Almond has recorded more than 50 singles and albums

Almond was injured while he was riding pillion on a bike that collided with a car in central London on Sunday.

Both he and the rider were taken to hospital. Almond had emergency surgery and is being treated in intensive care.

Fans have inundated his website with messages and sent flowers, cards and gifts to the hospital.

A message to fans on the site said Almond's fan club had received "literally thousands" of messages, which had been printed out and passed on to his family.

Soft Cell were one of the 1980s' biggest pop acts

The website said a post office box had been opened for mail and gifts, and asked fans not to send flowers or call the hospital.

Almond was described as "stable" at 1130 BST on Wednesday at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, following the crash near St Paul's Cathedral.

Almond's former band Soft Cell, which he co-founded with musician David Ball, was one of the biggest-selling acts of the early 1980s.

Their cover of the northern soul song Tainted Love became the biggest-selling UK single of 1981 and the 10th biggest-seller ever in the US at the time.

The band's other hits included Torch, Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

After the split, Almond went on to have chart success with a cover of the Days Of Pearly Spencer and a duet, with Gene Pitney, of Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart.

Almond and Ball reunited in 2001 to play a gig launching new venue Ocean in Hackney, east London.