URI GELLER came early to the world of the paranormal. In fact, he first became aware of his unusual powers when he was five.

One day, during a meal, his spoon curled up in his hand and broke, although he had applied no physical pressure to it. His parents were shocked and Uri did not mention the incident to anyone else.

It was an incident which would change the youngster's life and, after an extraordinary career which has included stints as a paratrooper and a model, Uri Geller is now a household name. He is set to bring his unique talents to the North West with a one-off show, Back from the Jungle, at Burnley Mechanics later this month.

Uri Geller was born in Israel on December 20, 1946 to parents of Hungarian and Austrian descent.

After showing his powers to classmates at school he began to demonstrate his powers of telepathy and psychokinesis to small audiences in the late 1960s and was soon making a name for himself.

In 1972, Uri left Israel for Europe, where he immediately attracted widespread attention. In Germany, witnessed by reporters and photographers, he stopped a cable car in mid-air using only the power of his mind. He then did the same to an escalator in a major department store.

In 1991, he again hit world headlines when he stopped Britain's most famous clock, Big Ben. He repeated this unbelievable feat twice -- three years later and again in May 1997. The clock stopped at 12.11 which is 11.11 GMT. 11.11 is Uri's mystical number.

The Mechanics show is part of a national tour that Uri says he hopes will help change lives for the better through harnessing positivity and spirituality.

He said: "I'm really enjoying the tour and hopefully changing a few lives along the way. It is more of an experience for the audience than a show or performance, although I do remind people what made me famous and invite them to bring spoons for me to bend or broken clocks to fix.

"However, that's not really what the tour is about, it's more about positive thinking and believing in yourself. In my opinion everyone has within themselves untapped energy which they ignore because they are too busy with other things like simply trying to make ends meet.

"If people are able to try to tap into that energy which is all to do with fate, spirituality and optimism, they will be able to be a more positive individual and I know it works because I get thousands of e-mails and letters from people who have turned their lives around."

Uri said he based the theme of the show on his own personal experiences, which have included periods where he has suffered from panic attacks and the eating disorder bulimia.

He said: "I am able to talk about these things with some authority because I have been up and down at different times in my life and didn't know how to handle things but now I can through positive thinking."

As part of the show, the proceeds of which are going to a children's AIDS charity, Uri will auction off a spoon he has bent to the highest bidder, with the money going to a local charity. The highest bidder will also get an invitation to the celebrity's house for coffee.

Most recently the spoon-bender has gained a whole new fan club after appearing on the hit show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" alongside Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Tony Blackburn, among others.

He said the show had given his career a new lease of life and added: "Everyone who appeared on 'Celebrity' has been given a huge boost by it and it has certainly helped me gain recognition with a whole new group of people, especially youngsters who may not have heard much about me before the show. To many children and teenagers I was just some guy called Uri Geller who bends spoons.

Uri Geller will appear at the Burnley Mechanics at 7.30pm on Sunday, March 30. For details call the box office on 01282 664400.