It has gotta be one of the most unusual collaborations of all time. But it happened. In 1975 TV comedian Charlie Drake – renowned for his catchphrase “Hello, my darlings” – recorded the single You Never Know and effectively ended up fronting a prog rock supergroup.

Seriously, ol’ Charlie, whose most famous recoridng is the novelty song My Boomerang Won’t Come Back, got Peter Gabriel and Martin Hall to co-write him a song, then recorded with… well, the list is so unbelievable that we’ll let Phil Collins (yes, that one!) tell you about it, as he posted on his official website:

“It did indeed feature Robert Fripp, Percy Jones, Keith Tippett, me and Peter G. A friend of Pete’s, Martin Hall wrote the song, or possibly co-wrote it with Peter, called You Never Know. Apparently Charlie Drake, who was a huge comedy star of the 50s and 60s, wanted to make a record. How he ended up with this line-up I have no idea! It seems the most obscure set of people to make a comedy record. On the day Charlie, who was quite small, turned up with a brand new denim outfit for his rock debut… it was quite touching to see him at it. Percy Jones and I were already in Brand X by then. The whole session was one of life’s interesting snapshots!”

OK, you can find the song, which was released by Charisma and is now very rare, here.

For comparison, this is My Boomerang Won’t Come Back.

The only comparison we can make is if Ant & Dec did a single with members of Dream Theater, Opeth, Tool and Coheed & Cambria!

Sadly Charlie Drake died in 2006. May he PIP (Prog In Peace).