IT’S nothing personal, but until last year’s appearance at Maddy Pryor’s Stepping Stones Festival near Carlisle, Charlie Dore hadn’t set foot in Cumbria since the 1970’s - and then it was dressed as a mouse with a seven foot stripy tail and wearing blue hot-pants.

This wasn’t her day-to-day wear of course, but her costume as a member of Stagecoach, her first ever job in the touring wing of the Tyneside Theatre Company, which would occasionally travel west to play shows in Cumbria schools.

Alongside TV and film actor Karl Johnson and multi-instrumentalist Julian Littman of Steeleye Span, who still plays with her today, it’s just possible that you may have seen Charlie and Julian perform at your school.

Long before Charlie signed her first record deal with Island and was flown to Nashville to record what was to become her worldwide hit radio classic, Pilot of the Airwaves, she cut her performing teeth on some pretty tough audiences - Cumbrian schoolkids.

Charlie said: “I was only just 18 myself and we played different shows for all age groups, from infants on up to 16-year-olds, so sometimes I meet people who really do remember being there. It was good training for playing gigs later on - especially with the crowd-control aspect of some of the more lively kids.”

Although best known as one of the UK’s most respected songwriters, Charlie enjoys a multi-faceted career that includes acting in film, TV & radio, comedy-improvisation, writing for radio and composition for film and TV.

She starred opposite Jonathan Pryce in the award-winning film ‘The Ploughman’s Lunch’, worked in theatre, fringe and West End, radio with Eric Idle and co-founded and performed at comedy-impro venue The Hurricane Club for seven years, working alongside many comedy icons including Phil Jupitas, Harry Hill and Robin Williams.

A multi-award-winner who has written songs for artists ranging from George Harrison to Tina Turner, Celine Dion and even a No 1 for Jimmy Nail, Charlie has made eight of her own albums and is currently touring the UK with her latest, Milk Roulette, which has won four star reviews from The Guardian, The Telegraph and Mojo and features in the Telegraph’s Best Albums of 2014.

Charlie will be appearing at Water Yeat Village Hall, Ulverston, on June 6.