AN entertainer who was taught to strum the ukulele by George Formby will make one of his last stage appearances at Darwen Library Theatre next week. He spoke to PAULINE HAWKINS about his career in showbusiness.

FOUR years ago, on his 65th birthday, Al Jolson impersonator Steve King went to see his doctor.

He explained that he had gone, not with an ailment, but to say thank you to the doctor for helping him reach 65.

"We in showbusiness get a round of applause for what we do, but you doctors probably get nothing but an awful lot of aggravation," Steve told his astonished GP.

He asked his doctor to go with him to the waiting room, where patients sat quietly awaiting their turn.

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Steve, as they all looked up. "We have been taking doctors and nurses for granted and maybe we would not be here now if it wasn't for them. So how about a big round of applause?"

They obliged, and Steve was laughingly called a "silly devil" by his wife. But over the decades Steve has known how good it feels to be on the receiving end of thunderous rounds of applause.

As a comedian and entertainer Steve has played in Las Vegas, been praised by Frank Sinatra, topped the bill at the London Palladium and been asked for his autograph by Dame Anna Neagle.

Now aged 69, he has decided that all good things must come to an end and his afternoon gig at Darwen Library Theatre on Thursday will herald the final curtain call of a man who has brought entertainment to thousands.

Born Barrie Wilson, in Hull, he was the son of an engineer who wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer. But before her marriage his mum, Gladys Howes, was a dancer whose stage name was Pat Howes and Barrie later changed his name to Steve (after visiting a place called Kirkby Stephen) and King (after his home town of Kingston-upon-Hull). A short name would ensure larger letters on the billing, he was told.

During the war, Steve's family ran a theatrical guest house where artistes would stay while performing in Hull. One of them was George Formby and Steve was encouraged to call the star and his wife Beryl -- nee Ingham, who hailed from Darwen -- Uncle George and Auntie Beryl.

Entertainment and the theatre was in Steve's blood and at the age of 14 he became a trainee projectionist. Hull was a hotbed of talent in the 1950s and Steve counted singers Ronnie Hilton and David Whitfield as well as comedian Norman Collier among his friends. Although Ronnie and David have since died, he is still good friends with Norman.

Steve later joined a concert party and supplemented his income by playing working men's clubs. He was "discovered" by talent-spotting presenter Carroll Levis and toured theatres and clubs with his act which was part comedy, part ukulele playing and part singing. He began to sing in the style of Al Jolson after being told he sounded like the legendary singer.

In 1972 Steve landed a job on a cruise ship when Tessie O'Shea, who also played the ukulele, couldn't make the trip. The American audience enjoyed his ukulele playing and his singing, but couldn't understand his "Northern gags". Faced with the fear that he could "die" on stage every night, he switched to extra songs.

"I finished off by doing a Jolson number and at the end of it the audience stood up and went berserk," he recalled.

The following night an agent approached him and asked if he would be willing to work in America, and the following year he spent 12 weeks there -- in Las Vegas, Miami and Santa Monica. At the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, he met Frank Sinatra who praised his impersonation of Jolson, although the Rat Pack member was less than complimentary about Jolson as a person.

Steve expects to be "blacking up" for his appearance at Darwen Library Theatre, where he has played before, although some councils and individuals view it as politically incorrect. But he recalls the days when he starred with the Ink Spots, a black American vocal harmony group, and appeared with a black face. "They didn't bother," he said. "They used to watch me washing it off, laugh and say, 'what a messy job. We don't have that problem!'

"Jolson hated blacking up but in those days it was the thing for minstrels to black up because cotton pickers were supposed to be always singing, always happy."

Now Steve, who spent 10 years researching a book on Arthur Lucan, who played Old Mother Riley -- he was with Lucan when he died -- is writing his own life story and enjoying the luxury of being at home in Thornton Cleveleys, near Blackpool.

"I have other interests, my own cinema and model railways. I hardly ever saw home before," he said.

He will wind down his career with a show in Harrogate later this year and another at the Derby Arms, Longridge, on Sunday, December 8, with another old friend, Roy Chappell, in the Al and Bing Show.

Steve King will play at Darwen Library Theatre on Thursday, August 29, at 2pm. Contact the box office on 01254 706006 for more information.