Soul Man

Although Roy is perhaps best known for being the second-longest-serving member of legendary group the Drifters, he is very much his own man when it comes to music.

Before joining the band in 1990, he had already enjoyed a successful career with various groups and as a solo artist, and he describes his current projects as a chance to get back to the music he really loves - Atlantic soul.

His hugely popular Dictionary of Soul Show, which brought the wonderful Atlantic sound to Artrix earlier this year, has been running for about nine years, with Roy laying the foundations for the project as he came to the end of his time with the Drifters.

"With the Drifters, we were naturally restricted to performing Drifters songs," he says. "But having my own show allows me to perform some of my favourite music. Real soul, like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, and classic Motown, like the Four Tops and the Temptations."

His desire to celebrate the much-loved songs from the Atlantic, Stax and Motown labels was part of the reason Roy decided to leave the Drifters, with whom he had spent a happy decade touring all over the world and performing at prestigious venues - including the White House, at the personal request of then President Bill Clinton. "No-one can ever take an experience like that away from you," he reflects.

The death of long-serving Drifters frontman Johnny Moore in 1998 was another reason Roy wanted to move on, even though the existing line-up had elected to continue with Roy taking over as lead singer until 2003. "After Johnny and Bill Fredericks, vocalist from 1967-74 and 1981-83, who died shortly after Moore were gone, it didn't feel like the Drifters any more," he comments ruefully. "There were some management issues, and I also wanted to try some new things, so I felt it was the right time to go."

Roy had already released two solo albums to critical acclaim; the title of the first - No Afro, No Sequins, No Flares - is a tongue-in-cheek reminder that this singer has moved on from the 70s stereotype of black singers in matching suits performing cheesy dance routines. His second, All Talked Out, features a variety of music including a version of Drifters classic Like Sister and Brother.

With his solo material and his own show, Roy has very much gone back to his roots - his first band, Roy Gee and the Stax Explosion (as the name suggests) played the hits from the Stax and Atlantic sister labels. "I just love that sound!" he enthuses. "It's much less polished than Motown; the real sound of soul."

Roy says he had a genuine interest in music as a youngster, and while many of his friends "did the church music thing", his first experience as a performer was as the bass player in a friends' band, sometimes joining in with the vocals and showing up the lead singer!

"They eventually asked me to take over as lead vocalist - I don't know whether it was because they thought my singing was good or my bass playing was rubbish!" Roy grins. "It was my first time at the front of the stage, and I haven't looked back since."

By the mid-1970s, Roy already had a solid reputation as a performer, and his talents were in demand, bringing him to the attention of a certain young music producer by the name of Pete Waterman - "Just look at him now!" Roy remarks. The future pop impresario was putting together a new group called the JALN Band, and asked Roy to be the frontman.

"JALN - which stands for Just Another Lonely Night, by the way - was really the first true disco band," Roy points out. "I remember people saying this new music would never catch on...little did they know!"

The Birmingham-based group had several minor hits, including Disco Music, I Like It, and toured internationally, before Roy decided to concentrate on putting together his own show. Accompanied by his old band, he continued to tour, and in 1989 he found himself performing as a support act at the same venue as the Drifters.

"The Drifters' manager, Fay Treadwell, saw me on stage and thought I looked and sounded like a young Ben E King," Roy explains. "She apparently said she had to have me in the band! Afterwards, she bombarded me with phone calls asking me to join the Drifters. I wasn't sure at first, but to cut a long story short, I decided to join - and the rest, as they say, is history!"

The Drifters 'family tree' is somewhat complicated due to the numerous changes of line-up since 1953, and several groups are now in existence featuring former members and using some variation on the Drifters name. "Be aware: there are lots of imitations!" warns Roy. He reveals that he has been asked to tour again with other ex-members, and a new album of covers sung by the group is due soon.

Roy is also working on a solo album, although this is on the back-burner while he tours. Having spent most of his life on the move - first with his family (he was born in Jamaica and later lived in America) and then for his career, which has taken him all over the globe - he now says that England, and particularly the Midlands, is where he calls home.

Following the success of the Dictionary of Soul Show, Roy will be back at Artrix on December 19 with his Motown Christmas Show. "The Motown artists always released Christmas hits or albums, and the show celebrates those," he explains. "It's the same great sound of Motown, but with a festive flavour!"

The show will feature the Prim-ettes, who accompany Roy in the Soul Show, plus the Krystaletts, a girl group he has put together to re-create Phil Spector's unique 'wall of sound'. (For tickets, call 01527 577330 or visit www.artrix.co.uk)

What with his own show and album, the Drifters tour and also a Drifters documentary in the works, Roy says that 2007 will be "a big year - so watch this space!"