Sacha was due to round off the festival

Distel, 70, was rushed into hospital in Paris on Friday, scuppering his hopes of appearing before 1,000 fans at the Kirkmichael International Music Festival.

He had been due to fly into Prestwick Airport on Sunday morning in time for the finale of the internationally-renowned festival.

But artistic director James Taylor said he had received a telephone call on Saturday confirming that the star would not be able to make it.

He said: "Sasha was complaining of being ill on Friday and was rushed into hospital in Paris on Friday night.

"I heard that he was having surgery yesterday but his management wouldn't tell me what it was for. They said he would be in hospital for about a week."

He added: "We are obviously disappointed. He was going to come on to the stage for two numbers in the finale.

"But we are organising a giant get-well card which people here will sign so we can send it to him in hospital."

Sacha Distel became an international star in the 1960s

He said the cancellation had not ruined the festival because the event had been sold out long before Distel's appearance was first announced.

"The festival happens every year and we will try and bring him back next year," he added.

Distel, who is is best known for a string of hits in the Sixties and Seventies, started out in music as a professional jazz guitarist at the age of 16.

He went on to become a household name across the world during a career which peaked with his cover version of Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.

The festival, in its fifth year, is hosted in the tiny village in Ayrshire, which has a population of just 300.