Helen Bach Column: Fame - too high a price?

I think I had a passing flight of fancy that I'd like to be a pop star, but soon adjusted my ambitions when I acknowledged that I wasn't a great singer and also didn't like performing in public.

Certainly the older I get, the more thankful I am for anonymity. Fame in the 21st century certainly doesn't seem to bring people joy and fulfilment. I imagine the constant pressure of social media isn't helpful either.

As for being rich? I guess it would be nice to give it a try! But not celebrity rich, where you have to have bodyguards and staff - just enough so that you don't have to worry about money, and if things go wrong you've got the ability to get them sorted out.

Of course I'm far too old to be a fan of One Direction, but I do remember watching them on The X Factor, which was a staple of our Saturday night's television when daughter was growing up.

Liam was always my favourite; I liked his Black Country accent and he seemed a decent chap. So yes, I was really shocked to hear of his death in a Buenos Aires hotel. What a tragic waste of a young, talented life.

Seeing the upset of fans gathered on the pavement outside reminded me of how I felt when I heard about Michael Hutchence of INXS's passing - again in a hotel - that shock of somebody who you'd grown up listening to, been to see in concert, looked up to and admired, suddenly gone long before their time. For ages I couldn't listen to his music, and haven't been able to watch the documentary about his life yet either.

Despite the adulation, the adoring fans, the riches and the fame, there is sometimes an emptiness that seems to pervade the lives of celebrities - on the surface they have it all, but they're living out of suitcases, flying from city to city, staying in anonymous hotel rooms.

As with so many things these days, there's a huge difference between the image portrayed and the actual reality...