CLASSICAL music may be a far cry from Morris dancing but a world renowned composer brought the two worlds together as a nod to his Thelwall roots.

Stephen Hough, who grew up in All Saints Drive in Thelwall and York Drive in Grappenhall, was invited to compose a Morris tune for Thelwall Morris Men in celebration of his connections to the area.

The 56-year-old is more familiar with Brahms and Schumann than folk dance but he was more than happy to give his time.

David Devereux, from Thelwall Morris Men, said: "When we first contacted Stephen and asked him to write us a Morris tune, we were both surprised and delighted when he responded.

"He needed a little bit of coaching in the structure of a Morris tune. What he provided certainly had the right form, but sounded very unusual against more traditional tunes.

"However, we realised we had something we could create a dance to. One of our musicians provided the harmonies for playing on an accordion and three of the team set about working out how to make a dance that fitted the music."

The finished song and dance have been called Primrose and Blue, named after the colours of the Warrington Wolves.

The Morris Men also got the chance to present the dance to Stephen as he is currently the artist in residence at Liverpool Philharmonic.

Stephen, named by The Economist as one of 20 Living Polymaths and by Classic FM as one of the 25 best pianists of all time, watched the group perform Primrose and Blue over a pint at the nearby Belvedere Arms.

David, who worked for Sellafield in Risley before his retirement, added: "We performed it for him at a pub two minutes from the Liverpool Phil just before one of his own concerts.

"It was certainly a very surreal and nerve-racking performance for all the team as the dance is quite complicated and easy to make mistakes, but we got it right.

"It was a wonderful achievement as it had taken us a year to gradually devise, learn and perfect the dance. We found it very heartening that someone of Stephen's international reputation would take the time to remember his upbringing in Thelwall and in Warrington."

Primrose and Blue is now attracting attention from much further afield.

David, 65, said: "We have now performed the dance several times in public and will certainly be performing it frequently. Most recently we travelled to Helmond in The Netherlands to meet up with about 100 other Morris men.

"The unusual tune and form of the dance often attracts plaudits particularly from other Morris teams.

"We have been asked if we can share the dance, but we have to say that Stephen has asked that the tune is for our use only and we have to respect that. We are very proud to own a dance that combines the history of Morris dancing, which goes back to the 15th century, with a very 21st century tune."

Thelwall Morris Men were formed in 1973 during the folk revival.

David, a member of the group since 1990, added: "Over the years we have learnt more than 100 different dances and routinely perform about 30.

"We also form the core of the Lymm Morris who perform the unique Lymm Dance which is very much in the north west tradition, but also very different to most other north west dances."

It is not the first time Stephen Hough has leant a hand in Warrington. He stood in for a recital at Holy Trinity Church after a last minute cancellation in May 2014.

He also regularly performs in the area and is Culture Warrington's patron despite being in demand all over the world.

Thelwall Morris Men will be performing at Croft Carnival on July 7 and Penketh Carnival on July 14.