EIGHTIES heart-throb Jason Donovan has gone back to his roots for a solo tour of his debut multi-Platinum 1989 album ‘Ten Good Reasons’ and ‘Greatest Hits’ and plays Southampton 02 Guildhall on Saturday ( May 7).

Ten Good Reasons became the biggest selling album of 1989 and remains a massive fan favourite with two solo No.1 singles "Too Many Broken Hearts" and "Sealed with a Kiss”. It also featured a duet with Kylie Minogue, "Especially for You", which reached No.1.

This is the first time Jason has toured as a solo artist for six years and the first time he has ever toured the ‘Ten Good Reasons’ album.

Pop star, actor and a musical lead for several decades now, eighties icon Jason Donovan shot to superstardom as the blue-eyed, blonde-haired heartthrob in the Aussie soap Neighbours in the late 1980s.

Described by the Guinness Book Of Hit Singles as "the top teen idol of the late 1980s", Jason Donovan was signed to theStock Aitken Waterman production team and Pete Waterman's label PWL. His pop career took off with debut single ‘Nothing Can Divide’ us in 1988. His follow-up 1988 duet with Kylie, ‘Especially For You’, topped the UK charts and was the first of four No. 1 singles for Donovan.

Talking about re-living ‘Ten Good Reasons’ and playing his Greatest Hits to an audience Jason said:

“You know, I've never played some of these songs live ever before! Music has a wonderful opportunity to put you in a time and place, an emotional connection that no other creative medium can. Ten Good Reasons was a defining moment for me and my fans. It was the perfect marriage between music and personality. I was 21 at the time ... Wow !

The opportunity to work with Stock Aitken and Waterman, who were the hottest producers at the time, was a dream come true for me. I was a big fan of Rick Astley’s album and absolutely loved Never Gonna Give You Up and couldn't believe my luck when working with SAW became a reality. The melodies, the production, the whole package was like a first class ride.

Hearing the completed versions of ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’ and ‘Especially For You’ in particular, were moments in my professional life that I will never forget, the door was wide open and I was at the centre of this incredible moment in time. You just knew that something magical was happening. It was very exciting. Only when I realise now that these are distant memories, do I appreciate how lucky I was. The great thing about this tour is, I can re-live those feelings and share it with the fans who were there with me. They will have their own stories of firsts and growing up too.”

'Too Many Broken Hearts' would stay at the top for two weeks and was the first of four solo No. 1s for Jason. Jason said;

“Too Many Broken Hearts changed my life. To this very day every time I play that song live the entire audience goes nuts! It's classic SAW but sincerely written with me in mind. I think it's my signature tune. I’m sure for many people it signifies that emotional connection with a particular time in their lives. It does for me!”

Jason followed up ‘Too Many Broken Hearts’ with another chart-topper – ‘Sealed With A Kiss’ which went straight in at Number 1 in June.

A star of stage and screen, Jason has performed on the musical theatre stage across the globe in shows ranging from The Rocky Horror Show to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sweeney Todd to Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

He also presents an All 80s radio show on Heart every Sunday, and has played the celebrity game in I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing. Last year he toured the UK in The King’s Speech and rejoined the cast of Priscilla for a limited run.

He added: “Whether it's theatre or touring I've always placed a high importance on giving my fans a great live show! I'm looking forward to bringing all the pieces together and creating a show that gives personality, some great memories and most importantly, giving the audience exactly what they want to hear."