WE knew him as Michael Jackson's close friend, for being a reality TV star and for the tabloid headlines during his marriage to Liza Minnelli.

But former bodyguard and friend Imad Handi says he hopes to reveal the real David Gest as the late American producer's spectacular soul concert comes to Preston Guild Hall on Thursday.

The show includes Dina Carroll, Russell Thompkins Jr, the original lead singer of the Stylistics, Deniece Williams and Peabo Bryson.

In a typically tongue-in-cheek move, David had named the tour, 'David Gest is Not Dead but Alive with Soul'.

It was a reference to his time in the Celebrity Big Brother house when rumours were rife that he had died.

With preparations for the soul tour well underway, David died in April but Imad, who was co-producing the show, said there was never a question the tour would be cancelled.

He said "As far as I’m concerned he’s not dead. His soul is coming alive through this show and through music. The title says it all. His soul is still there. It’s not gone away.

"The whole show is going to be a tribute to David Gest.

"It was going to be his last tour. He was going to retire next year and for him this was going to be a very big send off.

"It constantly feels like he’s by my side. When I’ve been making decisions I keep thinking: ‘David would have done it this way’."

All the artists are performers that David handpicked. Many of them he knew personally while others are musicians he admired.

The 62-year-old was close friends with Peabo Bryson and introduced him to his wife. He also used to manage Deniece Williams.

Imad said: "We’ve got Dina Carroll who hasn’t performed in many years and is making a comeback.

"She didn’t know David but told me she felt at ease with him when they spoke. She wanted to be part of his creation."

But Imad also wants the show to be about the man himself.

"We want people to know who the real David was," he added.

"Everybody knew David for I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Big Brother and for Liza Minnelli.

"What we want to do now is pay tribute to David Gest, the man behind the legacy.

"I think the audience will appreciate knowing who he really was as a person and what he was like growing up.

"He was a practical joker. I remember many, many years ago we would all go out in Los Angeles and we went over to the Jackson house.

"He was knocking on the door and they weren’t in so he basically climbed over the wall and broke in.

"He was somebody who wanted to be accepted and wanted to be loved and that’s what we want to bring out."

Imad met David 17 years ago when he became his bodyguard for three years.

The pair soon became good friends and David gradually taught him how to produce shows.

They worked together on the hugely successful Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special in 2001 which reunited Michael Jackson and the Jacksons.

"The thing was with David if you were his bodyguard you were also his producer as he never had a full team of people," Imad said.

"I’ve always been in the background. There was a mutual trust. We ended becoming like brothers."

"David was very kind to people. He was one of those characters that if you had a problem you could call him and he would help you.

"I hope that people will come out and help us pay tribute to his legacy. We just appreciate the fact we had him around for all these years."

David Guest is Dead but Alive with Soul, Preston Guild Hall, Thursday, July 7. Details from 01772 804444.