One of the last of the great American crooners, Jack Jones, who celebrated his 80th birthday by headlining Eastleigh's Concorde Club has died.

The Grammy winning singer, best known for performing the TV theme tune of The Love Boat, was 86 when he died in California after a two-year battle with leukaemia.

Six years ago and in what was a great coup for The Concorde, Jones performed to a sell out audience. They were the hottest tickets in town.

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As the entertainment world and his legion of fans mourned the passing of a legendary singer, The Concorde's Jamie Mathieson added his own tribute.

He said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of Jack Jones. We were privileged to be one of the venues of Jack Jones’s 80th birthday tour! He was such a lovely person off stage and incredible on stage. The sold out crowd were treated to a night they will never forget.”

After the review appeared in the Southern Daily Echo the singer sent a personal message to the reviewer and former Daily Echo journalist Duncan Eaton.

It read: “I am glad to have the chance to thank you for the wonderful review. I will be eternally grateful.”

An army of Jack Jones' fans came from many miles around to pay homage to the star, whose admirers included fellow crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

Jones, whose worldwide gigs included The White House and the bright lights of Las Vegas was full of praise for The Concorde, which had just marked its 60th anniversary.

At the time he said: “This is a wonderful place to play and I am having such fun.”

He had more than 70 albums to his name with 32 Top 50 hits on the US Billboard chart including three number ones.

Rarely off our screens during the heyday of TV variety shows, Jones remained a prolific artist throughout the 60s and his smooth charm won him a legion of fans.

Jones enjoyed success in Britain even during the era of Beatlemania with covers of songbook classics like Lollipops and Roses and The Impossible Dream.

Although rock n roll was on the rise, Jones typically recorded in a more traditional Big Band style favoured by an older audience.