WE knew him as Michael Jackson's close friend, for being a reality TV star and for the tabloid headlines during his marriage to Liza Minnelli.

But Imad Handi says he hopes to reveal the real David Gest when he carries on the late American producer's concert in Warrington in his memory.

David was set to bring a host of stars to the Parr Hall on Friday, July 8.

The 10 acts include Dina Carroll, Russell Thompkins Jr, who was the original lead singer of the Stylistics, Deniece Williams and Peabo Bryson who is well known for his work on Disney soundtracks.

In a typically tongue-in-cheek move, David named the tour, 'David Gest is Not Dead but Alive with Soul'.

It was a reference to his time in the Celebrity Big Brother house when David was thought to be dead when a misunderstanding got out of hand on the reality show when news of David Bowie's death broke.

But in a strange twist, David then died less than three months after leaving the Big Brother house.

"His original plan was to jump out of a coffin and I said: 'David you’re jinxing yourself now'," said Imad, David's best friend, producer and former bodyguard.

"In a way it’s like he wrote his own fate. It’s very, very strange.

"But as far as I’m concerned he’s not dead. His soul is coming alive through this show and through music. The title says it all. His soul is still there. It’s not gone away."

Imad told Weekend he decided to go ahead with the tour as David wanted it to continue come what may.

"The whole show is going to be a tribute to David Gest," he added.

"It was going to be his last tour. He was going to retire next year and for him this was going to be a very big send off.

"It constantly feels like he’s by my side. When I’ve been making decisions I keep thinking: ‘David would have done it this way’."

All the artists are performers that David, whose ashes were scattered in York, has handpicked. Many of them he knew personally while others are musicians he admired.

The 62-year-old was close friends with Peabo Bryson and introduced him to his wife. He also used to manage Deniece Williams.

Imad said: "We’ve got Dina Carroll who hasn’t performed in many years and is making a comeback.

"She didn’t know David but told me she felt at ease with him when they spoke. She wanted to be part of his creation."

But Imad also wants the show to be about the man himself.

"We want people to know who the real David was," he added.

"Everybody knew David for I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Big Brother and for Liza Minnelli.

"What we want to do now is pay tribute to David Gest, the man behind the legacy.

"I think the audience will appreciate knowing who he really was as a person and what he was like growing up.

"He was a practical joker. I remember many, many years ago we would all go out in Los Angeles and we went over to the Jackson house.

"He was knocking on the door and they weren’t in so he basically climbed over the wall and broke in.

"I remember Katherine Jackson saying: ‘David, you’ve been doing that since you were a kid’.

"When we were in a packed lift together he would often go: ‘Imad, did the doctors say that you’re contagious and that anyone could get your disease?’

"People would just start edging away from us.

"We also had our own language. It was mixture between Arabic and Hebrew.

"We would have the greatest conversations in front of people. It was gibberish but people actually thought we were having an argument.

"He was somebody that wanted to be accepted and wanted to be loved and that’s what we want to bring out."

Imad met David 17 years ago when he became his bodyguard for three years.

The pair soon became good friends and David gradually taught him how to produce shows.

They worked together on the hugely successful Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special in 2001 which reunited Michael Jackson and the Jacksons.

"The thing was with David if you were his bodyguard you were also his producer as he never had a full team of people," Imad said.

"I’ve always been in the background. There was a mutual trust. We ended becoming like brothers."

Imad said that David's proudest moment was producing and presenting the Michael Jackson special.

He added: "It was a huge success and it was something he always used to boast about.

"He was also hugely proud of the fact that he had raised more than $30million for charity over 40 years.

"David was very kind to people. He was one of those characters that if you had a problem you could call him and he would help you."

One of those he helped was Millvina Dean, who was the last survivor of the Titanic before her death in 2009, aged 97.

David came to her aide in 2008 when she was being forced to sell her mementoes of the liner to pay for nursing home fees.

Imad said: "I remember David drove over to the care home and wrote her a cheque to help her.

"He didn’t want her to sell her memorabilia. He said: ‘That’s your memories. Don’t sell them’.

"I hope that people will come out and help us pay tribute to his legacy. We just appreciate the fact we had him around for all these years."

- The David Gest is Not Dead but Alive with Soul Tour comes to Parr Hall on Friday, July 8.

Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345 for a range of ticket options. VIP meet-and-greet packages are also available

DAVID MORGAN