THE STORY of one of the giants of English folk-rock will be told in Otley this month.

The Lindisfarne Story: A Twist in the Tale is a celebration of one of the UK’s most original and successful groups.

The show features the band’s former front-man, Billy Mitchell, and founder member Ray Laidlaw taking the audience on a journey through the Geordie outfit’s history.

It covers events from their beginnings in Newcastle upon Tyne in the late 1960s, when they were originally called Brethren, right through to the present day.

Ray and Billy will share ‘tall tales and scurrilous gossip’ and present rare video and audio clips, plus photographs, on the night.

They will also give acoustic performances of some of the band’s biggest hits including Lady Eleanor, Meet Me On The Corner, Fog On The Tyne, Run For Home.

The band’s popularity in the UK rocketed in the 1970s and they had the biggest-selling album of 1972 with Fog on the Tyne.

Their songwriting talent quickly established them as standard-bearers for acoustic-based rock at a time when the charts were dominated by pop and glam rock.

The Lindisfarne Story: A Twist in the Tale takes place at Otley Courthouse from 8pm on Saturday, March 30.

Tickets cost £20 and can be booked by visiting www.otleycourthouse.org.uk, calling (01943) 467466 or popping into the Courthouse, on Courthouse Street.

Some magical family-friendly fun, meanwhile, will also be served up at the Courthouse in March.

Soap Soup Theatre and Tessa Bide will deliver two performances of The Selfish Giant, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s timeless children’s story, on Wednesday, March 20.

Suitable for younger children (up to seven years old) the show tells the tale of an unusual friendship and incorporates puppetry and some theatre magic.

The Courthouse performances take place at 10.45am and at 1.30pm, and tickets cost £9 for adults and £7 for children.