NOT since he was a Sixties heart-throb has Engelbert Humperdinck experienced such instant recognition - and it's all thanks to Yorkshire bitter.

He says the new John Smiths bitter ad, in which he appears with comedian Peter Kay, has brought him an army of new fans.

"I was in London a few weeks back and cab drivers were hooting and shouting out things like 'Hey, Englebert! Fancy a pint?'. It's brilliant. It reminds me of the old days."

The old days, of course, were nearly 40 years ago now when, as an unknown singer from Leicester called Arnold George Dorsey, he borrowed the name of a classical composer and transformed himself into a pop idol.

His UK hits included big romantic ballads like The Last Waltz, There Goes My Everything and Please Release Me, which features prominently in the new beer ad.

Engelbert went on to conquer America. Today, with 130 million record sales, nominations for four Grammies and one Golden Globe under his belt, he is about as successful as you can get. He even has his own star on the Walk of Fame and lives in a pink palace once owned by the movie star Jayne Mansfield.

But as he gets ready to release a new compilation of love songs and launch a UK tour that brings him to The Mayflower, Southampton on Sunday, it is clear that he is relishing his newfound fame in Britain.

"I've been very lucky," he admits. "I've got a good feeling about all this. I feel I'm at the beginning of a whole new phase of my career."