GUITARIST and The Daintees frontman Martin Stephenson will be bringing his low-key and likeable vibe to Warrington later this month for an intimate gig at the Pyramid Arts Centre.

Now aged 57, the singer songwriter has enjoyed more than 35 years in the music industry, having released 40 albums since his band's debut offering, Boat to Bolivia in 1986.

But despite his success, Durham-born Martin has always resisted the fame that threatened to follow his career.

In fact, his first love lay with table tennis – a sport that taught him much more than how to pick up a racket and play.

"I was a typical council house kid, working class, no self-esteem and I looked really young for my age as well," recalls the dad-of-two, who now resides in the Scottish Highlands.

"But I started to learn table tennis when I was 11 and it came really easy to me, and I had a great teacher. My coach was very different, he was like a 60s hippie. He would be the same age as one of The Beatles, you know, he had that vibe about him.

"And from the age of 11 he taught me everything about life through table tennis. He also taught me how to teach, how to encourage others, so he was like a spiritual teacher really.

"But what I learnt from him, as well as table tennis, was that he had an amazing record collection and I got a massive grasp of music from early on. I was into Frank Zappa, soul music, old blues, so by the age of 15 I'd had a huge apprenticeship and I hadn't realised it – a spiritual apprenticeship."

So as Martin approached his late teens, and his table tennis career ended, his love of music set in.

"Punk happened in Britain, and it was like a movement. If you were 15 during the punk movement, it was like the French Impressionist movement in art, it was huge," he said.

"It was in Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester and you were either a punk or you weren't. Certain people like Echo and the Bunnymen and Tears For Fears, we all came out of punk – We were all reborn in 1977.

"And that's what gave me the confidence to play music from that point on, I grew out of the punk era."

The guitarist went from performing in punk bands in pubs, which Martin recalls made him into 'a bit of rebel', to busking.

His sound began to evolve as he drew on influences from blues, learning different styles on his guitar and eventually moving into songwriting.

"That's how you learn to perform because there's no controlled audience," said Martin, as he recalls the days he would perform on street corners around the north east.

"There's certain people who can play to strangers and connect with them instantly and that's a whole other level, and I learnt that through busking. Nobody knows you."

And for Martin, this notion of 'being normal' is something he has always worked hard to preserve.

He said: "When I was in my early 20s I got signed to some major labels and they were trying to make us a popstar, but it was of no interest to us whatsoever. I didn't want to be famous.

"I had no interest in people that don't know you, thinking that they do.

"If people want to be famous, be my guest but I always worked against that from early on.

"I'd rather play an arts centre and walk into the bar and have a chat with everyone going to the gig rather than being surrounded by adoring fans - I hate all that.

"The objective is to sustain ourselves on a subtle level and leave a trail of smiles rather than a trail of tears. And to pass on a smile.

"If you can travel round and make someone happy with a little bit of music, it's all good. I just want to be normal. It's that simple."

Martin Stephenson will perform at the Pyramid Arts Centre on Friday, August 31 from 7.30pm.

Tickets are priced £14 and are available from pyramidparrhall.com or by calling box office 442345.