A bit of Charlie's Heart and Soul; the interview Philip Key meets the international star whose roots are firmly in Birkenhead.

Byline: Philip Key 

FOR AN international singing star, Charlie Landsborough is decidedly down to earth. He still lives in Birkenhead where he was brought up, still enjoys a drink with his mates, and ars his Christian faith on his sleeve.

This month he brings out his test album while he sets out for a 37-date British tour which will end at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall next month.

I caught up with him at a radio station in Coventry while in the middle of a promotional tour.

He had earlier been in Stoke, got lost in the streets of Coventry, and was about to head off to Nottingham.

Charlie is a man in and happy with life.

"This is all great fun," he tells me.

"A crowd of people have come down to the studio to see me, a lot of old friends."

He is one of our more unusual stars, not making the big time until 12 years ago, when he was 53. One of his songs, What Colour is the Wind, caught the popular imagination in Ireland and from then on he has developed into one of our most successful singer/ songwriters.

His newest album Heart and Soul, released on the Rosette label on September 11, is one of his more unusual. It has a religious tinge with nine of the 18 tracks written by Charlie expressing his religious faith.

Charlie is a committed Christian. But record companies were afraid of releasing an out-and-out Gospel album, he says.

"So we have gone for what they call an inspirational thing with this mixture of love songs and light Gospel songs. The album is titled Heart and Soul, which sort of reflects the dual nature of the album."

The youngest of 11 children, Charlie admits he did not grow up in a religious atmosphere.

"I grew up in the docklands of Birkenhead and none of the family was a churchgoer. When they discovered me at 11 reading books on the Bible and that stuff my brothers, who were seafarers, said: 'See what Holy Joe is reading' and ridiculed it out of me. Then it came back when I was 30 and has never left me."

He was 10 and at primary school, when he first had the calling.

"I was told this Gospel story and I thought it was fantastic that I was going to live for ever and that it was good to be good. It went against what I heard on the streets about knocking this or that off and beating so and so up. I liked it."

By the time he was 30, however, he was disenchanted with life. "This thing kept nagging at me and I left the pub one day and went into every church in the road, and it was a very long road. In one, the minister told me to come back on Friday by which time I had sobered up."

He went to see the minister anyway.

"He disarmed me and answered all my questions and that was me back home again."

He describes himself as a spiritual gypsy

"I was born Church of England, became a Catholic and am now a Pentecostal. I think I'll stop there! It's similar to the Church of England but with a bit more singing."

He now thinks life without his faith would not be the same.

"I believe He has a hand in everything that has happened to me. It's a great message and relieves you of all the rubbish that the world tries to impose on you.

"When I first became a Christian again, I got a lot of flak from the lads around the pub saying Charlie had gone round the bend as I was a bit of a lad in my time. They thought it was a passing fad. But, thankfully, 30 years on, I have still got that passing fad and it is not going to go away."

His new songs, written in Spain, are not overtly religious. Some could just be heard as songs about being happy - I'm a Lucky Man is a case in point - while others like Who Is This Man are more to the point.

Jesus Christ is not mentioned. "It's amazing how His name offends some people," says Charlie.

"But I have no problem with saying His name, and if it is in a song I will sing it."

He regularly goes to Spain to record as his producer Peter Ware lives there. Ware was a member of his original band and has a home in Alora, a town near Malaga.

Much as he enjoys Spain, he says he will never want to leave Birkenhead.

"I would miss the characters and all my family and friends. I enjoy sitting in the pub and having a laugh and joke. I would miss the humour and I do like the place."

But twice a year he has to leave to tour. In Britain, he has his own motor - home driven by his son. "My wife travels with me along with an Irish friend who does the merchandising so we have a lot of fun on the way. We can stop and have a brew-up and egg and beans at two in the morning if we want to."

Every year, he also does an Australian tour where he has a huge fan base. When he first went, he was astonished that anyone had even heard of him.

"It was a revelation. I would meet people backstage who told me they had everything I had ever done. They would drive hundreds of miles to see me. One lady in a wheelchair flew from New Zealand to Brisbane just to see me in a little club playing for an hour and half."

Today, no - one is astonished that people have heard of Charlie. He is an international star and singers like Pat Boone, Jack Jones, George Hamilton IV and Daniel O'Donnell have covered his songs.

His Philharmonic Hall date in Liverpool, on October 29, will be special as always.

"It can be frightening singing in front of a home crowd with lads I drink with, lads I went to school with and all the family. But once the show is under way it is great and a joy to play.

"When I first went there, the boss of the record company said it was a fantastic atmosphere.

"He was thinking of the place but I told him it wasn't just that, it was the people. I get people from far away coming to my Liverpool shows, and they always go back with a good impression of the people."

CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH plays the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on October 29.

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Charlie believes his date at the Philharmonic Hall will be special' Charlie Landsborough says he will never want to leave his Wirral home