THE Cotton Street kid came back to town quietly and without fuss.

Ahead of him beckoned a cheerful reunion of old friends, a chance to blow away the cobwebs and reflect on times gone by and a concert to help fundraising for the junior rugby players of Leigh MR.

But first stop on Georgie Fame's pilgrimage was a tranquil saunter around old haunts.

In Cotton Street (pictured), where at No 5 he was born and where he lived through to his late teens, a visit to see Uncle Jack at No 1, a stroll along the canal bank and across the Pingot, the timeworn track behind the Sportsman.

"Leigh has changed," reflected the man born Clive Powell, one-time apprentice weaver at Lilford Weaving Shed, the man found who found fame as Fame.

"But beneath the change much remains as it was forty years ago."

Georgie had little trouble re-discovering the town's quiet backwaters, crumbling monuments to the golden age of cotton and coal which have withstood the ravages of time.

The prodigal son's much anticipated return was an unforgettable and overwhelming success. His concert at Leigh MW was a sellout, an audience of old friends captivated and entertained by Georgie's stories, memories and songs.

Among them was Howe Bridger Alf Davies, once his roadie, now chief executive at Leeds, and Rugby League legend Billy Boston, with whom Georgie presented a local schools trophy back in the 60s. The 60s marked the Leigh lad's birth as a pop superstar.

But Georgie was no overnight success. He had worked his way up slowly and solidly to pop's pinnacle.

He took piano lessons at eight, jumped on the skiffle bandwagon at 13, then as a 16-year-old played with The Dominoes (later renamed The Beat Boys); in 1959 he packed his bags and moved to London with the Roy Blackwell Group.

Times were tough. But when Larry Parnes spotted him it all changed. Georgie Fame was created!

He toured the country with Billy Fury's backing group, The Blue Flames, and then, with the group, broke away. Georgie switched from piano to organ and the records followed - three singles and two LPs.

Then Decca released 'Yeh Yeh' and life changed forever. The self-penned 'Getaway' soon followed, then came his third top of the pops, 'The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde'.

It was all a far cry from the humble terraced in Leigh's Cotton Street, from halcyon days at St Peter's Junior School and later at Leigh Central.

Fame came in a Britain rocking to the innovative music of the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

But astute changes in style have kept Georgie at the top. Three decades later he is recognised as a top jazz singer, an honoured icon of world music.

That was all put aside on Thursday. When Georgie sang for his friends.

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