The name Reginald Smith means little to most people.

But that’s because this veteran rock and rock pop icon has not been called by his birth name since he was a boy — not even by his closest friends or family.

Instead, for the last 50 years he has been known only by his stage name, Marty Wilde.

"I'm very much looking forward to King George’s Hall,” Marty Wilde tells me. “It’s one of those theatres that are so important to a town. People don’t realise just how important entertainment is.

“There is nothing like it that can give people that lift they deserve. These kind of performances I have done these last 10 years have been some of the happiest times of my life.”

Marty is a great believer that he and everyone in the entertainment industry is providing an important public service —nd one that he couldn’t imagine life without.

It all started when he was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in 1957 and he was spotted by impresario Larry Parnes. He was given his stage name there and then and went on to become one of the leading British rock and roll singers, performing along with his backing group The Wildcats.

As well as his own fame, Marty also enjoyed success as a songwriter in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He penned The Casuals' Jesamine, Lulu's I'm a Tiger and the early Status Quo hit Ice In The Sun, among many more.

And Marty’s performance tonight will be a trip down memory lane, with an evening of nostalgia from his own vaults. Plus he will pay homage to friends who helped shape the nature of British rock and roll.

“It will be an evening of old-time favourites from the best time of pop, between 1955 and 1965. Nothing since has rivalled the sounds of that period. I love revisiting it.” he said.

“I think rock and roll was a calling for me. It was in my make-up to do this with my life. I get so much out of writing and performing music. I love the guitar and the stage. But I also love working with others and watching them sing my words —it’s a different thrill then.

“My best year was 1959. I self penned a hit, Bad Boy, which I was very proud of and I married my wife Joyce. We had four children together. That was a good year. I also loved working with my daughter Kim and releasing many a great hit. Her career was so much fun.”

And it is not just Kim to follow in her father’s footsteps, his youngest daughter Roxanne is a backing singer for Kylie Minogue.

But if things had been different, what would Reginald Smith have done as a career?

“I would have loved to have been in the advertising business,” he said. “It’s all the creative side of the brain. I considered journalism for a while too. I think it's because there are so many bad adverts that are so patronising, like the insurance ones. Then there are times when you see something really clever and I think that’s how I would have done it and I would have loved to have been responsible for some of the ideas they come up with.

“I am happiest, though, when I’m in the golf course. We live in Hertfordshire and there is some lovely countryside which surrounds my local course and it’s fantastic.”

And despite being nearly 70, Marty has no intention of hanging up his guitar anytime soon — not for at least another 15 years. So what is his secret?

“I am very health-conscious these days, much more so than years ago. I watch what I eat, keep my carbohydrates low, each plenty of fruit and not too much meat and I exercise. Showbusiness brings its own discipline. If you don’t have discipline you soon don’t have a career, so these days looking after my health is important to carrying on doing what I love.”

l Marty Wilde and The Wildcats, tonight at King George’s Hall, Blackburn. Tickets on 0844 8471664.