SKIFFLE king Lonnie Donegan was, according to his wife, "a cheeky chappie and an inspiration to all who knew him."

One of the most successful recording artists of the pre-Beatles era, Lonnie launched the 'skiffle' music movement - which was, arguably, the beginning of pop music as we know it. He had three UK number ones and numerous Top 10 entries in the 1950s and 1960s.

He inspired so many artistes, including Queen's Brian May, Sir Paul McCartney and Elton John, The Who's Roger Daltry.

Sadly, Lonnie's work came to an end when the 71-year-old Glaswegian died from a heart attack, midway through a UK tour in 2002.

And now his life is being celebrated in a special show, 'The Story of Lonnie Donegan', which comes to New Brighton's Floral Pavilion on November 14 as part of a UK tour.

The show features Lonnie's sons, Peter, Anthony and David, as part of the 17-strong cast. There is also original footage of Lonnie and an appearance by his original band.

Unfortunately, Lonnie died before work on the show was completed. But his wife, Sharon, who co-produced the show, told me that her husband would have been very honoured to have a musical tribute.

"Just before he died, we were in Jersey having dinner with our friend, the show's co-producer Leah Bell," she recalled. "At one point during the evening Leah said to Lonnie: 'They should write a show about you Lon. They've done one about Buddy Holly and you had more hits than him'. Lonnie's reply was 'Well, bloody write one then!'"

The reply was typical of Lonnie, says Sharon, who had known him for 30 years, 25 of those as his wife. She recalls those times with great fondness. "He was irreplaceable and a real cheeky chappie - always walking around the house with his guitar and always ready with a smile and a song."

Speaking from Lowestoft, hours before the show's appearance at the Marina Theatre, Sharon told me: "After Lonnie's death, Leah came over to Spain to cheer me up and we talked about writing a musical based on his life. Lonnie had written a small piece on his life story and had been performing this since the early 1980s. So we both thought 'Right, let's do him proud'."

The show has been on tour for a month and has had a positive response. Sharon told me: "After one show, a member of the audience came up to me and commented: 'For two years something has been missing from my life, and you've helped put that back'."

'The Story of Lonnie Donegan' can be seen at the Floral Pavilion on November 14. Tickets are available from the box office on 639-4360.