Despite some inspired album pairings, the duet is a frequently mistimed and mismatched affair that has thrown up some unlikely collaborations over the years.

1 The Happy Mondays and Karl Denver on Lazyitis: Madchester meets a Scottish yodeller. Could have done better.

2 Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman on Somethin' Stupid: Inexplicably topped the charts but remains one of the most insipid, and pointless, hits of the last few years.

3 Tom Jones and any Welsh band going: Jones's Reload album featured bemused contributions from Cerys Matthews and The Stereophonics.

4 Frank Sinatra with Gloria Estefan and Kenny G: Both the latter showed up on Sinatra's Duets album and considerably lowered the tone of the enterprise.

5 Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney on Say, Say, Say: Two massively gifted songwriters. Result: this inexplicable drivel.