Joe Longthorne has battled through bankruptcy and cancer to tell the tale and still sing for his supper. Maybe it is a miracle he is still here: in 2005, he underwent a bone marrow transplant in a last-ditch attempt to save his life that instead very nearly killed him.

“I can remember lying on a block of ice, in and out of consciousness,” he says. “The priest had read me the last rites four times and I was ready for God to take me.”

He survived and today this son of Hull returns to York, another city that he holds close to his heart, for a book signing and concert. CHARLES HUTCHINSON hears his story.

How are you feeling, Joe?

“We all have out health problems… but I’m feeling fine at the moment, though no one knows what lies ahead, but yes, I’m feeling fine.

“I’m heavily involved with asking people for donations, doing charity events to support bone marrow transplants, after my operation in 2005.”

What does York mean to you and your family?

“My grandmother was born in Walmgate, under tarpaulin. They came from Ireland, a family of tinkers… and I was born in Hull. My parents were travelling show people, and I’ve always loved coming to York.

“I first played York at 15, at Tang Hall Working Men’s Club. I did the Post Office Club, every working men’s club in York, and the Viking Hotel. York was like a training ground for me, with me dad taking me round in a van.

“I turned up for a gig in a coal lorry with a sound system in the back, coming up from Hull at 48 miles an hour. I used to get the lorry at six, when it wasn’t needed for the coal, and then got it back in time for the next day.”

How have you come through everything thrown at you?

“I think in my case it’s because I’ve looked further on; I’ve looked at the finishing line. I was on the way out with double pneumonia but I thought, ‘No, I want to get back on the road’, and looking to the future was, for me, the best thing to do. We don’t know what will happen next week, next month, so I think the best thing is to keep performing.”

Charity work is important to you now…

“We get called ‘do-gooders’, but if celebrities like doing it, why not? It’s the first thing we have to do as humans, look after each other, especially children who have to go through bone-marrow transplants. They’re the bravest of all.”

How do you spend your time now when you’re not on the road?

“I live in Blackpool, on the front. I’ve been living here on and off for nine years. I do the summer season from July to October on Saturday nights; my fans are good fans, they come from all over the place.”

The show must go on…

“I feel like this about it… when the fans don’t come, I’ll pack it in, in the full knowledge that I’ve enjoyed my career. I know it’s been a rollercoaster ride but I’ve enjoyed the ride.

“I’ll be going to Las Vegas in November; I’ve been asked to go out there by Frank Sinatra’s old manager. Who knows how long I’ll be there. When I went to the States on January 8, 1985, I stayed in America for a year.

“I’m not looking at stopping; I’m looking at slowing down. I’m 55 in a few weeks, and I’m still doing at least 160 shows this year and a few private things, but my manager is telling me I’m doing only 24 shows next year, so I can recharge, maybe record an album, which I love doing.”

What is your idea of relaxation these days, Joe?

“I’ll be spending some time in Ravenscar. I used to have the fishing master’s house there. I love the place. If I could spend more time there, that would be my goal.”

Joe Longthorne plays Grand Opera House, York, tonight at 7.30pm; box office 0844 847 2322. He will be signing copies of Joe Longthorne, The Official Autobiography, at Waterstone’s at 2pm.