THE first Wilde man of pop may be only two years away from drawing his state pension but he's still rocking all over the UK.

And, to prove it, Marty Wilde -- born Reginald Smith in 1939 -- will bring his Wildcats and his Born to Rock 'n' Roll show to Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre later this month.

Marty was one of the pioneers of British rock back in the Brylcreem-and-quiff days of the late '50s, when he hit the nation's black-and-white TV screens with the likes of Cliff Richard and Billy Fury on the legendary Oh Boy! show.

Saturday nights were never the same again.

"It was a sensational time," Marty recalled. "The '50s were some of the most formative years in our history -- and the most exciting for me.

"When rock'n'roll arrived from America it brought a whole new pop culture with it."

And he took full advantage, clocking up 13 consecutive hit records between 1958 and 1962, including Endless Sleep, Donna, Teenager In Love and Bad Boy.

The rangy rocker had burst on to the scene in Six-Five Special -- alongside Pete Murray and the long-forgoten Don Lang and the Frantic Five -- before he won the job of hosting Oh Boy! and the follow-up Boy Meets Girl.

And boy did meet girl when Marty and Joyce Smith of the Vernon Girls -- a sort of a pre-Pan's People fantasy for '50s male adolescents -- romanced and married to the delight of the tabloids. One of their children, of course, found her own niche in pop history as the sultry Kim Wilde.

Marty said: "With so much going on in the '50s there was always going to be a change in the style of music we listened to, and we got new sounds and rhythms from America that shaped the music for generations to come.

"Who knows, rock'n'roll may have been the most important musical influence ever."

The early '60s marked another dramatic change on the music scene with the advent of the melodic Beatles and the dangerous Rolling Stones. Like many of his contemporaries, Marty responded by re-inventing himself on the club circuit.

"I wasn't just content with performing, though, and I started writing," Marty said.

The results were prodigious -- and Ice In The Sun for Status Quo, I'm A Tiger for Lulu, Jesamine for the Casuals were just three of the hits he penned. Much later he co-wrote his daughter's Kim's massive breakthrough hit Kids In America with his son Ricky.

Marty remained a big attraction in the clubs and in 1981 was invited to appear on the Royal Command Performance, 22 years after his first royal show.

Now, the 63-year-old is heading for East Lancashire. "I like to do as many live dates as possible," he said.

"I still love performing."

Marty Wilde and the Wildcats will appear at Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre on Friday, November 29. Telephone 01254 388111 for details.