Referring to Shaun's 2013 series 'Shaun Ryder On UFOs' - which saw him travel around the world in search of the truth about UFOs - Robbie said: "I saw bits of Shaun's UFO show, I've spoke to Shaun about it.

"Shaun told me, 'Right, it (UFO) was just by a tree in front of me. They come all the time Rob,' he sees what he sees."

The 'Angels' hitmaker - who claimed he once saw a UFO so close to him he could've hit it with "a tennis ball" - explained that he's always took songwriting inspiration from Manchester legend Shaun, 58.

He told 'The Adam Buxton' podcast: "Me and him have done a song together.

"Quite often I try and channel Shaun Ryder when I'm writing songs.

"The song will emerge, plans change all the time, but hopefully some time in the Spring."

And the 46-year-old star is even planning his own UFO series.

He said: "It is thrilling to see those things, it will become God willing if I get to stay alive for another 25 years, a quest that I go on for a TV show or something like that, where I go and examine my own experiences.

"It may be mental illness or it may be that there's something to it.

"What I do think, is this. I think something is up, that's what I think, I think something's up.

"I read everything to do with conspiracies, with UFOs, with Big Foot, with ghosts, with ghouls, with absolutely everything, folklore, myth... I don't believe anything other than something is up."