He is the James Bond of rock'n'roll with the looks and the lifestyle that make even supermodels black out.

Kate Moss calls him the sexiest man in music and, at 65; he is dating a stunning 28-year-old called Amanda Sheppard.

But in an exclusive interview Bryan Ferry, who has scored all-inclusive hits with Love is the Drug, Avalon and Jealous Guy, admits: I am not great at all with women. I have got no confidence. I am awful at chatting girls up. Dreadful. I have never been the guy in the nightspot who could go up to women and know what to say.

I have sat back and watched other men do it. Some guys, like Brian Eno are completely significant. That's never been me. I have always found it difficult to meet girls. But definitely in his Roxy prime, models must have been throwing themselves at him? He shakes his head.

Ferry's terms don't quite sit with the image that saw him named the Most Alluring Man at this year's GQ Awards. Neither do they sit with a guy whose ex-lovers include models Jerry Hall and Lucy Helmore or one who divides his time between his luxury London home, his house in the country and jet-setting around the world.