VETERAN songstress Lulu will be making a return visit to Swindon's County Ground to support her showbiz chum.

The legendary Scottish singer has announced today that she will be Elton John's special guest when he performs in the town this summer.

The pint-sized performer, who is the only British female solo artist to appear in the charts for five straight decades, is preparing to go on tour with the Rocket Man.

And it will be familiar surroundings for her at Swindon Town Football Club where she will be welcomed back for the second time.

She first performed at the ground in 1976 when she was dating Maurice Gibb from the Bee Gees.

A crowd of around 20,000 is expected at the Elton show on Sunday June 19.

Lulu said: "I'm really excited to be touring with Elton this summer. His concerts are electric.

"I've known Elton for many years and he has so much energy it's contagious.

"I can't wait to start the rockin' on stage in Swindon."

Lulu burst onto the British and international pop scene in the 60s at the tender age of 15 with Shout and she has been churning out hits ever since.

Decade after decade, she has managed to keep the top twenty hits coming. The 1970s saw The Man Who Sold the World with David Bowie. In the 1980s there was the dance remix of Shout, the 1990s saw Relight My Fire with Take That and in 2002 she teamed up with Ronan Keating for We've Got Tonight.

In addition her album of duets, Together, went gold.

And she is still going strong with her new album of R n B classics which is due out this summer.

Elton will treat Swindon fans to more than two hours of hits from his back catalogue spanning over three decades.

His hits including classic such as Your Song, Bitch is Back, Are You Ready For Love, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me and I Want Love.

Tracks from his most recent album Peachtree Road will also be thrown in. Tickets for the fully reserved seated concert, with seating on the pitch for the first time, went on sale at the end of March.

And they are being snapped up at a rapid rate. They are priced at £60, £40 and £35 with a limited number of premium tickets also available.

Box office

The 24-hour hotline numbers are:

See Tickets 0870 060 3776

Ticketmaster 0870 534 4444

Ticketline 0870 444 5556

Tickets are available on-line at www.seetickets.com www.ticketmaster.co.uk and www.ticketline.co.uk

Tickets are subject to booking fees and limited to six per customer.

Disabled customers are

advised to book early on 0870 443 1894 (not 24 hours)

For Hospitality Packages call 01793 333 718 (not 24 hours)

Swindon Town Football Club would like to point out tickets cannot be purchased by phone from the club

For more information visit: www.swindontownfc.co.uk

Tamsin Davis