FOR 45 years, the King of British Rock 'n' Roll has been wearing his crown and he looks set to keep hold of it. Because there will never be another 1950s and never be another rock 'n' roll explosion to change the world, spawn the teenager and give birth to a brave new world of pop.

Things have changed since Marty Wilde's career began right in the thick of it all when he was discovered by a record company bigwig at the tender age of 17.

The then Reginald Smith was born in London in 1939, although he moved around to rural areas as a boy when his father, a Sergeant from Sandhurst, was posted to centres for training new war recruits. The family returned to the city at the end of the war and he went to school until he was 15, leaving without qualification to become a messenger boy for a firm of City brokers.

He had learned ukulele when he was young and so, as a teenager, he was able to quickly take up and play the guitar when it enjoyed its upsurge in popularity and new rock 'n' roll bands were starting to appear.

His band, Reg Smith and the Hound Dogs, started to turn heads and then he was offered some solo work in clubs, for the princely sum of £1 a night and a bowl of spaghetti. During this time, he was spotted by Larry Parnes, Tommy Steele's manager who had to track down his new signing who had dashed off to catch the last bus. He went and asked permission from Reg's parents and gave the youngster a contract - Marty Wilde was born and a cv as long as your leg was begun.

"For me, it's something that I can do reasonably well. I grew up with it - it's the music of my time," he said. "I like all kinds of music but I love rock 'n' roll because it was such a revolution when it came out."

Now he is touring with his first solo tour in years and promising a night of nostalgia. He has seen many changes in the entertainment business and since his daughter, Kim, topped the charts in the 1980s. Some changes have been for the good and some for the worse, he said.

He was sorry to see people made into stars with no musical or acting ability at all as well as to see the charts in the grip of profit-led record companies deciding who gets heard.

"I think there's a problem with the whole entertainment industry," he said. "People can go into a show and be studied like they were in a zoo and come out a superstar. I find it extraordinary!"

So Marty prefers to relive less cynical times when young folk became stars because of their talent. His new show he describes as 'a warm overcoat of nostalgia', in which he'll be enveloping audiences in Broadway and Evesham at the weekend.

This will be the first time he has performed a solo tour of theatres for many years and said the current show is one of his best ever. He is being supported by the six-piece 'extraordinarily versatile' Wildcats band which will be playing the first half, while Marty takes to the stage in part two for songs, anecdotes and reminiscences.

He has played in Broadway recently and, a Hertfordshire resident himself, said he was looking forward to coming back to 'a lovely area'.

"It will be an all nostalgia show which deals with music from the mid 50s to early 60s," he said. The show is called Born to Rock 'n' Roll and as well as bringing his experience of a lifetime performing, he will be particularly paying tribute to Billy Fury, who was a friend, and Eddie Cochran, as well as other favourite artists of the time - and his own hits too, of course, like Donna, Teenager in Love and Jezebel.

See Marty Wilde and the Wildcats perform Born to Rock 'n' Roll at The Lifford Hall, Broadway, on Saturday and at Evesham Arts Centre on Sunday. Both shows start at 8pm and tickets, £15, are available from Jelfs Newsagents in Broadway or The Book Centre, Library Arcade, Evesham, or by phoning Dave Smith on 01386 852654.