Dolly Parton Returns to Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre

Country legend Dolly Parton will return to Birmingham on 2 July 2008. Touring in support of her new album Backwood's Barbie, the star will be playing some of her great new songs. However, she's bound to play some hits from her extensive back catalogue of over 3,000 songs too, including songs such as I Will Always Love You, Joshua, Coat of Many Colours, 9 to 5, Love is Like a Butterfly, and Jolene.

Born on 19 January 1946 in Sevierville, Tennessee, Dolly was the fourth of 12 children. The family grew up ‘dirt poor' in the Great Smoky Mountains and lived together in a rustic one-room cabin. Dolly's parents were keen churchgoers, and the country star was exposed to a lot of music as part of the services. To this day, she still performs a number of spiritual songs in her live sets.

Dolly began singing as a child and appeared on countless local radio and TV shows. When she was 21, she decided to move to Nashville in order to pursue a full-time singing career. She started out in the town as a songwriter, penning hits for major stars such as Hank Williams Jr and Skeeter Davis.

In 1967, Dolly joined the cast of a syndicated country TV show, which was hosted by the legendary Porter Wagoner. Wagoner and Parton got on famously, and Dolly worked with him for seven happy years. During this time, Wagoner convinced his label, RCA, to sign Dolly, and the pair released a number of country duets together. After she left Wagoner's TV show, Dolly embarked on a full-time career as a solo star and she has never looked back.

Since then, Dolly has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and she has had a record 25 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Country Music charts. She has also had a massive 41 top 10 country albums, and has been awarded countless awards for her work.

In addition to her career as a singer, Dolly is a literacy campaigner and author. She has also acted in a number of films, including the Oscar-nominated 9 to 5, which she also wrote the title song for. The film was a huge hit and Dolly is currently working on the music and lyrics for a Broadway version of it.

Despite her other projects, it's clear that music is Dolly's first love, and she remains a true country superstar.

Dolly will be performing at the National Indoor Arena (NIA), which is part of the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) complex. Although the NIA is usually used to stage concerts and other entertainment events, the NEC itself is traditionally used for holding conferences and corporate functions.

Tickets for Dolly Parton are priced at £65.00, £60.00 and £50.00, and are subject to booking fee.