SINGER Alison Moyet has revealed how a simple slip-up during a conversation with Elvis Costello led to her being housebound for years with agoraphobia.

Speaking on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, the former Yazoo star described Costello as her idol but revealed how she made a gaffe after watching the singer play a gig in Scotland.

She said: "I wanted to say to him, 'You were wonderful' and all these wonderful descriptions of him and what came out of my mouth was, 'You dragged that out a bit, didn't you?'

"Once I did that, I just felt I don't trust myself in polite society."

Moyet said the condition felt "very normal", adding that much of her recovery was down to her second husband.