NEIL Diamond may have announced that he is to stop touring but fans can still enjoy an authentic celebration of the man and his music with a show which is heading to Blackburn on Sunday.

Hello Again - the Story of Neil Diamond features The Salvation Band playing live behind singer Brooklyn Creed to bring the music the American superstar to life.

As well as running through hits including Crackling Rose, Sweet Caroline and Love on the Rocks, the show also features images and video footage from Neil Diamond’s career.

“I really don’t like the term tribute,” said Brooklyn, “our show is a celebration of those great songs. The band are fantastic and we try to get as close to the original songs as we possibly can - that’s the thing fans comment on most after the shows.”

In a career spanning well over 50 years Neil Diamond has sold a staggering 125 million records around the world, beginning as an in-house songwriter in the legendary Brill Building in New York.

His distinctive vocal style means it would be very easy for would-be copyists to miss the mark but Brooklyn does sound remarkably like the man himself.

“People always said that I sounded like Neil Diamond when I was singing on my own,” he said. “A few even said that I should do a Neil Diamond tribute but I just never fancied going round the pubs and clubs like that. I think it’s OK if you’re doing an artists where you bring in a little humour but with Neil diamond it’s all about the songs and you have to treat them with the utmost respect.

“It was only when I got this great band around me and it became clear that theatres wanted to book us that the show became a reality. It allows me to be me, I’m not Neil Diamond and I’m not trying to do an impression.”

A fine guitarist in his own right, Brooklyn is rightly proud of the Salvation Band whose members have played with the likes of the Spice Girls, Take That, the Drifters and Kylie.

Given how long Neil Diamond has been writing and performing, the hardest part about putting the show together has been to decide what to put on the set list.

“There are just so many great songs,” said Brooklyn. “We have been doing this show now for seven or eight months and we’re looking at what we might bring in next year,” he said. “We have already got around 160 dates lined up, a lot of them at theatres we have already played at so we want to bring something new to the audiences.

“But there are certain songs that you can’t leave out.

“We have just done a few shows in Belgium and we did three songs from Neil’s Jonathan Livingstone Seagull album which apparently was a massive hit there and they absolutely loved it. I don’t think you’d get the same reaction here in the UK.

“But that’s the great thing about being part of this show. The audience are just so appreciative and create this amazing atmosphere for us to perform those great songs.”

Hello Again - the Story of Neil Diamond, Empire Theatre, Blackburn, Sunday, April 15. Details from 01254 685500