The Osmonds (or four of them, anyway) are heading for Kent on what they say will be their last UK tour. Nearly 40 years after first playing her Long Haired Lover from Liverpool single, Helen Geraghty spoke to Jimmy Osmond.

Even after all these years, The Osmonds still surprise Little Jimmy. Way back then, aged nine, he had to be carried from gigs in a trunk because girls literally wanted to grab a piece of him. Now, at a sturdy 48, he can usually enjoy a stroll round the town after a gig and people leave him alone.

But while sibling stresses have come and gone and 1970s love bug Donny is busy with other projects, Jimmy says those hard-working Osmond boys still amaze him with their seemingly eternal ability to perform. Not to mention their 'soccer’ skills in hotel rooms.

Jimmy, Wayne, 60, Merrill, 58 and Jay, 57, who come to the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells this weekend, followed by dates in Margate and Dartford will be sure to work the mainly female crowd with Crazy Horses and Love Me for a Reason.

And, of course, they always play Long Haired Lover from Liverpool, the Christmas 1972 chart-topper which gave nine-year-old Little Jimmy the record of the youngest ever solo artist to hit No1.

“My brothers are consummate performers they never stop performing,” said Jimmy.

“That still surprises me and impresses me. Wayne is a cancer survivor and he is more energetic than anyone!”

For the latest tour, Merrill is up front as lead singer but there’s no rivalry about who should sing what as the brothers get on so well. “Sometimes we share rooms on tour,” added Jimmy.

“If we share, then I go with Jay. He is fantastic. Jay is the one, who, if I got in trouble, would be the first one I would call. He is non-judgmental. He is a great friend and maybe he was the first star in our family, it was him that caught Andy Williams’ eye but he is selfless and is the first one to celebrate when someone does well.”

I remind father-of-four Jimmy that when Long Haired Lover came out, he was, at nine, the same age as his youngest daughter, Isabella.

He says: “She loves showbiz and is part of the reason I do pantos in the UK now. She has been in a couple of them as a little bunny rabbit and that kind of thing.

“For the future; I hope all my kids choose what makes them happy. Back in the early days it was frightening sometimes. I used to have to be carried out of concerts in a trunk and I remember the fire brigade having to come and hose people back.

“But there was fun, we played soccer in hotel rooms and yes, we still do that now.”

A disastrous financial investment by the family in a studio in Utah is much documented. But one of the best business decisions the family made, says Jimmy, was when dad George started a real estate company, allowing Jimmy to open a theatre in Missouri, where the group continued to perform successfully until Jimmy sold the theatre two years ago.

George, who had taken his family to their first auditions as children, to help pay for hearing aids for the eldest two sons, who were deaf, died in 2007, aged 90, three years after his wife.

Jimmy says: “We’re quite a family and we have kind of stayed together but we have had hard times too. I help my sister Marie a bit now, she is remarried.

“Everybody has their own path and that’s what we mean. This is a final UK tour but we aren’t 'retiring’.”

And how about the old adage; 'It doesn’t matter who’s up front, as long as it’s an Osmond.’?

“Hey, we still say that but I don’t know how true it is! The truth is, everyone is an individual. Everyone has the right to make the most of their life. My brothers sacrificed themselves for Donny, for me and for Marie. They put their own careers on hold. But they certainly do celebrate in the success we have had.”

When The Osmonds take the stage in Tunbridge Wells it will be 50 years since the dark-haired boys from Utah – all hair wax and white teeth – were first introduced to the American public on the Andy Williams Show, in 1962.

If you get there early you may want to stand outside and scream, just to remember the old days, one last time.

The Osmonds, Up Close and Personal, the Final Tour comes to the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells on Saturday, March 17, 7.30pm. Tickets £29.50. Box office 01892 530613. They are at the Winter Gardens, Margate, on Tuesday, March 20 and the Orchard, Dartford, on Sunday, April 29.