Singer Charlie Landsborough writes Christmas song with the help of pal Ricky Tomlinson

SINGER Charlie Landsborough has warned his fans that we’re in danger of seeing one of the hairiest singing duos of all time.

If he and his mate actor Ricky Tomlinson get their way, there will be more beards than at a ZZ Top concert!

As the ever-popular Charlie explains, Brookside and Royle Family star Ricky fancies himself as a bit of a composer.

“Ricky sent me some lyrics for a Christmas song and said: ‘Put a tune to that, Charles!’” reveals Charlie, who turns 75 this year.

“So I have done it, and that may appear next year, along with a new album.

“I think he was after a classical interpretation, but I’ve done my own ballad. We’ll record it at the same time as the album.

“He was saying to me: ‘Just imagine, Charles, if we went on the telly together to sing it, we’d be like David Bellamy and Worzel Gummidge.’

“Guess which one he meant me to be!

“His missus, Rita, is lovely. She says to him: ‘Ricky, who do you think you are? You’re not a singer-songwriter!’

“He does play a bit of banjo, mind you.”

Focusing on his latest recording — his 29th CD — will have to make do at the moment, along with a short British tour.

As Charlie explains, he’s had a bit of bother with foreign tours.

“I had my passport stolen in Dubai, and that was a disaster,” he reveals.

“And this August, we were supposed to be in Australia, but the promoter had a stroke.

“That put paid to the Australia tour, but it has given me a bit of leeway to do a UK one, get recording done and have a break.

“He was still putting all the gigs in place, so it didn’t cost us a lot, either.”

Charlie also fancies a gig or two in Germany, where he served in the Army.

“I’d love to go back to Germany because I can speak the language a bit,” he says.

“I remember being in a pub there and the MPs came in, putting the squaddies out because they were in an out-of-bounds pub.

“But I spoke German to them when they told me to leave, and they let me stay.

“It helps learning some of the language!

Quick learner that he is, Charlie, who also worked as a teacher in the 1960s, is now enjoying a link-up with another school, Liverpool’s St Vincent’s school for the visually impaired.

“They get no funding from the Government, so it is nice to have a little choir from the school come on and sing a couple of my songs, including What Colour Is The Wind, which is obviously very appropriate for people with impaired vision,” says Charlie.

“Hopefully, we can raise a few bob for them, and bring them into the public spotlight a bit more, because they’re doing a great job.

“I heard about them through an optician from Southport, who I met at a get-together for people in the entertainment business.

“The more I’ve got involved with this, the more I thought it’s a great cause.

“I don’t think there will be a dry eye in the house.

“When they see the little kids playing and singing at my Liverpool concert, I’m sure it’ll set the audience off — and that includes me!”

You can see Charlie on a short UK tour in October. Among the dates are — October 22 Rhyl Pavilion, 27 Ayr Gaiety, 28 Motherwell Concert Hall, and that Liverpool one on the 30th.

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