The album was initially set in motion when Bublé made a recording of Charlie Chaplin’s Smile for the late Captain Tom Moore when he was doing his charity walk for the NHS. “I was moved by that, and I recorded it just for him, there was only one copy,” explains Bublé.

Then his family requested that it be played at Captain Tom’s funeral last year, and Bublé decided to record a “bigger” version, with old Hollywood strings and a choir, inspired by American vaudeville comedian Jimmy Durante. It is an odd musical reference for a modern star. “Sometimes I wonder, am I 150 years old in the body of a 46-year-old?” laughs Bublé.

Growing up in British Columbia, Bublé’s love for swing and jazz was nurtured by his Italian grandfather, who had a big vintage record collection. “Durante was one of our faves. He’s not even a singer, but he could put a story across with so much emotion. He just had that light, that thing that makes you go wow!”

As anyone who has seen Bublé on stage can attest, he is a funny, friendly character, although he genuinely seems to have lost a layer of protective skin since the last time we met in 2011. His emotions are tremulously close to the surface whenever conversation strays towards his family. He has three children aged between eight and three with his wife, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato, with another on the way. When mother and youngest daughter Mia call on FaceTime to show him a bruise from a fall, he murmurs sweet reassurances, “Mia amore! You bumped your head! You’re still the most beautiful though.”

He had his children with him when he recorded a joyously up-tempo version of Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love, live in a studio with an orchestra.