MARI WILSON comes to Havant later this month armed with a jukebox of greats from all eras of early pop.

The pop singer rose to prominence in the Eighties with her sixties influenced Jazz style.

Now she is touring England with a new show; Ready Steady Girls, meant as an homage to all her idols of the 60’s.

Among these are such names as Cilla Black and Dusty Springfield, the latter of whom Mari portrayed in the 2000 musical of the same name.

This year’s tour comes hot off the heels of a string of tribute shows Ms Wilson performed last year in tribute to Springfield.

It was the popularity of those shows which inspired a friend to suggest that she adapt more songs from the same period into a style more in line with her own.

“I’m not an impersonator,” insists Mari, citing the popularity of her work among a vast and varied audience which is comprised of older fans of 60’s pop with a number of enthusiastic youngsters.

But these are not just cover songs as one might think of them, rather they are adaptations, infused with a personal style.

“I don’t sing like Dusty or Cilla,” says Ms Wilson, even though they are among her chief influences, the new tour draws influence from more eclectic sources, such as the electronic new wave band, The Human League.

“I’m a story-teller,” she adds, when she talks about the feeling of being on-stage, which involves her speaking about the artist in question.

“But I never follow a script,” she laughs.

Mari is very close to her audience. Even though the tour is in its infancy, she describes the mood on smaller stages as “intimate”.

She goes on to say that a key part in her production is relying on audience feedback, deciding how exactly all the itinerant items fit together to form a harmonious whole.

She adds “without an audience, it’s hard to find that place.”

When asked which side if the production she preferred, producing or gigging, she professed a genuine love for both, going on to say that she would love to produce for another artist.

But she finds the stage a much more reliable platform, saying “I’m always gigging, it’s what has allowed me to actually make a career.”

When asked about the future after the tour, which she plans to take into the New Year, she hinted at the possibility of a new original album.

She said “for all that I am a Jazz singer and a lot of what I do is influenced by Jazz, I’ve never done a Jazz album, so that’s possibility. [laughs] Hopefully that’s something people would respond well to.”

Mari Wilson will be playing at the Spring Arts Centre on Friday June 5, and again at the Concorde Club in Southampton on October 16. Her new album is set to release sometime in September.

Tickets for her show are available from the Box Office: 0239 247 2700. Or for more information visit; www.thespring.co.uk

Frank Law