THIS is the bare bones of Joe Brown, says the man himself about his new show.

With over two hours of music, chat and magical stories in the show Just Joe, the singer and virtuoso guitarist chronicles his career - from his friendship with Johnny Cash to George Harrison being best man at his wedding.

Joe’s career has seen him go from being a young, solo star (his first major hit was A Picture Of You in 1962) to starring in West End musicals and reinventing himself 20 years ago as a generation-crossing solo act with an impressive band.

And yet this isn’t quite a solo show as the cool Cockney – now 76 and armed with guitars, mandolin, banjo and ukulele – is joined by another sterling name from the music world.

Henry Gross, himself no mean singer, songwriter and guitarist, was founder of the rock ‘n’ roll revival band Sha Na Na who played at the famed Woodstock festival – with Henry the youngest performer there.

“We met in Nashville,” says Joe. “I’ve been going out for years and there was this guy I know in a bar, a real redneck geezer, and he kept pestering Henry, ‘Joe Brown’s in town and he wants to borrow a guitar’ and he eventually he gave in and said ‘Well, send him round,’ and he did lend me a guitar. And that was 30 years ago.”

The result is an entrancing performance that takes in unexpected instrumental gems such as the Harry Lime Theme and Duelling Banjos alongside more conventional songs, even a guitar-picked reinvention of his light-hearted hit Henry VIII.

“When, instead of a band, you just have two instruments it’s amazing how they sparkle,” says Brown.

“Henry’s a great performer and he talked me into doing this. I said ‘You’re kidding, I can’t do that, I play instrumentals and stuff, you can’t just go dinging away on a single guitar, you’ve got to have someone to play with, do harmonies with’, and he said, ‘Well, I’ll come with you’, and that was that.”

Every bit as important as the music is the trail of anecdotes with Joe, as outrageous as the best stand-up comedian. Everyone, from Chas and Dave to Billy Fury, Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin to Dame Anna Neagle, comes into the frame.

Joe was a major star at the time of both Fury and Cliff Richard, and even had the Beatles as his support band. “They had their first big hit at the end of ‘62, and they opened for me at the beginning of ‘62 in Liverpool,” he says. “No one realised back then how big they would be but I could see they were different.” He and George ended up living near each other and were always popping round each other’s houses. “We loved playing the ukulele together,” he says.

Yet Joe’s life hasn’t been without its heartache. As a young guitarist he backed Johnny Cash along with rock ‘n’ roll heroes Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran on pop TV show Boy Meets Girls. In 1962 he’d been due to be touring with Cochran and Vincent, but plans changed when A Picture of You stormed the charts. Their car crashed, killing Cochran and crippling Vincent. “I would have been in that car,” muses Joe. “I miss Eddie, he taught me so much about rock ‘n’ roll.”

Joe Brown, Blackpool Grand, Friday, January 26, details from 01253 290190 and Charter Theatre, Preston, Sunday, February 18, details from 01772 804444