Steve Blacknell has claimed he is the inspiration for one of his ex-girlfriend Kate Bush's hit songs

The two fell for each other and had a relationship before her musical success began to heat up by the end of 1975.

Steve, 72, claims Kate's 1978 love song The Man with the Child in His Eyes - which peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart on July 8, 1978 - is about him.

Steve exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I'm reliably informed The Man With the Child in His Eyes is me. So I'll leave it at that."

In 2010, Steve reluctantly put Kate's handwritten lyrics of The Man with the Child in His Eyes up for auction - which he is "not very proud of" - because he and his wife Maggie needed cash following the 1980s TV star's horrific car crash that left him unable to walk for six months because of spinal injuries.

Steve - who has written about his relationship with Kate, 66, in his new memoir Tales from the Bedroom Wall: The Life and Times of a Serial Thrill Seeker - admits he fell for Kate because of her beautiful hazel eyes.

Asked what attracted him to the singer, he admitted: "The eyes. Very entrancing eyes.

"But funnily enough, when we split up, it was about four months later that I met my wife [Maggie], and she had exactly the same eyes.

"But she was amazing. I didn't really know what was going on. But I kept hearing these names, like David Gilmour and people like that. And it was very special."

After the ex-BBC Breakfast Time host Steve and Kate - who is a vegetarian - got together, Steve also stopped eating meat "very quickly".

During their romance, Steve worked in the marketing department of Decca Records, and he used to take Kate to see the bands he was looking after, such as the rock group Camel.

Asked about what the pair did on some of their dates, Steve recalled: "I took her to see bands that when I was working for Decca. Oh, that's right, I took her to see a band called Camel, who I was looking after. And then my big thing in life is The Incredible String Band.

"They were out in the 1960s, but they're my heroes and I used to play her their stuff, and she liked that.

"But it was a first time, it was wonderful."

Steve also used to joke to Kate that one day, he would introduce her on the former BBC One chart rundown show Top of the Pops.

He said: "We'd sit there and say, 'Oh, wouldn't it be lovely one day, I'll introduce you on Top of the Pops,' because I wanted to be a presenter.

"And so we'd say that.

"So the nearest I got to, I think, was my Top of the Pops book being shown on Top of the Pops. But nearly.

"She did very well. She has a wonderful family. And it was a fantastic time. And I'm just so pleased that she's gone on to do great things."

Steve is referring to his 1985 book, The Story of Top of the Pops.

Kate - who has been married to guitarist Dan McIntosh since 1992, and have a 27-year-old son called Albert together - stepped away from the spotlight following the release of her seventh studio album, The Red Shoes, in 1993.

In the following decades Kate has released two albums, Aerial (2005) and 50 Words for Snow (2011), and stepped back on stage in 2014 for her 22-date Before the Dawn concert residency at the Hammersmith Apollo venue in London.

Kate and Steve have remained in touch and he helps publicise her charity The Little Shrew.

Steve said: "We've been in touch through her lovely manager, and she's got a charity called The Little Shrew. That's a charity I help with.

"So it's all about kids in war-torn places and stuff. So they've asked me if I can publicise that.

"I'm honoured to have met her."

Tales from the Bedroom Wall: The Life and Times of a Serial Thrill Seeker by Steve Blacknell is available to buy now on Amazon.co.uk.