IS there anyone else out there who has noticed Mick Hucknall's growing similarity to comedian Charlie Drake?

Watching a late-night show featuring the Simply Red singer, I was half expecting him to suddenly break off from one of his dirges and say "Hello, my darlings!"

The show itself, filmed in Cuba, was tedium personified. If he'd brought Billy Bragg on for a guest spot I would definitely have lost the will to live.

But why do so many old rock stars feel the need to revive their careers by getting on a swing or Latin kick, massacring the originals with their tepid, limp little voices?

First it was Robbie Williams, then Rod Stewart - and did you see poor Tony Christie wheeze his way through Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody over the festive period? I'd prefer it if geriatric rockers did what old soldiers are supposed to do... just fade away.