He’s been rocking for nearly half a century, but Alan Price insists he has no intention of stopping just yet.

And the singer songwriter from the North-east will remind everyone of the highlights of his career and a taste of what is still to come when he plays the King’s Hall, Ilkley, next Wednesday.

From making his name with hits like House Of The Rising Sun with The Animals and his quirky take on Randy Newman’s Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear to his many hits with Georgie Fame, including the most famous, Rosetta, Alan has seen it all.

His induction into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994 was testimony to his achievements throughout his career in the music industry and sits well alongside his BAFTA award for the soundtrack of the highly acclaimed film O Lucky Man! in which he also appeared.

But even now he is 70, the performance bug still bites hard.

“The main thing is it keeps you healthy and keeps you younger,” he said.

“Although I’m getting on a bit, if you’ve got the energy and you’ve got the enthusiasm and you’ve got used to the buzz of playing and getting adrenaline from the audience, I think you’ve got to keep on. You bop ’til you drop,” he says.

“I was talking to Paul McCartney once in the pub around the corner, and he said ‘people ask me why I’m still playing, but it’s what I do. Plumbers plumb, window cleaners clean windows, and I play the bass and sing’.”

“It’s a vocation as well as a profession. Why think about the end?

“Why not think about it as a new beginning?”

For his show, Alan admits it’s not easy trying to squeeze a 49-year career into two hours, but he’ll try.

“I’ve played Ilkley before, it’s an excellent show,” he said.

“I’ve got some loyal fans and I’m always pleased to see them. The film O Lucky Man! has become a student staple, so that also helps to bring people in. It’s good to get a fresh audience.”

As well as continuing to perform, Alan is still writing songs and says he can’t stop.

“It’s not a thing you sit down and do,” he says. “I’m not like Randy Newman who has to have a factory regime, where he clocks in every morning.

“He has an office away from the house which he drives in to every morning and sits down and writes.

“I don’t do that. I write lines that I hear on the radio or in discussion or this, that and the other. I jot them down and then the idea percolates.

“But you never stop. Once you’ve been writing songs, you never stop.”

The Alan Price Set will be playing at the King’s Hall in Ilkley on Wednesday. For tickets ring (01943) 602319.