WHAT do you do when you are the country’s most famous cellist and are forced to stop playing?

“Well, you turn that page and move on,” Julian Lloyd Webber said.

That is exactly what the talented musician has done after announcing his retirement last year following a neck injury.

It is the reason his visit to the West Cliff Theatre, in Clacton, is a special concert indeed.

“At the time, it was a very difficult decision to make,” he said. “It was horrible and very depressing, but now it’s fine.

“I’m doing other things like this new tour, which I like to think is a celebration of all the incredible people I’ve worked with over the years.”

Julian began playing at the age of five after his mother took him to a children’s concert at the Royal Festival Hall.

By his teenage years, he knew he wanted to be a professional soloist.

Since then, Julian has racked up an incredible list of achievements, including being the only classical musician to play at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics and the first busker officially licensed to play on the London Underground in 2001.

On this tour, Julian takes his audience on a musical journey and presents a unique insight into his extraordinary life.

Anecdotes are linked to rare video footage of performances with the likes of Nigel Kennedy, Elton John, Katherine Jenkins, Yehudi Menhuin, and Stephane Grappelli.

Julian is joined by wife and fellow cellist Jiaxin Lloyd Webber and pianist Pam Chowhan to performworks such as Faure’s Elegy, brother Andrew’s The Music of the Night, Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata and works by composers such as his father William Lloyd Webber, Philip Glass, Frank Bridge and JS Bach.

Fellow cellists are invited to bring their own instruments to performon stage with the maestro.

It not only gives them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a mini masterclass with one of the most successful British musicians of the past 50 years, but will enable Julian to play at his own show.

“We thought it would be a nice touch,” he said. “We can only really get one cello in the back of the car, so if people want to see me play the encore of the show, they will need to bring a cello.”

An Afternoon with Julian Lloyd Webber is at the West Cliff Theatre onMarch 8 at 2.30pm. Tickets cost £21 and are available on 01255 433344.