LITTLE Lulu promised a big performance in Bolton when she met North-west fans at the Trafford Centre.

The enduringly popular singer enchanted the small but enthusiastic crowd which had gathered at the centre's HMV store on Monday to get signed copies of her latest album "Back on Track".

For most fans she had never been off track. Some, like first in the queue Philip Harrison, had travelled some distance to see their favourite.

Philip, a 35-year-old office worker, had come from Sheffield to see the star, holding a portfolio of pictures including an early shot of a young Lulu in the film "To Sir With Love" -- which she obligingly signed with a giggle of appreciation for Philip's loyalty.

He was one of the hundreds of fans lucky enough to get a ticket for her sell-out concert at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Another was Vance Kent, who came from Birmingham to meet Lulu -- although he admitted that his dad was an even bigger fan than him. "But she is absolutely lovely!" he said.

The petite singer looked every inch the star and hardly at all the 55-year-old who first wowed fans in the 1960s with "Shout".

She was dressed in casual rock chick style, in jeans decorated with chains, knee-length suede boots, brown suede jacket and toning brown floaty top, with her long blonde hair casually held in a pony tail, and flawless make-up.

She is coming to the Reebok Stadium's 900-seat Premier Suite on Saturday, April 24, for "An Evening With Lulu", when the black-tie event with tickets starting at £99 is expected to be a sell-out.

The current itinerary of personal appearances and a nationwide tour made Lulu a little unsure of whether she was actually coming to the town when the Bolton Evening News asked her if she was looking forward to the date.

"Am I coming to Bolton?" she asked an aide, then smiled widely when it was confirmed.

"I've been to the town loads of times in the past to perform, but not for years. I used to do 'the double' then, you know, with Bolton and Wigan.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to coming to Bolton -- it will be great!" she said before getting back to signing pictures of herself through the years, happily proffered by fans varying in age from early 20s to late 50s.

Forty years in the charts have not dimmed Marie MacDonald McLaughlin Lawrie's appeal, rather it has enhanced it.

And, while the in-store queue might not have been as long as it was for Fame Academy's Alistair Griffin last week, the adoration of Lulu's fans was indisputable.

So, it was probably prophetic for her new album that she sat contentedly signing "with love from Lulu" under a sign proclaiming "best sellers".