HOMETOWN girl Barbara Dickson can practically feel the raw energy of the Dunfermline audience a month before she returns home as part of her UK tour.

Along with her band, she will deliver a plethora of both classical and modern material from across pop and folk.

The well-travelled star can reflect on many tales from her time touring the world stage and the vast array of talents she's met. But for Barbara, now 69, there's no place like home.

She told Press:On "It's so exciting to be coming back to perform in Dunfermline as I absolutely love that hall. I remember I did a dancing display as part of a dancing school there when I was about five, so that's a very long time ago now!"

After leaving Scotland for work, she returned in the middle of 2015 and now resides in Edinburgh, with the former Woodmill High School pupil revelling in the short distance to the town she knows so well.

"Because of the proximity of it to Edinburgh, I can come over to Dunfermline as often as I like", she says. "I still have relatives in Dunfermline and I actually went to a school reunion class lunch last week and that was just brilliant. It was lovely to see them again and I've been in touch with a lot of them over the years. Hopefully it'll now be an annual fixture.

"On the way I drove right through Dunfermline, I like taking the long way round, so that I can come through streets I know and recognise from my childhood. It's a very emotional experience for me.

"I have a great affection with the area. I always feel there's a connection between me and the people here, especially of a certain age. I know a lot of younger people won't know who on earth I am but that doesn't matter to me, as that's not my audience. Those who come and see me, in the main, have a great connection to me and it's so lovely. I'm a local girl with an ordinary background that's managed to do something extraordinary. I appreciate Dunfermline for what it taught me and I think the people appreciate me for what I've done. I'm very proud of roots."

After emerging from the Scottish folk revival scene of the 1960s, she started singing in various folk clubs across Fife and would soon go on to enjoy success in both music and acting.

She became the biggest-selling Scottish female album artist of all time, earning six platinum, 11 gold and seven silver records, with instantly-recognisable hits such as Answer Me, Another Suitcase in Another Hall and The Caravan Song, to name but a few from the '70s and '80s.

In 1985, her single, I Know Him So Well, recorded with Elaine Page and taken from the critically-acclaimed musical Chess, was released. The single reached number one in the UK charts and soon became a top-10 hit around the world, eventually selling more than 900,000 copies.

As an actress, she also appeared in the award-winning theatre productions, John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert, Blood Brothers and Spend, Spend, Spend. 

She was also the original Mrs Johnstone and dramatist Willy Russell’s muse.

Not content with living off her past works, she ventured into the recording studio once again to produce an accompanying EP for her tour, entitled 'Five Songs'.

She promises that her fans will not be disappointed with her new material and admits she will never be one for resting on her laurels.

She stated proudly: "I don't live in the nostalgia world. I don't just play old songs. That's not my way. I was a musician as a young person and I move on all the time. The new EP will come out in time for the tour and it will have all very different songs. There's a cross-section of material on there and that gives you an idea of what I'll be singing on the night.
"I'm a creative person. I play instruments, I write and arrange my music, and I really am going forward all the time. I think I would struggle if I was only singing and playing old material from the '70s, '80s and '90s. I wouldn't enjoy that very much. The lovely thing about me is that I create music and make new work which I think the audience will like. It's a creative experience for the audience as listeners as well."

Away from touring, her time is now shared between her family and embracing the culture around her whether that's in the form of theatre shows or visiting local art galleries and exhibitions.

"I'm plugged into things to see in Edinburgh. It's a great city for me to live in as everything is nearby and that lets me visit The Queen's Hall and The Usher Hall to listen to some great live music. My brother is a fine artist so I've been heavily involved in art through him as he's actually a sculptor in Canada.

"The cultural aspect of Scotland is lovely, in general, as well. I still have old friends here from way back in the '60s that I love seeing and obviously I like to support them and stay a part of their world as well. I keep in touch with a lot of my friends from the original folk scene like Billy Connolly, Rab Noakes and Archie Fisher, who I know very well, too. I like to keep busy."

In Dunfermline, Fire Station Creative was singled out for praise, in particular, by Barbara, and she wishes the town had more venues of the same nature.

She said: "I absolutely love it. I'm very closely associated with it as well. Ian Moir, who runs it, keeps in touch with myself and my brother and I've met some of the artists who create work there and I just feel it was a really good idea for that building. 

"One of my main criticisms of Dunfermline now is that there's not enough middle. With Fire Station Creative, there's now something beautiful right in the heart of the town for everyone to enjoy. My beloved Dunfermline thrives when it has stuff like that. 

"Dunfermline really has a great history and it needs places like that to keep it going. It has a noble and industrial past but it's ancient past is so unique. You perhaps wouldn't think so as people drive past it all the time. Apart from St Andrews, it's the most important place in Fife. Ecclesiastically as well, it's very important with the Abbey. I love the Abbey as it's where I was baptised and where my parents were married as well. I have a very personal connection with the place."

After a musical odyssey of 40 years creating music, playing guitar and piano, acting and songwriting, this tour is a culmination of her journey thus far.

Her Dunfermline return starts at 7.30pm and tickets cost £32 and can be bought online at: www.onfife.com or alternatively by calling 01383 602302.