Ronan Keating to record duet with Yusuf Islam

In one of the year's more unlikely musical collaborations, Yusuf Islam is collaborating with Ronan Keating on an update of his 1970 classic, 'Father & Son'.

Keating and The Artist Formerly Known As Cat Stevens have been friends since 1995 when a Boyzone cover of the song got to number one in the UK. The accompanying Hot Press headline, 'Fatwa & Son', related to the fact that Islam had refused to condemn the post-Satanic Verses death threats against Salman Rushdie and was donating his royalties to a number of hardline Palestinian organisations.

Although he's subsequently distanced himself from the militants, the 56-year-old was prevented from entering the United States last week because, to quote a Department of Homeland Security statement, "of concerns about activities that could potentially be related to terrorism. The intelligence community has come into possession of additional information that raises concerns about him."

Describing his deportation as "A terrible ordeal", Islam added that, "It's crazy and everybody knows me from my charitable work. I am no secret figure."

His first single release since 1974's 'Another Saturday Night', the new version of 'Father & Son' is a 25/1 outsider to wrestle the Christmas number one spot from The Darkness, Girls Aloud, Will Young and Mike Jagger who's doing his own duet with Joss Stone.

"I wouldn't expect too many people to be putting money on Cat Stevens doing the double in both the UK and the US," says a spokesman for bookies William Hill.