His tongue was admittedly rather in cheek, but Dickon Stainer clearly recalls the farewell lunch he gave Katherine Jenkins before she set off to join rival Warner.

“We had a chat with her and her team and I just said, ‘We’ll see you again when they mess it up,’” says the Decca UK president who five years later now finds himself reunited with the Welsh chanteuse.

While Stainer is quick to stress his comments are “probably a bit harsh” about ...