Art Garfunkel has branded Paul Simon an "idiot" and a "jerk"

He said: "It was very strange. Nothing I would have done. I want to open up about this. I don't want to say any anti Paul Simon things, but it seems very perverse to not enjoy the glory and walk away from it instead. Crazy. What I would have done is take a rest from Paul, because he was getting on my nerves. The jokes had run dry.

"How can you walk away from this lucky place on top of the world, Paul? What's going on with you, you idiot? How could you let that go, jerk?"

The 'Sound of Silence' singer went on to say 73-year-old songwriter, Paul, might have a "Napoleon complex".

Replying to the suggestion, he said: "I think you're on to something. I would say so, yes."

And Art went on to say Paul was bullied at school due to his short stature, but offering his friendship as "compensation" turned him into a "monster".

He stated: "That compensation gesture has created a monster."

The pair reconciled for a reunion tour in 2003 and 2004, and have since toured on their own, but now Art has insisted he wants to perform with Paul again.

He told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "Will I do another tour with Paul? Well, that's quite do-able. When we get together, with his guitar, it's a delight to both of our ears. A little bubble comes over us and it seems effortless. We blend. So, as far as this half is concerned, I would say, 'Why not, while we're still alive?'

"But I've been in that same place for decades. This is where I was in 1971."