Why I Love: Savile Row's finest

Pate Kane, writer and singer with pop duo Hue and Cry

There was a headline in a women's mag the other day asking, "Why are men so boring?" I'm sure one of the reasons is that, when push comes to shove, men are mostly happiest wearing suits. Yes, hemlines and colours may fluctuate in women's fashion like a bank's credit reserves, but men reach for their default charcoal-grey three-button in times of crisis.

I'm pretty clear about why I'm happiest in a suit: pictures of my dad in 1957, elegant in his Italianate sharkskin outfit; the fact a suit is a raiment of power, not just a statement of intent but a shield against attack.

We did a pop video for the first time in 18 years the other day, and when the wardrobe rack came, my arms involuntarily went out to the two-button black number. It's tough to be out there in the pop marketplace again. But suited and booted, I'm ready for anything.

Hue and Cry's new album 'Open Soul' is out on Blairhill Records ( www.hueandcry.co.uk)