Simply Red star Mick Hucknall, from Manchester, has become a father for the first time - at the age of 47.

The singer, who once had a reputation as a ladies man, said he was on "cloud nine".

Girlfriend Gabriella Wesberry gave birth to daughter Romy True on Monday.

Simply Red's website said: "Romy True Hucknall was born in London at 3pm weighing 9lbs. Mother and baby are doing fine and Mick is on cloud nine."

Hucknall has dated some of the world's most glamorous women, including model Helena Christensen, actresses Tracy Shaw, Martine McCutcheon and Catherine Zeta Jones.

He began dating Wesberry, a company director, in 1995 but the couple split before Hucknall embarked on an 18-month tour. They were reintroduced by a mutual friend in 2003 and have been together ever since.

Some of Hucknall's songs, such as Broken Man and Love Has Said Goodbye Again, are inspired by Wesberry, who is in her 30s and speaks six languages.

The flame-haired singer, who is now tipped to marry Wesberry, said last month: "I can honestly say I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life.

"I wake up every morning and think that this is just great. It's perfectly natural for me to be totally committed to this relationship - totally committed to bringing up my family."

Hucknall said the couple did not want nannies and he would put off touring until 2009 so that he could have time to bond with his daughter.

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