FIFTIES singer Wee Willie Harris is alive and well and appearing in Bournemouth next week.

One of the original stars of BBC TV's Six Five Special, Willie has the distinction of having dyed his hair pink to appear on a black-and-white TV show. Now almost 68, Wee Willie has never stopped rocking.

"I love singing rock and I'll do it 'til I drop," he says.

"My missus is always telling me I'm going to have a bleedin' 'eart attack one of these days, and if it happens on stage that's probably the best way to go!"

Willie appears in Raised on Rock at the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth, on Thursday next week and at Weymouth's Pavilion Theatre the following day. "It's all about the true Rock and Roll era," says Willie.

"It opens with Vince Eager telling the story of Six Five Special and covers the 2I's Coffee Bar, Oh Boy and Drumbeat.

"Vince tells his life story and the music features Elvis, Marty Wilde, Eddie Cochran and all the other greats.

"Big Jim Sullivan, one of Marty's original Wildcats, plays guitar, and I come on as a guest, singing eight or nine songs.

"There's loads of rock and skiffle in the show, which also features the Reunion Corsairs and a tribute to Gene Vincent, with whom I toured years ago."

The twenty-odd date tour continues Willie's busy schedule. He plays as many gigs as he's offered, and last year alternated between Brighton and Margate for a twice-a-week summer season.

He's also been busy in the recording studio with a CD on Fury Records, Twenty Reasons To Be Cheerful, a rock album dedicated to fellow Gene Vincent admirer, the late Ian Dury, who featured Willie in the lyrics to Reasons To Be Cheerful Part 3.

He's also got another album of more bluesy material coming out with the Alabama Slammers, and can be seen on TV during the summer in a documentary about Six Five Special. Not bad going for someone who never actually had a hit record.