THE finest songs of iconic singer-songwriter Jacques Brel return to the Phoenix Theatre in Ross-on-Wye next month when Steve and Allison Allan and Tim Brown perform their hit cabaret revue Alive and Brel’.

Featuring classics such as Ne me quitte pas/If You Go Away, Amsterdam and Jacky, Brel’s songs, famed for their emotional power and ironic wit, have been recorded by international stars ranging from Frank Sinatra and Dusty Springfield to David Bowie and Scott Walker.

The songs of Brel, which also influenced famed Monmouth singer/songwriter Jake Thackray, have been likened to miniature films, laced with dark and passionate observations which paint a tableau of imperfect humanity.

The Belgian singer and actor’s theatrical songs generated a large following throughout the world, and he is considered a master of the modern chanson - lyric- driven French songs.

Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, who also included Alex Harvey, Marc Almond, Neil Harrison, Julian Cope, Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, Nina Simone and Andy Williams.

Having sold over 25 million records worldwide, Brel is the third-best selling Belgian recording artist of all time.

Alive and Brel is at the Phoenix Theatre in Ross on Saturday, October 4 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are priced at £15 via the box office phoenix-theatre.org.uk or from Rossiter Books on the town’s High Street.

The blending of the three voices is particularly pleasing and gave the performance originality, one reviewer has said.

The show is followed a week later (Saturday, October 11) at the Phoenix by An Evening of Ghost Stories by MR James performed by Toby Burchell.

Toby Burchell will perform two chilling tales by the finest writer of the ghost story genre, who originally narrated them himself as an entertainment for friend.

See phoenix-theatre.org.uk for more details.