Paul Young speaks ahead of Birmingham 80s Invasion show

On Sunday, he’ll return to Birmingham with his 80s Invasion Tour, which will also feature legendary pop punk princess Toyah, Liverpool’s finest guitar duo China Crisis and – for the first time performing in the UK in more than 25 years and flying in especially from the USA – Martika. The quartet will line up at the city’s Town Hall.

Paul remains a huge draw. He enjoyed massive, era-defining hits like Wherever I Lay my Hat and Love of the Common People, creating a body of work that has outlived the 1980s.

Being referred to as a 1980s legend is a double-edged sword and there are times when it’s been an annoyance.

“I wasn’t (pleased about that) through the 90s because I felt like that I was still doing creative stuff. I was moving into different styles, so I thought I was still being creative. But now nearly four decades later it doesn’t seem that bad, I have kind of accepted it.” The term hints at an artist immersed in nostalgia. And though Paul is happy to revisit the old classics, he is committed to progress. “It does (hint at that) but I don’t want to be nostalgic, I want to be creative and current.”

Paul’s diary is full. He hops from project to project, tour to tour. And he feels humble that at the age of 61-years-Young he’s still incredibly busy because performing gives him the same thrill he always got.

“If I think about it for a moment, I think it is still that same buzz. Maybe I used to get more of an adrenaline rush as I walked on stage but even now, as the gig goes on then your performance is a part of that buzz, especially in the smaller places. In the larger places it comes in waves, it’s not so instant. I think most people prefer more intimate gigs.

“The big ones are great and there is a thrill about that but I think when you pay your money and you go into a club or even a small theatre and you are up close to what is happening, it is an amazing feeling.”

Not that things always go to plan. There have been gigs where he’s split his trousers and where the power has tripped out and taken 40 minutes to restore. Back in the day it used to be a very energetic show and I used to do this thing where I would put the mic stand down and swing my leg over the top of it and do a spin. This was my first big tour and I had clothes made for me but the designer was very young and had apparently never made clothes for stage before. They really needed to be a bit more robust. So they split! I had to get a roadie to bring me a spare pair of trousers but I had to continue singing without turning my back to the audience. I had to wait until there was a guitar solo, so I could run off, change my trousers and run back.”

Though Paul’s next show will feature solo material, he also visits the region frequently with Los Pacaminos.

“When I came up with the idea of a band that didn’t have to rely on albums to have to tour that was the primary reason for doing it.”

He’s spent 40 years in pop music and is now comfortable with his station. It wasn’t always so, however, and for a while he was uncomfortable with fame. Though he hung out with the likes of David Bowie and Iggy Pop, it took a while to accept that his life was different to other people’s lives.

“I was quite shy of fame. It took some getting used to. It felt like I’d become a new person.”