the colour red that a lot of the artists have chosen.
"There's a sort of joy about it which is a real act of defiance in the face of that tiny, ugly little virus."
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