I am half-Scottish, and come from a part of West Yorkshire that is far enough west for me to be mistaken for a Lancastrian by a Lancastrian. I have found that I can adopt convincing East Midlands and South London accents, and if I put my mind to it I can be mistaken for a native of Ireland (Dublin or Donegal). OTOH I have found that in certain circumstances trying to borrow an accent is of little use. Despite living with my Glaswegian father for years, and spending much time in Scotland, trying to sing with a Scottish accent provokes laughter if there are Scots in the audience - frankly, I've given up on it. On the other hand, I speak and sing in French with a pronounced Swiss accent - and the French appreciate it on the talking horse principle, ie. it is not wonderful, but for them it is amazing to find a foreigner who can be bothered to try. The only true test is an audience - ask them if it works, if it doesn't, don't bother with it. Some people just DO it, eg for southern US accents - Mick Jagger has been getting away with it for years, and Ian Matthews did a good job considering he hadn't left Illinois before recording that Southern Comfort stuff .