NORTH-EAST comedian, Billy Martin - best known for his stage partnership with Bobby Hooper in the Dixielanders - has died aged 79.

Fellow comedian, Bobby Pattison, said: "He was a raconteur and very, very funny. But he was also a home-loving man, and very close to his family. He'll be greatly missed."

Mr Martin was born in Gateshead in 1923, but the family moved to Newcastle when he was a child. He was fond of saying how he "escaped" from Gateshead by swimming across the Tyne.

At the age of 19, he enlisted in the Army and was sent to France during the Second World War, where he joined the Jordanaires vocal group and entertained the troops.

After the war, he worked at the Tyneside heating and ventilating engineers, Brightsides, and later at the Wills cigarette factory. But at night, his singing career was blooming and he formed a barbershop group.

However, Mr Martin's career really took off when he formed the Dixielanders and the show proved a tremendous success in clubs around the North-East.

The duo made several TV appearances and some foot-age of their act is still available on the Comedy Classics video. In the late 1970s, they launched the Dixielanders Music Hall, which played to packed houses of more than 300 every night, selling out six months ahead for several years.

In 1979, a recording of the show The Fabulous Dixielanders was issued as an album, and was recently re-released on CD and cassette as a result of demand.

In the mid-1980s, Mr Martin was forced to come to terms with two personal tragedies: the death of both his stage partner, Bobby Hooper, and his wife, Betty.

After 45 years in showbusiness, Mr Martin decided to retire, although he was occasionally persuaded to perform in special one-off shows.

He leaves two sons, Howard and Michael, and a grand-daughter, Natalie. His funeral will be held at Ponteland, on the outskirts of Newcastle, on Wednesday.