Fans who were lucky enough to see Alex Harvey at the height of his powers still talk about his mesmerising stage presence at venues such as the Apollo in Renfield Street.

It's been 30 years since Alex died ... but the hugely talented rocker lives on.

Alex, who fronted the Sensational Alex Harvey Band for five years before his untimely death in 1982, will be the focus of a special weekend at the People's Palace.

Tomorrow, the band's surviving members, together with Harvey's son, Alex jnr, will gather at the venue to talk about their memories of Alex in front of an audience of fans.

A silver birch tree will be planted in the singer's name.

Both tomorrow and on Sunday, fans will be invited to show off SAHB memorabilia and can watch a selection of Harvey performances on film.

The weekend also marks the opening of a People's Palace display of costume, memorabilia and photographs which have been loaned by Harvey's family, friends and fans.

The display will remain open for several weeks.

Sunday would have been Alex's 77th birthday. He was born in Govan Road in 1935, and his family moved soon afterwards to Thistle Street in the city's Gorbals.

In 1957 he won a national talent show and formed a group, the Kansas City Counts, with runners-up Sydney Devine and guitarist Joe Moretti, touring the country.

He spent five years as a guitarist in the pit band for highly popular musical, Hair, and in 1972 he met Zal Cleminson, Chris Glen and cousins Ted and Hugh McKenna, who were in a progressive rock band called Tear Gas.

The band found a new lease of life when the charismatic Harvey became their singer and they rechristened themselves the Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

Over the next few years they made eight successful albums and two hit singles - a spoof of the Tom Jones song Delilah, and Boston Tea Party. Their larger-than-life shows drew big crowds, and their shows at the Apollo are seen as some of the most memorable ever to have been staged there.

SAHB toured heavily, supporting acts as diverse as The Who and Jethro Tull, and even topped the bill at the Reading Festival.

Harvey and the band parted company in 1977, though they were reunited for a final album, Rock Drill, in 1978. Towards the end of his life Harvey toured with the New Alex Harvey Band. He died on his way home from his last tour on February 4, 1982, a day before his 47th birthday.

Chris Glen, SAHB's bass player, said: "Tear Gas had supported Alex in London, and our manager, Edie Tobin, had been talking to Alex' manager, Bill Fehilly. The upshot was that we all got together.

"Alex was 16 years older than me. I remember him walking into this cafe in Glasgow, his guitar over his back.

"We went to a wee studio round the corner and got set up and played a song called Midnight Moses. That was it. Alex had our songs and we just put our own thing into it."

Part of SAHB's appeal was the different outfits worn by the musicians.

Chris said: "Many bands at that time had a uniform, like the Bay City Rollers, but Alex's idea was that we would all appeal to different people in the audience.

"The personalities we were offstage would go onstage. Zal, the guitarist, would be the clown. I did the punk thing, Alex was the pirate character.

"I remember the Rev D Wayne Love, who's from Possil and is in Alabama 3, coming to see us at the Apollo when we supported Mott the Hoople.

"He was a massive Mott fan - but he switched allegiances once he saw us play.

"We sold out the Apollo for three consecutive nights, and on the second night I went in and asked if our fans had caused any damage as they'd gone berserk during our gig.

"The manager said, 'Aye, the first two rows'. I said, ' Damaged?' and he said, 'No - disappeared!' The Apollo was a cinema and these were cast-iron seats, bolted into the floor, but people were taking them away as souvenirs."

Chris, whose long career has seen him play alongside everyone from Ian Gillan, Jeff Beck, Maggie Bell, Frankie Miller and the late John Martyn, has fond memories of his time with Alex and the rest of SAHB.

Even now, they remain cult heroes for a new generation who can watch old footage on YouTube.

Like everyone else, he can scarcely believe Harvey has been gone since 1982.

He said the star's death "hit me like an iron ball".

"I can't believe it's been all of 30 years ago."

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THE 30th anniversary of Alex Harvey's death is also marked by a special photobook on sale from tomorrow.

Alex Harvey: Last of the Teenage Idols, by Janet Macoska, photographer and a friend of Harvey's, is edited by Martin Kielty, a former SAHB manager. The book, available for private order for £45, has already been added to the permanent collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. For a copy, visit www.alexharveybook.com