FOR Elkie Brooks, her latest tour which sees her play King George's Hall in Blackburn on Tuesday, is very much a family affair.

As she crosses the country promoting Shangri-la, her first new release in six years, Elkie will be supported by her husband who will be operating the mixing desk and youngest son Joey who is part of the lighting crew.

When you add into the equation that her elder son Jay and his wife Joanne act as Elkie's management team, you can soon see that this is indeed a family business.

"From a young age my boys have always been on the road with me," said Elkie, who for over 20 years has been one of Britain's leading female vocalists. "When possible we have always travelled as a family.

"It's nice to have them around. They know the ropes and believe me they work harder than anyone. They have been working in the studio til all hours."

The current tour, which takes in 23 dates nationwide, will delight the legions of Elkie Brooks' fans.

She promises that her show in Blackburn will be very different from any other. Backed by a six-piece band, including two drummers and a percussionist it promises to be a night to remember.

And for the first time in 20 years fans will be able to see Elkie play the piano live on stage.

"I play for a couple of songs, one of them the Last Goodnight is something I wrote about 25 years ago. I just played it one day as a one off and Jay persuaded me to introduce it into the show and it works really well," she said.

"It takes hours of work to get the show together and we will be giving some of the older songs a very new, modern sound.

"We've done some splendid shows so far and the audiences have received the material we've been doing very well. I'm hoping we will get the same reaction when we come to Blackburn."

Fans of music history may care to pay attention to the Fender Rhodes piano which Elkie will be playing on tour - it once belonged to Stevie Wonder.

As well as songs from her new album, fans can look forward to hearing some of Elkie's most famous songs including the hits Fool If You Think It's Over, Lilac Wine and, of course, Pearl's A Singer.

But doesn't she ever tire of performing these songs after all these years?

"I suppose if the band wasn't as good as it is I perhaps would get fed up," she says honestly. "But we have got such a good sound and such rhythm it all works really well.

"So far on this tour we have been having a bit of a party on stage. I haven't got perfect eyesight so I can't really see, but my husband tells me that the audiences are really getting into it too."

Elkie will be supported in Blackburn by singer-songwriter Ian Irvine whom she d describes as being "extremely talented".

With over a dozen hit singles and 16 albums to her name Elkie Brooks is definitely the main attraction and fans can rest assured that when she comes to Blackburn on Tuesday, she won't disappoint.

Tickets for Elkie Brooks at King George's Hall, Blackburn on Tuesday are available from the box office priced £17.50, Contact 01254 582582.