HE wrote the pop classic Wild Thing and now the legendary Chip Taylor will be performing a gig at The Lantern Theatre, Romsey on Monday June 1.

Born James Wesley Voight and hailing from Yonkers, New York, Chip comes from a family of ‘over-achievers’ – his eldest brother Barry Voight is a world-famous geologist and middle brother Jon Voight is the renowned film actor, and the father of Angelina Jolie.

Chip is best known for two of his compositions, ‘Wild Thing,’ a huge hit for The Troggs of course, and also recorded by Jimi Hendrix, and ‘Angel Of The Morning,’ recorded by P P Arnold, Merrilee Rush, Evie Sands and Juice Newton, for whom it was a million-seller.

In addition Chip has had songs recorded by Aretha Franklin, The Hollies, Janis Joplin, Cliff Richard, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Dusty Springfield and a host of artists in the country field of music, including Bobby Bare, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Vernon Oxford, to name but a few.

In the mid-seventies Chip gave up the musical business for a career in gambling, specialising in Black Jack ( and getting banned from several casinos) and Horse Racing, but in the nineties he returned to music, and has since released well over a dozen albums, some as duets with Austin, Texas fiddle player Carrie Rodriguez.

Tickets for Chip’s concert at The Lantern Theatre, attached to Mountbatten School in Whitenap, Romsey, are £12/£10 (concessions) and can be booked through Hundred Records, located at 47 The Hundred, Romsey, telephone number 01794-518655, e-mail address mark@hundredrecords.com.