IF the fingers of Smokie's classically trained keyboardist Martin Bullard aren't rattling the ivories they are more than likely tapping away on his laptop.

Speaking from home on the banks of Loch Ness, before embarking on a gruelling 30-date UK tour, he said it is a vital part of the equipment.

'I cannot live without my laptop because that is the mobile office for Smokie for all the business we have to do while on the road.'

The business side of Smokie is largely managed by the band in general and Martin in particular, partly because of his background in banking.

'In the seventies a lot of bands didn't know how much they were worth or where their money was going — so consequently a lot of them got ripped off,' he says.

Martin enjoys the hectic schedule of a UK tour because it operates so differently to one of their frequent trips abroad.

'I do business in the morning, drive in the afternoon, play in the evening and then drive on after the end of the show. It is easier to sit on a plane, do a show, then sit down while someone drives you to a hotel. But the UK tour is a healthier way to live,' he says.

'At the end of a Scandinavian tour there are lots of late night parties. The only thing to do is get the beer down because this isn't the time to be T-total! There are some parts of the year where you drink and be silly and party — and other parts where you stay in total control.'

Smokie began in Yorkshire in the late 60s and had a phenomenally successful decade in the 70s. But their massive success story has continued to flourish around the globe — including Scandinavia, South Africa, Germany and even China. They have sold out tours and gained platinum records in four decades — the 70s, 80s, 90s and present day.

It is nothing unusual to find Smokie packing a 25,000-seater stadium abroad.

'They like the music so we keep touring,' says Martin. 'We have always had a territory where people have rooted for us and like our work.'

Record stations these days may not like playing music from people older than 30 but he says Smokie stand a good chance of outlasting the latest crop of one-record wonders.

'We are more likely to be here in five years than a new band just starting up. Nothing starting up these days has a long lifespan. We have survived nearly 28 years as Smokie — we were the Boy Band of our day!'

He thinks their success is in the length of time the band has been together. 'We are all heading in the same musical direction and more likely to keep a level head about things.'

The band's live set is divided between original material — featuring such hits as 'Oh, Carol' and 'Living Next Door to Alice' — and cover versions.

Their audience are big fans of Smokie covers — the latest CD, 'Uncovered Too', was recorded by popular demand and reached the top five in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. This month the album is being released worldwide. It followed 'Uncovered' — their first collection of covers —but the band's next, and 26th album, will feature totally original material.

'Record companies can sell cover albums. We hope our versions are certainly as good as the originals. We have a lot of young people who don't know the original band that did the songs and think it is an original number.'

Martin had a varied background before he joined Smokie. At school he was an organ scholar and then went to Exeter University where he studied economics.

'Then I became a banker and became a psychiatric nurse after that. I didn't get into the music industry until I was 30.'

The door to the world of pop opened because during another career change as a keyboard salesman he sold a lot of musical equipment to Smokie.

He became friends with the band, and, because of his speciality in orchestration, he was invited to join up.

'Smokie was a four-piece, then they needed a keyboard so I joined 14 years ago,' says Martin.

'Playing is such a buzz. You cannot get this buzz in any other job. There is something special about an audience reacting at the beginning of a concert and then getting more and more excited. It makes it all worth while.'

There have been a few changes in the line-up down the years and Martin says the name Smokie is bigger than the players that make it up.

'The ethos of the band is very much about having fun and passing that fun on to the audience. We don't just go on heads down and play the music. All five of us go on to play the music and give everyone a good time.'

l Smokie appear at the Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday, March, 17.