George Clinton to become country singer

He's best known for dropping almighty funk bombs about the place, but George Clinton has set himself a new challenge: to become a country artist.

The Parliament and Funkadelic ringmaster is one of the contestants who'll feature in the new series of Gone Country, a US reality TV show that sees celebrities attempt to cross-over into the genre.

Former Prince cohort Sheila E and Monkees singer/drummer Mickey Dolenz are also among those slated to take part. The contestants will spend two weeks in Nashville co-writing a country song; the best one will be recorded and released as a single.

Clinton has previously stepped out of his comfort zone (as Simon Cowell might say) by working with British rockers Primal Scream (on 1994's Give Out But Don't Give Up album), but transforming himself from P-Funker-in-chief to good ol' boy is likely to be much more difficult.

However, he might just be barmy enough to pull it off.