Popular American singer/ songwriter-turned film star, Kris Kristofferson wants to talk about his return visit to Manchester next week.

However, when I ring his home in Hawaii the phone call is diverted to a mountain in Norway where the breathless performer is rapidly descending to the lake below, too rapidly for my liking so I admonish him not to fall in until the end of the interview which causes him to collapse with laughter.

I last spoke to Kris a couple of years ago just before his first British tour for four years and, once he’s caught his breath, he has nothing but praise for Manchester audiences.

"You know what I love about them? They really seem get me and my music. They just seem to know what I’m about."

As I explain that our strong folk and soul traditions may be the root of that understanding, the three times Grammy award-winner, who has enjoyed numerous hits, describes his return to his roots as a country singer.

"It’s just me, my guitar and harmonica up there on the stage of the Bridgewater Hall enjoying some of the music that’s been important to me," he explains.

The reason for Kris’s return visit is prompted by the recent release of Please Don’t Tell Me How The Story Ends: The Publishing Demos 1968-72.

The success of the 16-track selection of previously unpublished demos of his fledgling efforts as a singer/songwriter has even surprised the 73-year-old.

"I received a phone call from a guy who’d discovered the demo tapes in an old Nashville recording studio and he needed my permission to publish them," he explains. "I just thought he must be down on his luck and if he could make a buck out of them good luck to him. I’d no idea that they would take off like this and I’m delighted by the reception."

The demos provide a vocal snapshot of Kris’s formative years but I wondered what his impression was when he heard them again?

With a self-deprecating laugh he chuckles: "I just couldn’t believe my audacity. There’s a raw quality about them that I like but it’s hard for me to stand back and analyse them objectively now because when I hear them I’m immediately transported back to that time and all the memories of being young and hopeful."

The years featured include 1970 when Kris stumbled on stage to receive the Country Music Association Song Of The Year Award for Sunday Morning Coming Down, a description of recovery from a hangover of one sort or another. As he mumbled his acceptance speech dressed in suede flares with shoulder-length hair, overnight he earned the description of country music’s hippie.

Nowadays his craggy good looks still epitomise the image of an all-American cowboy but, although it’s a lifestyle he admires and even adopts in Hawaii where he lives in a small rural community, Kris has spent more than 40 years touring.

He wrote hits like Help Me Make It Through The Night, For The Good Times, and Me And Bobby McGee, and Kris is now grateful for his musical heritage.

"I think I’d be lynched by the fans if I didn’t sing those songs in concert but I also hope that audiences will also be interested in the new music I’ve written."

In his album, This Old Road, Kris dedicated Final Attraction to his friend and idol, Willie Nelson.

"I was with Willie recently for his annual fourth of July picnic at his home in Texas. It’s a great family affair full of people we’ve worked with. There’s nobody quite like Willie who has a terrific sense of humour.

"He was my hero long before he became famous. When I first toured with him, I used to watch him walk on stage and within minutes he’d establish a rapport with the audience. It’s a rare gift."

Johnny Cash was another of Kris’s heroes who became a friend.

"Johnny was a giant of a man in every way. Big in heart and spirit. No wonder they made a movie about his life."

Kristofferson’s own life story would also make a great movie.

Born in Texas in 1936, the son of an American general, he was groomed for a military future. As a Rhodes Scholar, he attended Merton College at Oxford University and was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

"I really loved my time at Oxford discovering Blake and Shakespeare," he said. "It’s where I started writing and performing my music in pubs and clubs. I even made a couple of records under the name Kris Carson but thankfully, they weren’t successful, otherwise I’d have been stuck with that name forever."

Once a degree was gained, Kris dutifully entered military life.

"I stayed five years longer than I intended and when I came out I was offered a job teaching at West Point military academy. However, I decided that if I wanted to pursue my dream of performing music, I had to find a job in Nashville."

His career shift cost him his first marriage.

"My mother also wanted to disown me and my father thought I’d lost the plot but respected my decision even though he didn’t agree with it. It was a relief that they eventually saw I attained some measure of success."

Kris found a job as a janitor mopping floors at Columbia Records where he watched Bob Dylan write and record his Blonde On Blonde album.

"I can still see him sitting in that big studio at the piano experimenting with ideas and sometimes getting inspiration in the early hours of the morning.

"That’s where I also met Johnny Cash for the first time and offered him several songs.

Although he was always encouraging, none was recorded so I took matters into my own hands.

"I’d flown helicopters in the forces and had a job flying old helicopters for an oil rig – in fact I wrote my biggest hits sitting in that helicopter.

"Anyway, I flew one straight into Johnny’s back yard, which was quite big with a lake and all. I handed him a couple of songs and this time he actually recorded them and that was the start I needed. It wasn’t long before I was performing my own material."

Over the years Kris has won several music awards including, last year, the BMI Country Icon Award but he is proudest of being inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and winning the Johnny Cash Visionary Award.

He quips: "I’m just glad I’m still around to receive them!"

Happily married to Lisa Meyers with eight children from different relationships and seven grandchildren, Kris enjoys family life.

"I feel very blessed because we all get together for the holidays when we can.

"One of my daughters sang for a while with Willie Nelson’s daughter Amy and another, Kelly, is studying in London so while we’re in the UK we’re going to see her in a play.

"She really enjoys theatre so she may end up doing that. All the kids seem to get along which is great."

Living in a female-dominated household Kris reflects on the other women in his life.

"Thank You For A Life, from The Old Road album, pays tribute to the various ladies I’ve been close to like Janis Joplin who took Me And Bobby McGee to number one.

"I also owe a great deal to Barbra Streisand from whom I learnt everything I know about film. I owe the Golden Globe I won for Best Actor in A Star Is Born to her which then led to other roles in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Any More, Convoy, the Blade trilogy and my personal favourite, Heaven’s Gate.

"I was married to Rita Coolidge for a while and we have a talented daughter Casey who has a great voice but now she’s more interested in raising a family than performing.

"So this song is dedicated to all of them and of course to God for making it all possible."

Kris remains philosophical about this recent resurgence of interest in his career.

"I’m just grateful that I can still play my music and know it’s appreciated. I can’t express my gratitude enough to the fans who’ve supported me."

But I’m still wondering why Kris has been up a mountain in Norway?

"Well this is all part of my European tour. I’ve been performing in Scandinavia and I just thought I’d grab some fresh Norwegian air.

"I’m on my way down the mountain now and I better get a move on because I’m performing on stage in an hour’s time – so I’ll take your advice and try not to fall into the lake. See you all in Manchester!"

» Kris Kristofferson performs at the Bridgewater Hall on July 31. Age restriction 14 plus. For tickets call the 24-hour Ticket Hotline 08700 603 777 seetickets.com.

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