A DARWEN singer is set to do a show in the town with the wife of Motown legend Marvin Gaye after he struck up an unlikely friendship with her.

Last year Paul Stuart Davies uploaded a video of himself singing the 1973 classic Let’s Get It On to social networking sites YouTube and Facebook.

The performance got the attention of Janis Gaye, who met the soul legend in 1973, when she was just 17, and later married him.

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After praising Paul’s rendition of Marvin’s song, Janis and Paul became pals and speak often online and on the phone.

As a result of this, Janis will visit Darwen’s Library Theatre on October 24 for An Evening With Jan Gaye - My life With Marvin, with Paul providing the music.

The evening is billed as ‘an intimate in person account of life married to the legendary soul singer Marvin Gaye’.

Paul, 33, is also the lead singer of the band Soul Train and co-owner of the Elite School of Music in Blackburn Road.

He said: “Jan shared the clip of me singing after we became friends on Facebook. I took it as a fantastic endorsement as she was a key figure in Marvin’s life.

“We’ve had many conversations and I was stunned when Jan suggested that she come to Darwen.

“She’s in the country promoting a book and agreed to be part of the show.

“I will be doing some songs and then there will be a question and answer with her and she will talk about Marvin and his music. I idolise him. He’s definitely one of the greatest musical artists there’s ever been.”

In her book After The Dance, Janis says her relationship developed quickly and she became a ‘muse’ for his songs.

She and Marvin had two children together and were married by the time she was 20. The relationship had difficulties due to drugs and abuse but the couple remained close until he was shot dead by his father in 1984.

Tickets for the Darwen show are now on sale, priced £10.