When it’s the right time to say goodbye?

Charlie Landsborough begins his farewell tour of Ireland at the end of the month — the music star wants to quit while he’s ahead, he tells Margaret Jennings.

Country music legend Charlie Landsborough starts his farewell tour of Ireland at the end of this month. At the age of 77, he says he is getting out while the going is good.

“I don’t want to stick around and be an embarrassment to myself and those people who have helped me. So I want to quit while I’m reasonably ahead,” he says.

“Saying goodbye to one person is pretty sad, but saying goodbye to so many people, who have been so good to me so long, is going to be incredibly hard for me to come to terms with, because it’s all I’ve known for so many years.

“I got the break in Ireland, so it’s going to be a bit of a wrench, no longer going on the road. It’s going to be very mixed feelings; I’m going to enjoy it, while being sad at the same time.”

The UK-based father-of-three and grandfather of five boys aged eight to 18, has been married to Thelma for 51 years. However, he is used to endings and new beginnings. He famously held down numerous jobs throughout his life, including joining the army, before training as a teacher at the age of 50, and then breaking into the big time as a singer songwriter/musician in the mid-1990s.

This is just another step along the road, and his firm religious faith guides him: “The older you get, you keep losing so many people. It’s very hard; it reminds you of your mortality. But I have the comfort of my faith, because I know, at the end of it all, where I am going and I pray to God that those friends and all my family will all be there, too.”

Charlie says that with the loss of loved-ones he has also become more appreciative. “Every night, I thank the Almighty for the gift of life and of music and where it has taken me. And with all these wonderful things that we take for granted, I’m trying to see these in a child-like way now and try and see anew, if you like; all that sounds a bit deep and philosophical and I’m a very ordinary, down-to-earth lad from the back streets of Birkenhead, but that’s what I’m trying to do.”

The house where he grew up, as the youngest of 11, was “chaotic” and full of love. The site is now a car park, but he lives nearby, so it still triggers memories.

Most people move out when they make a few bob, but I moved even closer, albeit in a much nicer house. It’s not a mansion or anything, but nicer than I thought I’d ever have and I can walk into town and have a few pints with the lads I’ve known all my life

It’s people and relationships — not things — that matter most, he says.

His marriage to Thelma, for over half a century, is “a crucial part of the jigsaw. I would have gone off the rails. It took a while for me to come to terms with married life, because a little bit of the freedom is gone, but it’s far more compensated for by all the benefits of having somebody who loves you and cares for you and looks after you, and has got your interests at heart.”

Once the children were older, Thelma took to the road with him on tours, including to Ireland. “My son drives and we’ve got a motor home and travel in it most of the time, and we have a friend from Derry who sells the merchandise and we travel together. And when we have a day off, we pull into a caravan park and go and see the town — just generally have a good time, enjoying each other’s company and meeting lovely people.”

And what lies ahead, after the touring road ends? “I will continue to write. I will be involved in a more charitable way, visiting hospitals. I will carry on with my language learning and I’ve always fancied doing a bit of painting.”

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, however, Charlie is “a bit of Jekyll and Hyde”, abandoning his good habits when on tour.“When I’m at home, I eat well and exercise; I have a treadmill in my garage that I walk on for half an hour a day. When I go on the road, the other person takes over and I eat the wrong food and drink far too much, because old friends turn up. And my body doesn’t know what to make of me, because it shifts from looking after myself to going completely haywire, so, hopefully, I will be a bit more health-conscious when I do retire.”

Charlie Landsborough’s final tour of Ireland is from January 26 to February 10

www.charlielandsborough.com/TourDates