ECCENTRICALLY dressed Englishman The Young Knives arrive in York today to play Fibbers.

The Ashby-de-la-Zouche band will not be aware that the equally sartorially bold gent holding a pint, wearing a rag coat and looking confused as he stands by a straw creature on their debut album sleeve lives and works in our fair city.

The Diary can reveal exclusively that he is Doug Kell, formerly of Whittlesey, now of York and Norwich Union.

The cover photo on Voices Of Animals And Men was taken at the Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival, a tradition revived by Doug's father. "On the sleeve Doug is shown minding' the bear," explains Kevern Stafford, who tipped off The Diary about the "guy on the cover".

"Obviously the Young Knives album sleeve is his big break in the indie world, but Doug is also a member of the Britain's leading rapper dance team, Black Swan Rapper of York," says Kevern, the team spokesman.

The Young Knives' publicist, Dan Miller, says: "The Straw Bear picture was chosen because it fitted perfectly the band's pictorial theme of taking traditional English pastimes out of context and photographing them in a more modern setting."

The band members, Henry Dartnall, his brother House of Lords (yes, honestly) and Oliver Askew from Leicestershire, are also fans of The Wicker Man, the film with the sinister straw figure.

"The Young Knives quite frankly look odd they live in the countryside, like gardening and stand out from their contemporaries by a country mile," says Dan, in his album press release.

"Sporting NHS spectacles, ill-fitting charity shop suits and haircuts more fitting of retired Second World War pilots, they write tales of skiving off work, coastguards and tailors, fighting with your girlfriend's parents and committing suicide in Loughborough."

Will the man in the rag coat meet The Young Knives this evening in York? Unfortunately he is unlikely to come face to face with the band because tonight's gig has sold out.

WHEN a present or past Government minister comes to town, a posse of security guards is never far behind.

So it was on Tuesday when former Home Secretary David Blunkett visited York's Waterstone's store.

He came flanked by smart-suited, earpiece-wearing Special Branch officers who scoured the building and the street outside to check for danger. The group acted like extras from a James Bond thriller. But one spook's cool exterior was ruined when his phone rang and his ring tone was revealed to be the Mission Impossible theme tune.