Hull: It’s my kind of town, says Joe

​Joe Longthorne is one of Hull’s favourite sons and, as the singer prepares for a concert at Hull New Theatre this month, he reveals to Will Ramsey plans for a more permanent return to the city . . .

Joe on stage

A booming laugh greets me from the other end of the phone. “It sounds like mission control in here,” says Joe Longthorne. The Hull-born entertainer is speaking to The Journal from his current base – the Lancashire resort of Blackpool. And while his manager sorts out the phone arrangements – hence Joe’s nod to NASA – there’s a definite perkiness crackling down the line.

For the record, Joe “feels fine” after a difficult few years, health-wise.

And after successfully battling lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, and leukaemia, the 55-year-old singer is preparing himself for his latest tour with a fitness routine.

“I’ve just been for a two-mile walk with the dogs and I’m absolutely crackered,” he says.

“It’s not like Madonna or anything, but before I start touring I like to get back in shape. When I’m not working, I’m sitting about eating crisps and watching TV – that’s me.”

He even hopes to get into a swimming routine for his mammoth series of dates, which run up until November this year.

When we speak, he’s been busy with some studio work for a new album – ranging from self-penned tracks to “some well-known classics”. While the scheduling has been knocked back by the snowy weather, he’s “loving” being back behind the microphone.

But the lure of the performing in front of the crowds remains as strong as ever. “I’m not interested in having awards on the walls,” he said. “Having sold a couple of million albums is a wonderful thing, but I’m not interested in all that – it’s not me. Being on stage is the main thing.

“I’ve been doing this for 40 years and I hate the travelling, but I love getting to a venue and getting on stage.”

There was a warm-up gig in Blackpool to “open up the voicebox”, but by the time you read this, Joe will be out on the road – having already clocked up a handful of gigs.

In 1991, with a huge cake to mark 21 years in showbusiness.

Looming large on the schedule is the return to the city of his birth, with a performance at Hull New Theatre on 6th April (he’ll also be at the Spa, Bridlington in July).

“It’s a big thrill to go back,” he says of Hull. “It’s a wonderful theatre, it’s very pretty, like a Quality Street box. And then there were all those people that played there, like Arthur Askey.”

After decades of living away from Hull – a list of locations that includes Berkshire and the Channel Islands – Joe’s accent, and affection for the city, is as a strong as ever.

In recent years, there have been repeated hints that he’s moving back. Is that still the intention?

“It is imminent,” Joe said. “I am coming back to Hull.

“But wherever or whenever I move, I will continue to tour – I’m not going to put my feet up. Like any entertainer, wherever I lay my hat is my home. I’ve lived in Jersey, in Maidenhead, I’ve always been on the move.

“But my roots belong to Kingston upon Hull.”

His roots – along with his singing – can be traced back to his upbringing on Hull’s Hessle Road. “I was brought up singing in the terraces,” he said.

“I remember on the wash days, with it all hung up on the streets, I remember the nice summer days with everyone out chatting. But even when it was cold, it was still somehow warm, with people having a good laugh and lending each other a cup of sugar.

“Those are the times I look back at. It’s the memory of the hustle and bustle on Hessle Road.”

Joe on previous visits to Hull New Theatre.

Joe’s first recognition of his talent came at the age of six – when he won a toy motor car after coming first in a talent competition.

He soon began to establish himself. By 14 he had landed a part in Yorkshire Television’s Junior Showtime – a weekly variety show – which he remained with for two years.

He left Hull when he was 18, in pursuit of the circuit of working men’s clubs, which were to help hone his skills.

“I was off and on the road, up to Sunderland to try and earn a shilling,” he said.

These happy memories sit alongside some of the harsher ones – not least his health troubles and his bankruptcy during the late 90s – in a new biography, penned by journalist Chris Berry.

“I had lot of mixed feelings doing it – it nearly did for me to be honest,” Joe tells me. “But it’s a good read, there a few laughs in it. I am happy with it.”

It’s hardly the final chapter however – there is still the ambition of performing in Las Vegas, where Joe hopes to appear this year. “A few different artists have been put to me, but we’re waiting to see what we are doing,” he said.

“For now, it’s on hold until we know exactly what’s happening. Nobody knows me out there, so I’ll be opening for someone. I’ll be on the bill, but it’ll be with someone of stature out there – it’ll be in front of 1,500 people after all.”

The neon-lit Nevada city is a place which has been a performance spot for many of his heroes – including Shirley Bassey, of whom Joe does an uncanny vocal impersonation. But his desire to get there is for personal reasons. “It’s like this,” he said. “If you are a golfer, like my partner, James, you want to play at St Andrews. If you are a boxer, you want to appear at Maddison Square Gardens.

“I am an ‘old-fashioned’ – in quotation marks – entertainer and that’s the place. I have played some massive venues, the Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, now, 25 years later, it looks like it is round the corner. I am definitely going to be there – it’s the place to play. Now it’s just a matter of waiting until the right bus comes along.”

Joe Longthorne’s autobiography is released on 1st April, priced £16.99. Tickets for Joe’s concert at Hull New Theatre on 6th April (7.30pm) cost £19 and £22.50. Box office: (01482) 226655.