Popular tenor Russell Watson has hit a high note after revealing Nasa used his music to wake up astronauts.

The Salford-born star is popular in the US and the UK and recently picked up a brace of Classical Brits for the second year running.

The Endeavour completed a mission last week

Nasa bosses decided to play the theme tune which the singer recorded for the forthcoming Star Trek series to the astronauts Space Shuttle Endeavour as an alarm call.

Endeavour last week completed its mission after six months in orbit during which its crew fitted a giant robotic arm to the International Space Station.

Watson recorded the song Where My Heart Will Take Me as the theme to the show Star Trek: Enterprise, which will start on terrestrial TV in the near future.

Watson said: "When I signed my record deal, they wanted rights for the world and the universe - they obviously knew something I didn't."

Hollywood

The former factory worker recently caused palpitations for classical music fans when he was accompanied by a scantily-clad dancers at the Classic Brits last month.

He won for biggest-selling classical album in the UK and an award voted for by radio listeners.

There have also been reports he could be picked to star as opera legend Mario Lanza in an upcoming Hollywood film.

But despite consistently strong sales, Watson has been among those crossover acts implicated in criticism of excessive populism diluting classical music.