John Lennon had it about right: “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’”. Even better, what the mother of Jerry Lee Lewis said: “You and Elvis are pretty good, but you’re no Chuck Berry.”

Born in St Louis in 1926, he celebrated his 83rd birthday a month ago, and comes to the New Theatre next Thursday with his “American Band”.

As legends go, he’s pretty legendary. You have to go back to 1955 (yes, Berry was already nearly 30), when he bumped into his idol Muddy Waters in Chicago and asked where he should go to make a record. Later that year, Chess Records released Maybellene, which shot to No. 5 in the Billboard Hot 100 (America’s main chart). By September 1957, he was touring with Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers Chuck Berry’s songs are at the heart of rock and roll. They are history in themselves: Roll Over Beethoven, Sweet Little Sixteen, You Never Can Tell and, of course, Johnny B. Goode. Extraordinarily, he has only ever had one No. 1 hit, and that didn’t come until 1972. Yes, it was My Ding-A-Ling (originally, apparently, My Tambourine); I suppose he’ll have to do it in the concert, but frankly . . .

Can Chuck Berry still do it at 83? We shall see next week. Oh, come on: of course he can!

In a very shrewd move indeed, whoever runs Mr Berry has lured an opening act of frightening intensity, guaranteed still to get one half of the audience frenzied. From May 1964 to November the following year, you just had to be in front of your TV screens to see Top of the Pops whenever he was on. Oh yes, and he famously split his trousers once. Blimey, it’s P. J. Proby.

Tickets: 0844 847 1588 (www.NewTheatreOxford.org.uk)