HE'S the swoonsome star of the 1980s and 90s whose face adorned the poster-strewn bedroom walls of teenagers up and down the country.

That coiffed mop of dark hair, that piercing gaze and soulful voice looked down compassionately onto the broken-hearted and betrayed.

Was there ever an angst-ridden break-up in secondary school that wasn't followed up with the soundtrack of a slamming door and Everytime You Go Away by Paul Young played at full blast on the Walkman?

But the solo star, now 59, who commandeered legions of screaming fans and number one hits both sides of the Atlantic, has re-invented himself.

Paul plays as a member of Tex-Mex band Los Pacaminos, who are bringing their Americana sound to Lyme Regis on Friday and Poole on Saturday.

Think carefree music just for the pleasure of it, somewhere between the Mariachi and Norteno styles of Mexico and the Country/Blues sounds of South-West America.

And being part of the band is far from a vanity project for Paul. The band has received its fair share of critical acclaim.

I've got him on the phone just a few days before his Dorset gigs - and there it is, that voice, the heartthrob himself, down the other end of the line.

"I can't believe I've been doing Los Pacaminos for about 23 years!" he says.

"It's a lovely musical genre for people who want to kick their shoes off and get happy.

"It's very much that type of music for me at this time of my life - it's what I want to do, I've had enough of the pressure.

"A large part of starting this band was not having any pressure. It's lovely and I'm really enjoying it.

"This is my comfort zone, I don't like all the focus being on me, which is strange when you think that I had a solo career and the focus was on me."

Last year Los Pacaminos released their album A Fistful of Statins, with Paul sharing songwriting duties.

He said: "Even though we've been doing this for 23 years it still feels like there are a lot of people out there who don't know about it and my job is to let them know about it.

"Some people say about this music that I'm doing that I should stick to the old style of music I did.

"But there is so much great music out there and for a lot of people music is a memory - it evokes certain memories for me, but music is my life.

"If I've got music on, driving in my car, it's a soundscape part of the world, I love that.

"It reminds me of places I have been to.

"But the fact that I can do Los Pacaminos and then slip back into the Paul Young solo stuff is very refreshing."

Ah yes, the 'Paul Young' stuff.

It would appear as though our cousins Down Under are still embracing those 80s and early 90s heydays, with Paul jetting off to Australia next month for a solo tour.

He said: "I'm doing locations on the West Coast and East Coast.

"The last time I toured down there was with Tony Hadley in 2008."

Paul recently took a trip down memory lane helping to select songs for Tomb of Memories, The CBS Years 1982 - 1994, a recently released 4 CD boxset chronicling his recording career with CBS Records.

He said: "It seems to be doing really well. It started a s project with a guy who has been working with record companies and re-mastering them.

"I told him about a track that had never been released.

"It has been quite nostalgic, pulling dust off the old tape reels I haven't seen for 30 years - quite a few memories came flooding back.

"I was thinking 'you were on top of your game'. It's great to be young and on top of your game. We created a style that wasn't really heard before.

"I worked with a producer who was old school and a producer who was new school and I was bridging the gap and I wanted to update the sound and bring R'n'B and soul to it and it was successful."

I mention the strong connection people of a certain age have with Every Time You Go Away.

Paul said: "Someone mentioned to me once that my two biggest records are both about people being torn apart from relationships and they seem to have meant something to people, especially those who are in the armed forces. It has never been a conscious decision on my part."

Paul is looking forward to returning to Dorset, where he has been many times before to perform with Los Pacaminos, and in 2013 to attend the funeral of Weymouth cafe owner and superfan Sandy Hawkins.

When he talks affectionately of Sandy, I get a real taste of the warm-hearted Mr Young.

"Sandy was a real Paul Young fan and had been with me for 35 years, coming to all the concerts and would come and see Los Pacaminos.

"Even when she wasn't very well she would send her friends to the concerts and to see me afterwards. She was as loyal as they get."

And it is obvious that this 80s icon and passionate musician deeply appreciates that loyalty from his fans, many of whom seem to be continuing on his musical journey with room in their hearts for upbeat Americana alongside that much-adored blue-eyed soul.

*Los Pacaminos are at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on Friday and Mr. Kyp's in Poole on Sunday.