Mac is back with debut CD

Shropshire's answer to Ol' Blue Eyes himself has gone back on to the stage at the age of 69 to woo a new generation of admirers to big band and swing music.

Johnny Mac, real name John McCrossan, believes that Frank Sinatra - and the wonderful songwriters behind him - produced sounds which will captivate audiences for ever.

And he hopes to keep on crooning for as long as his health will allow.

Grandfather Johnny, of Lidgates Green, Arleston, Telford, originates from Wolverhampton and has had a varied employment career including engineer and social worker.

But his biggest love is music and it all started in the mid-1950s when the country was gripped by skiffle fever.

Popularised by the late Lonnie Donegan, skiffle was a precursor to rock and roll, enabling would-be performers to make music with old guitars and washboards.

Johnny said: "We called ourselves Mac 3 and played in youth clubs. We weren't a good band but we made a lot of noise. I used to strum a guitar with a broken string and was a vocalist.

"We didn't last long and I moved on to do take-offs of Sinatra - what they call a tribute singer nowadays."

Johnny was also a songwriter, penning lyrics for many singers and groups of the day, and acted as a warm-up man for club entertainers, writing his own gags.

His life in music was resurrected a few years ago when he went to a hotel in Llandudno where the resident singer remembered him and invited him up on stage to do a couple of numbers.

Johnny has since performed for friends and charities and has recorded his first CD called Mac is Back.

His favourite experience was performing on Friday night at the legendary TJ's club in Newport, Gwent.

Johnny's favourite tracks:

• The Lady Is A Tramp

• That's Life

• Nice and Easy

• Summer Wind

• Making Whoopee