P hil Collins once said that Paul Carrack could sing the yellow pages and it would still sound fantastic but the humble Sheffield soul singer remembers the days when he was "not good looking enough" to sing in a band.

The former lead singer of the multi-million record selling Mike & The Mechanics, who turned 60 this year, didn't start singing or writing songs until he formed pub rock group Ace in 1973 after his jazz-rock band Warm Dust disbanded after three albums.

"When I started out I was never the front man, we always had a designated good looking guy to do the singing," the hit-maker revealed.

With Ace, Paul was the good looking front man he always wanted to be and he penned his first, and favourite song, How Long, which stormed into the UK and US top 40 charts in 1974.

Born and educated in Sheffield, the soul-loving boy whose relatives always said had a 'nice' voice has put together a catalogue of hits that endear him to millions.

He is still going strong today having recently won Smooth Radio's Artist of the Year award.

His most famous tracks came from his time in Mike & the Mechanics, a band started by Genesis legend Mike Rutherford as a side project.

Paul scored his first number one single when The Living Years hit the top spot in the US in 1989.

Success continued as the band went on to record nine hit singles with Paul on lead vocal including UK number 12 single, Over My Shoulder.

He says: "I am a compulsive hard worker.

"At the moment I am in the studio preparing an EP for release in the coming weeks and an album for release in March next year.

"In between all that there is the tour of the UK and Europe and I manage my own record company."

Despite his heavy workload, Paul has no plans to stop just yet: "When I finish one album I just concentrate on getting the next one started.

"I don't even want to think about retirement yet.

"This is what I was meant to do, when I leave the stage at the end of a show I want to see people on their feet with smiles on their faces."

The new Time to Move On three-track EP, the single Time to Move On and the new Christmas single, Thinking About You This Christmas are available now.