HE will forever be known as "the voice of Dr Hook" but Denis Locorriere is very much his own man.

On Thursday he will be bringing his guitar to Darwen's Library Theatre where he will settle down for an evening among friends.

"It's just me and my guitar and the audience," said Denis. "I find it easier to be myself than part of a band. To do an acoustic set you have to have the songs and fortunately I've been associated with some pretty good ones along the way so I can throw in the odd million-seller."

With songs such as Sylvia's Mother, Sexy Eyes and When You're In Love With a Beautiful Woman, Dr Hook were constantly in the chart during the '70s.

With many groups from the era embarking on reunion tours, would Denis ever be tempted to turn out with his former bandmates?

"I'm not interested in a reunion," he said flatly. "The thing is with this tour is that there are a lot of new people in the audience who never saw Dr Hook. They are seeing everything at once -- my old songs and my new songs.

"It's interesting that they are hearing the Dr Hook songs the way they were originally written, with just my guitar."

Denis clearly believes in involving his audiences in his shows.

"When the tour first started the first few nights were totally spontaneous but then the show started to shape itself," he said. "But it's definitely not scripted or totally planned even now. I've been known to take the odd request from the audience. I've got quite a lot of songs to draw from but I sometimes surprise myself when I get asked for an old album track and manage to play it. I think 'where did that one come from?'

"Audiences do differ from town to town and some are very polite like a theatre audience and others are much more lively. As a performer, it's like surfing, you go out there and ride the wave and try and stay on top of it. The great thing is it means you're not delivering the same thing every night."

Denis has always enjoyed "connecting" with an audience. A key feature of the Dr Hook shows was an extended solo spot.

"I've turned Wembley into an intimate gig," he says, "so I've no problem about being alone on stage.

"I'm at a point where I can go on and perform, play my music without having to worry too much.

"I really don't feel like I'm in the music business any more. I don't think I could slot myself in between Tatu and Westlife, so I just go out there and do it for the fans."

Denis Lecorriere plays Darwen Library Theatre on Thursday, March 20. Details from the box office on 01254 706006.