SO where were you in the summer of 1983? In case you needed reminding, the final episode of M*A*S*H was screened on TV, Return Of The Jedi and Flashdance were the cinema hits of the year and acting legends David Niven and Ralph Richardson passed away.

The soundtrack of the season was Paul Young's first hit single, Wherever I Lay My Hat, which spent an impressive 15 weeks in the charts.

That was 20 years ago and Paul is still going strong as both a solo artist and with his own band, Los Pacaminos.

He confesses that it doesn't feel like 20 years. "I didn't realise until my former manager called me about six weeks ago. It was a bit of a shock."

Paul will be celebrating his career solo by playing some of his songs from the past two decades at The Anvil, Basingstoke tomorrow.

"It's a lot of fun, this tour. I wore myself out a little on the last one. It was a double whammy being in the opening act (with Los Pacaminos) as well as the main act as Paul Young."

The winner of a clutch of Brit Awards had early musical leanings, having learned the piano and guitar as a child. After leaving school he played with various bands, initially as bass player, but always had

aspirations to be a singer. He went on to front Kat Kool & The Kool Kats and Streetband, before forming The Q-Tips.

After The Q-Tips threw in the towel in 1982, Paul decided it was time to go it alone. He signed to Sony Records, then known as CBS, in the same year.

Despite radio support, his first single, Iron Out The Rough Spots, bombed, as did Love Of The Common People on its original release as Paul's second single. It was a case of third time lucky with Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home).

The debut album, No Parlez, secured Young's position in pop history with sales of seven million copies.

The next single Come Back And Stay provided international success and the video shoot introduced Paul to his future wife Stacey.

Second album The Secret Of Association confirmed his global status, featuring his biggest worldwide hit, Everytime You Go Away.

In 1987 he met Italian singer Zucchero, marking the beginning of Paul's world music collaborations. His duet with Zucchero in 1991, Sensa Una Donna, went top five. He later recorded a track with Clannad, before forming his own 'just for fun' group with friends in 1993, the loosely-styled tex-mex outfit Los Pacaminos.

The band has won a cult following in recent years resulting in a self-titled album release in April last year.

Paul doesn't feel any particular affinity to the white soul boy music he is best known for.

"I just got famous during a period when I was a soul boy," he explains.

"Five years before that I was a hippy in flared jeans going to see AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Free. People know me from that period in my life. It's nice to get away from it with Los Pacaminos. Then I feel better about going back to the Paul Young stuff.

"I don't feel the responsibility that I have when I'm doing a Paul Young set. I just turn up, have a laugh playing and enjoy the whole night. I can have that one drink too many and not feel guilty about it."

Next month sees the release of The Essential Paul Young, a definitive collection of his work.

"Ten years ago I had a greatest hits album, now it's 20 years so they needed to catch up and add some extra tracks.

"The record company asked me if I knew of any unreleased tracks and I gave them a whole list, but tragically half the stuff is lost. They found some from the Don Was sessions at the break of the 90s and some live stuff from 1983."

Despite so long in the business, he has no plans to call it a day. He's very much in tune with the current music scene and latest recording techniques. "I'm hoping I can find a young producer and play him my stuff and he'll get excited and say 'I know what we can do with this!'"

Paul Young is at The Anvil, Basingstoke tomorrow. Performance: 8pm. Tickets: £15.50. Box office: 012565 844244