POP icon Chesney Hawkes says playing in front of a Weymouth crowd will be like ‘a home gig’ for him.

Dorset enthusiast Chesney, 40, will be headlining the Bayside Festival on Sunday, July 29, for a Back to School 90s Party during the Olympic celebrations.

He shot to fame in 1991 when his single The One And Only was at number one in the UK charts for five weeks.

The dad-of-three said: “I come to Dorset at least once a month. Recently I filmed the cover of my new album along the Jurassic Coast.

“Weymouth is a great family place and my children love it here. It’s difficult for my wife to get to my performances but she may come to the Weymouth gig because our friends are there.

“It’s going to be a great day when I perform and the weather is going to be great.

“I’m really looking forward to the festival. It’s going to be like a home gig for me.”

Surrey-based Chesney said he visits the area around once a month because he has friends in Cerne Abbas.

“I love Weymouth – it has that amazing promenade and it has everything as a town that you would want for a day out on the beach or as a tourist destination.

“The world’s media will be there for the sailing events.

“The Olympics can only be a good thing, there will be money brought in and jobs brought in.

“It’s about pulling together and making it a great event.”

Chesney followed in the footsteps of his dad Len ‘Chip’ Hawkes, who was in 1960s band The Tremeloes.

He has two sons aged 10 and six and an eight-year-old daughter.

“I would be happy with whatever they want to do. I would be excited to see them make music. My little daughter is a bit of a piano player and one of my sons is a bit of an actor.

“We have a little bit of entertainment going on in the house,” Chesney said.

He was due to appear on ITV1’s Dancing on Ice earlier this year but had to withdraw from the competition when he broke his leg.

He said: “I’m sure they’ll offer it to me again but I’ll have to think very long and hard before doing it because it took a long time to recover.

“It was a pretty massive injury.”

Chesney’s new album Real Life Love is due to be released through Pledge Music.

Fans are invited to be a part of the album and will receive a little slice of Chesney in return.

He said: “It’s very exciting. It’s pretty much finished now. Pledge is an exciting new way to raise capital to make a project.

“You pre-sell the album in a way. I have offered everything from a signed guitar to doing a gig in someone’s front room.”

See www.weymouthbaysidefestival.co.uk and chesneyhawkes.co.uk for more details.