A DOCUMENTARY charting a rock 'n' roll icon's emotional return to the region will be shown next week.

Jerry Lee Lewis held a North-East audience spellbound when he performed at Newcastle City Hall in February - 42 years after he set Tyneside alight from the same stage.

The 69-year-old former hellraiser described that concert in 1962 as his greatest gig.

His triumphant return was captured on camera for Tyne Tees Television.

The production team gained exclusive access to Jerry Lee and his entourage as they prepared for the concert and a new CD, which features Jerry Lee dueting with stars, including Bruce Springsteen and Kris Kristofferson.

The singer's first tour of England, in the 1960s, came to a sticky end as public opinion turned against him over his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin.

But the North-East had given him a warm reception.

The man who persuaded Jerry Lee to return to the region was County Durham-born former world boxing champion Glenn McCrory, who befriended the singer on a trip to the US.

McCrory said: "I've come across a lot of famous people in my time. But when you are around Jerry Lee and privileged to see him perform, you know you are in the presence of a legend."

In a rare interview for the documentary, Jerry Lee admits he never tires of playing his unique brand of rock 'n' roll.

And just a few months away from his seventieth birthday, he proves he can still pound and kick a mean piano in his signature style.

"Newcastle is a great city," he says. "And it's a great honour for me to be back here after 42 years. It's unbelievable."

Jerry Lee's biographer, Charles "Dr Rock" White, who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, hailed the Newcastle performance as vintage rock 'n' roll.

"He Jerry Lee remains one of the greatest interpreters of 20th Century popular music," said Mr White.

"Whatever song he plays, it's always distinctively Jerry Lee.

"Jerry Lee loved coming back to Newcastle. He always felt it was his favourite.

"The audience went wild for him back in 1962. British audiences and the British Press were not too kind to Jerry Lee in the early 1960s - but Newcastle took him into their hearts."

The documentary, Great Balls of Fire - Pet! shows on Tyne Tees Television, at 11pm on Tuesday.

Published: 05/06/2004