"Tangental to the music?" This may be a disappointment but it hardly comes as a surprise. I may have been a little glib with the title of the thread, thereby overemphasising the humorous side of a serious subject. The attitude that UK men have to their "nether regions" as has been delightfully demonstrated so far in this thread, so it comes as no surprise that this attitude continues to cause concern to the medical profession. Indeed, this was recently highlighted in a BBC campaign aimed to promote awareness of testicular concern, where it emerged that in comparison to women and breast cancer, men were far less likely to examine themselves in order to catch the disease at a stage where it remains curable.   

References to moving up the vocal register have also been regarded by some contributors as synonymous with a move towards gender change. I have an uneasy feeling about the contribution from the Sligo Lark in this respect. To me this seems to re-enforce an old, perhaps rather silly, prejudice.   After all, the Bee Gees didn't do so badly out of using the falsetto voice.

Before this goes any further perhaps I should point out that the testes are actually designed by nature to be kept a around three degrees colder than the core body temperature, hence their positioning. In this respect wearing shorts could be said to actually improve male fertility.

May I refer you back to my original concern, a singer who habitually wears shorts, even in unusually cold weather, and appears to be singing in progressively higher keys, possibly as a result.   In response to Dave Bryant, no I feel I can't name the club, but it is not the one you mention, which makes be begin to think that this may not be an isolated incident. Similarly Moses, I am not in a position to comment, but I understand that Breezy does a lot of busking. If he frequently does this in shorts, then he may be prone the condition as it may well be caused by long term exposure to low ambient temperatures.   Look for the "umbles" — stumbles, mumbles, fumbles, and grumbles — these show that cold is affecting how well a person's muscles and nerves work. In short Moses, your interest seems to imply you are concerned that Breezy's vocal range might be moving inexorably upwards?

Much has is said in singing tutorials about the importance of muscle control, particularly in the diaphragm. The thesis here is essentially very simple. Do people who expose themselves to the cold, or sing in the cold, for long periods tend to use the head voice rather than chest voice?   Does the head voice become overdeveloped as a result, and are they starting to sound like the Bee Gees when they then sing in clubs?    If we observe this in friends and acquaintances how do we point it out without causing offence?

Thank you shanghaiceltic. I agree a scientific approach is required here.