Dennis is hooked on the classics

5:47pm Wednesday 21st March 2007

He may be known as the voice of Dr Hook, but to say that Dennis Locorriere went to great lengths to shake off the band after it split 20 years ago would be something of an understatement.

Since Dr Hook called it a day in 1985 Dennis has worked as a singer and songwriter, working with such artists as Bob Dylan, Olivia Newton-John and Willie Nelson.

He forged a solo career and for the past few years he's been pretty much constantly on the road. In 2005 he played Glastonbury and earlier this year he played the Dear Mr Fantasy Concert, in memory of Jim Capaldi, at the Roundhouse alongside the likes of Steve Winwood, Pete Townshend and Paul Weller. He has released two solo albums, Out Of The Dark and One Of The Lucky Ones, a live box set and a live DVD, Alone With Dennis Locorriere.

Now, for the first time, Dennis is revisiting his past. His Dr Hook - Hits and History tour rolls into St George's Hall next month and he's supported by Bradford's own Chris Norman, former frontman of Smokie.

He will be playing only Dr Hook material - including the hits Sylvia's Mother, A Little Bit More, When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman and The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan that brought the band international success. "Two years ago you couldn't have beaten me up enough to do a tour like this," he says.

"I wasn't interested in looking back; for me music is about evolving and moving on. I was offered so many Eighties reunion tours but I didn't want to recreate that time. I thought when an audience said, I love that Hook stuff', it was like saying to an older person, I bet you were attractive when you were younger.' "I didn't want to be singing Sylvia's Mother at Butlins or to an audience eating chicken in a basket!"

But when Dennis, 57, came to Britain in 1999 and was asked to record new tracks for a Dr Hook love songs album, he found the fans enthusiastic.

"You have to trust that your audience trusts you. After touring on my own, it felt right to do this tour," he says.

When Dennis sat down to compile the set list it was like re-discovering the old songs again.

"I went back to basics. The song is the most important thing and I didn't want to get lazy, going over the old songs in the same old way," he says. "Hits and History is different from nostalgia tours because it's just me. I haven't seen the Dr Hook guys in decades, touring with them would be like being a divorced couple invited to the same dinner party."

Dennis talks ten to the dozen and is great fun. It's refreshing to interview someone who chats freely about what he feels, without a nod in the direction of the PR machine.

"You can't really win with when you start performing old material," he continues. "If you embrace history people think you talk about nothing else but the old days, and if you ignore the old songs it's like you're denying your past. I've never dismissed these songs on principle because we had a lot of good songs, and people still love them. They're the soundtrack to people's lives.

"For the past few years it's been just me and my guitar, now it's me and a new band. Maybe I'll get some new fans from this tour - they might like what they hear and come along to my next solo tour. I'm recording another solo album this year and touring next year."

Dennis learned the guitar at an early age and as a teenager he would sneak into bars to watch bands. One day he met some guys calling themselves Dr Hook and joined them on the road.

Dr Hook enjoyed huge success in the 1970s and 80s, with more than 60 gold and platinum albums and reaching No.1 in 42 countries. Described as "happy but edgy", the band was renowned for its live work, often spending more than 300 days a year on the road.

"It reached the point where we were touring with a big entourage of families and it got too much. You can't do that forever," says Dennis.

He seems happy touring and recording the occasional album, getting back to basics in a fast-changing world.

"The advent of the download has revolutionised the music industry but bands don't last long," he says. "I tried Myspace but found I didn't need 80 million friends. And I couldn't take the abuse! There's a blog page on my website that you sign up for, that's enough for me."

He has little time for the reality TV route to fame either. "It's car crash TV and too many people are willing to be that accident," he says. "I just like writing and playing music, simple as that. The only time I remember I'm supposed to be someone is when I'm performing with Pete Townshend or Elvis Costello and they recognise me!"

Dennis Locorriere is at St George's Hall on Tuesday April 14. For tickets ring (01274) 432000.

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