Is nothing sacred? Here comes the Friar with the X factor

The other week I got a call from Decca. Could I pop in and talk on camera for a documentary about their latest signing? He's a tenor. Friar Alessandro.  That's right - a singing friar. A Franciscan from Assisi.

A what? I had a sneak preview of his first CD, which is out next month. They want him to be "the next Italian tenor". (Odd, since they already have the next Italian tenor, it's just that he's Maltese.)

There are a lot of issues at stake here, especially when you realise what happened to Soeur Sourire back in the sixties, so I've written about a big sense of squirminess in today's Independent.

Here is Soeur Sourire, who was rather wonderful, but had the most terrible time. There's a recent movie about her starring Cecile de France (2009) if you want to know more.