Eastbourne date as Peter Andre celebrates the songs of Frankie Valli

And he is happy to admit the irony that the show includes songs he already knew but didn't realise were actually by Frankie Valli.

But he is loving doing them now as he brings The Very Best of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne on Thursday, March 26.

You can expect numbers including Sherry, My Eyes Adored You, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and many more.

“I grew up listening to his music but I didn't realise that I was! On the beaches in Australia there used to be these speakers that would blast out the music, and all my life I thought that some of these songs were actually The Beach Boys. I didn't realise at the time that it was actually Frankie Valli.

“Then when somebody approached me for this tour, I said ‘Thank you very much, that's very kind but I don't really know any Frankie Valli songs.’ But they said ‘Yes, you do!’ And then when I heard the setlist, I finally realised that so many of these songs that were embedded into my childhood were actually Frankie Valli!”

And what a remarkable singer: “His range is incredible, but really all you can do is nod your hat to the greats. You can't be them. When I did Thriller in the West End that was just nodding my hat to him. You've got to try and take that magic and you've got to try and be as authentic as possible but there is a freedom allowed just because you're not them. But with this one I've got a four-piece band that literally sounds like an eight-piece band and you make it as real as possible. I am loving it.

“We also tell the story along the way and I love the fact that one of the things that always happens is that people leave the theatre saying ‘I didn't know Peter could sing so high!’ And they also say ‘That was ten times better than I expected!’ And I'm thinking ‘What were you expecting then!’ But I've always loved these songs that were just such a big of part of my childhood and it's great to sing them.”

It all comes in an important year for Peter who brings out his new album Legacy on April 10, a powerful 14-track collection honouring three decades since his multi-platinum breakthrough with Mysterious Girl and the chart-topping success of his number one album Natural.

“I was 23 when that single was such a huge hit. I'd written it at 21 or 22 and it was massive when I was 23, and there is an ongoing joke that I say to people when I do my concerts. I tell them that I've had three number ones and nine songs in the top five – and I say ‘The fact that you remember none of them except Mystery Girl is irrelevant!’ And it always gets a laugh!

“But on this album I revisit them all. I was thinking let's not change them too much but let's do something different with them. With Mystery Girl I rang my friend, the original rapper on there, Bubbler Ranx, and I asked him 30 years later if he'd come back. And he asked if he could keep the melody but maybe he could do some new lyrics and he has done. And it's just brilliant.”

It’s all a way to celebrate that 30th anniversary: “I just feel so grateful and so happy that I have the opportunity still to be doing this. Every summer somewhere in the world Mystery Girl is a hit, and I feel so privileged. But there are also three brand-new songs on the album.”