Pop legend Edwyn Collins is returning to the Sutherland village that helped him recover from a stroke to say a special thank you to locals.
The name of Helmsdale was whispered into the singer’s ear as he lay in a coma battling for his life.
The former Orange Juice star has been a frequent visitor to his family’s ancestral home there since battling back to health after he suffered a brain haemorrhage and a stroke in 2005.
Now he and wife Grace Maxwell are selling up their home in Kilburn and heading for the Highlands.
Next Tuesday, the 55-year-old will attend a showing of a film about his recovery, titled The Possibilities are Endless, and answer questions about its making.
The directors James Hall and Edward Lovelace, filmed in and around Helmsdale, and cut the footage with the singer’s thoughts about his state of mind.
The Possibilities are Endless is being shown at Helmsdale’s Timespan on Tuesday. The free event starts at 6.30pm.
A spokesman for the venue said: “Collins’ family have had a house in Helmsdale for generations. It is the place Collins spent idyllic childhood summers and it is the word his wife Grace Maxwell whispered in Collins’ ear as he lay in a coma, promising they would return there one day.
“Edwyn and Grace did indeed return to Helmsdale and this special film screening is their way of saying thank you to the village and the local people who feature in the film.
“Edwyn and Grace will be in attendance and available for a post-screening Q&A.”
Mr Lovelace said there were three chapters in the film – the first focusing on Helmsdale, the second visiting Collins’s early career using flashback scenes featuring his son, William, and the third looking at the couple’s story in the present day.
“Everyone is encouraged when they have got a loved one in a coma to tell stories or play music or maybe sing to them in certain way that might bring them back,” he said.
“Grace told us about Helmsdale, which is a place where Edwyn spent time as a kid and was really important to him, he had a house up there that his family owned.
“When he was in a coma, she started whispering tales of Helmsdale into his ear.”