THERE was a time when OAP pop stars would have been told to hand in their platform shoes and shiny suits to the Oxfam shop.

Not now.

Not when Paul McCartney (72), Mick Jagger (69) and Cliff Richard (72) are still strutting their stuff.

That's why it makes perfect sense to see Glasgow's very own pop legend Christian still wowing fans on stage at the age of 70.

Chris McClure, as he once was, is starring in the revival of Please Stay, the musical comedy set in the sixties, which tells of the heady nights in Glasgow's dance halls.

Chris, who grew up in the south side of Glasgow, fits the role perfectly, not just because his voice is still note-perfect, but because he is the real deal.

Chris was a band singer back in the sixties.

He knows the world well, and still goes a little misty-eyed when he thinks back to the day.

"The show takes me back to the time in 1962-64 when we played six-nights at week at the likes of the Picasso Club in Buchanan Street," he recalls.

"It was four flights up a close, no lift, and we had to humph all the gear. And if it had every gone on fire the 200-odd people in it would have been burnt to death.

"We'd play there from 12.30am until 2am, and it was crazy."

Chris, who lives in Robroyston, has showbiz in his blood.

His mum, Leanorra, was a dancer, one of the Morganettes, at the Pavilion. She taught her son to dance when he was a kid.

Chris never knew his father, an American entertainer called Chris Gill, who would come to the UK and play the lead in shows like Bye Bye Birdy.

When he was 19 Chris joined local group The Fireflies after seeing an ad in the Evening Times for a band looking for a singer.

"I had sung since my days in the Boys' Brigage and I loved music. So I gave it a go," he said.

And he loved it.

"The band did chart songs of the time, Beatles and Stones, but then we switched to the Drifters, Temptations and Sam Cooke music and the reaction was fantastic," he said.

"People were hearing it for the first time. And then when Motown came along, I realised that was my bag."

Chris, who worked during the day as a booking clerk for grocer's shops, didn't make too much money.

"We were getting around £25 a week each, but we had to chip in and buy the van and pay for petrol," he said.

"But it was great. Some nights, the girls were standing ten-deep in front of the band, just adoring the music

"I remember playing the Bellshill YMCA, which was great to play because we would get fed at half time, and the girls would be grabbing at your trousers."

Yet his band, the Section, had to cope with the less loving side of Glasgow dance life.

"One night in Springboig, half way through the set a battle broke out," he said.

"I'd never seen anything like it until this point.

"We stopped playing as punches and tables were being thrown, but were told by the management to keep on singing, otherwise it would all get worse.

"I couldn't have imagined how it could have gotten worse, but I kept on singing anyway.

"It was like a scene from a cowboy movie."

Chris played all the major Glasgow dance halls, the Dennistoun Palais, the Flamingo.

It was only a matter of time when TV came along in the form of producer David Bell, who made a show for STV called Stramash.

Chris joined the likes of Lulu. Tom Jones and Sandy Shaw on the frenetic Monday night live show.

"We even had Paul Simon on," he said.

"It was in the days before he teamed up with Art Garfunkel. He was a nice wee guy and I already knew his music."

The Glasgow singer's career in showbiz was quickly established.

A TV regular, he went on to play the clubs and star in panto.

Outside of the Pavilion shows in which he features regularly, he still performs the Tamla songs, but he has a new act.

"I've had to change," he said.

"I'm no longer the sex symbol, so I've introduced some comedy into the act, where I tell stories about my career. It really works.

"It's about being an all-round entertainer. And I have to say I'm still in demand."

Chris has no plans to retire.

"Not unless the voice and the legs give up," he said. "I still love the music."

Please Stay is a Pavilion classic. It first ran 18 years ago but was last staged 10 years ago.

"The song title alone is fantastic. And it's a very funny show, but with great music and new actors in the cast such as Gary Lamont," he said.

"How can you go wrong?"

Please Stay, the Pavilion, tonight and tomorrow, and next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.