Noel Simpson is an angry young man. True, his soulful, all-vocal outfit may be familiar with the upper reaches of the British charts; Simpson and his 'brothers' may be mobbed on the streets of London; America and the wealth of Croesus may beckon, and he may well find himself very comfortably off in not too many years.
But when it comes to his group's treatment at the hands of the press - especially the British press - Simpson seethes.
'We do not get the coverage we deserve,' he said through audibly gritted teeth. 'Damage have been in the public eye for two years now - and in that time we've had one magazine front cover. It hurts when you see other groups who have just come out getting everything. But we're still fighting for those covers.' For Simpson, speaking from Singapore, where Damage were to stage a promotional gig, there was one glaring reason for the band's victimisation: all five members were black.
'I'm sure the reason is racial,' Simpson insisted. 'We've been told that putting us on the front would not sell magazines - but that's just not true.' His claim is supported by statistics: Smash Hits, the mainstream British publication that did make them the subject of its cover story doubled its usual sales.
'It's not just a money thing. They smile to your face, you do their photo shoots - but when it comes down to it, they use you.' Simpson's complaints run the risk of alienating a world that sees a group of young men, aged 18 to 22, living privileged lives. But his gripes are borne of a seriousness about his art from a singer who knows the value of his band.
'We are serious about what we do,' Simpson said. 'We want to cut out the 'cheese' - because 'cheesy' is something we certainly are not.' Which raises the spectre of another Damage bugbear: 'manufactured' groups foisted on the public by record labels.