FOR fans it will be a special night out but Norman Prince sees his return to Darwen Library Theatre next month more like meeting up with old friends.

Norman, for 24 years the front man with the hugely successful Houghton Weavers, will be in Darwen with Paul Johnston from the Fivepenny Piece for an evening of song, stories and laughter.

“I always have a ball on stage,” said Norman. “When I left the Weavers 10 years ago I was doing a lot of after dinner speaking and one night I was asked to organise a Lancashire night.

I’ve got to admit that I’m not that good a guitarist but I’ve known Paul for years and asked him to help out and it’s gone from there really.

“We have a lot of banter on stage and with the two of us, there’s no real frontman, which is great for me as it means I don’t have to be leading everything.

“I’m fortunate these days in that I’m in a position that I don’t need to work so I can pick and choose what I do, which makes it so much more relaxed and enjoyable for everyone.”

Returning to Darwen, Norman promises that the evening will include songs from both the Houghton Weavers and Fivepenny Piece, with plenty of stories and anecdotes thrown in.

“With Paul, I think our shows reflect life in the North West,” he said. “We are from the area and we know we are playing to a community and understand that community. We mainly get mums and dads and grandparents at the shows but we also get younger people in the audience who probably grew up listening to their parents’ Houghton Weavers records.

During his time with the Houghton Weavers, the group enjoyed a highly successful TV series, Sit Thi Deawn, which ran to six series plus, their own show on Radio Two.

“It’s funny when you’ve been on telly because people think they know you and treat you differently,” said Norman. “On the radio they may have heard you but they don’t know what you look like.

“When we started off it was in folk clubs and people were very respectful and listened and things sort of grew and we ended up playing theatres. We never really went down the working men’s club route.”

Entertaining people is something that Norman takes very seriously.

“To be able to make people laugh is a great feeling,” he said. “The more problems that people have either in their own lives or in the world around them, the more they appreciate it.”

  • Norman Prince and Paul Johnston, Darwen Library Theatre, Friday, October 5. Details from the box office on 01254 706006.