A packed crowd ensured Linda Caulfield performed her ‘dream gig’ at the Villa Marina at the weekend.

Hundreds of fans cheered on Linda, aka Little Miss Dynamite, as she celebrated more than 50 years as a performer in the island – the longest serving in Manx history.

As well as realising a dream, Linda has also helped raised around £5,000 for Hospice Isle of Man – although the final figure has yet to be counted.

‘I have done many gigs over the years but this was the biggest one for me,’ Linda said. ‘It was my dream gig.

‘It really could not have gone any better. The audience was pumping.’

‘My other aim was to raise as much money as I could for Hospice. I don’t know for sure how much we have raised but someone told me it was around £5,000. But we will know exactly how much in a couple of days.’

What made the gig even more special for Linda, of Ramsey, was the fact it was such a family affair with support from her son’s band Bahuki and a surprise performance by her great niece.

‘My son Lee said the gig was off the scale,’ Linda explained.

‘My daughter had her graduation the day before but managed to come over for the gig. But the highlight was my great niece Eva performing which her family knew nothing about which was brilliant.

Linda, 72, was supported by Dirty Bertie and The Sherberts and her son’s band Bahuki who performed four songs with Linda during the show ‘I’m Still Standing’.

She performed the Elton John song ‘I’m Still Standing’ as well as the likes of “Johnny Be Good”, “Paris to Berlin”, “Proud Mary” and “Simply the best”.

Linda said she was ‘blown away’ when she learned she was the longest serving Manx entertainer in history.

‘It all started in the 70s,’ she explained. ‘I would go out with my family and my dad would try and get me up on stage but, believe it or not, I was shy back then.

‘I then ended up entering a competition at Douglas Head which I won. I then got a manager and Tom Valley, who owned the Falcon Cliff Hotel, approached me and I started performing there each week and then daily during the summer.’

Linda had a hiatus from singing when she got married and only returned to the scene after she got divorced. But now she is ‘busier than ever’ despite having arthritis in both hips.

Linda is no stranger to big gigs having opened for the likes of The Searchers, Freddie and the Dreamers and performing backing vocals for Rik Wakeman at Peel Castle.