Car Torque .... with musical trio Blake

Re-inspired by the trio harmonies of The Three Tenors, The Bee Gees, The Lettermen and Boyz-II-Men, Blake’s latest concert show entitled ‘In Harmony’ sees them combining classic songs from their first four award winning albums, with exclusive new songs from their upcoming fifth album ‘In Harmony’.

The boys are appearing at the Gala Theatre in Durham on September 19.

Tickets are £20.

For more details contact the Box Office on 0300 026 6600.

For more details about the boys visit www.blakeofficial.com

What was your first car?

Humphrey Berney: A Mini Mayfair, above, which I kitted out to look like a Cooper, plus adding a new head. I loved that car - a legal go-kart. Cheap to run, full of character, racing seats, wheel and gear stick. Brilliant! RIP Monty.

Stephen Bowman: My first car was a white Vauxhall estate, with a diesel engine and over 185,000 miles. It cost my dad about £300 and the agreement was that once it died I could have a pretty car. The old girl refused to give in - in the end I drove it into a wall.

Oliver Baines: The first car I drove regularly was a hand-me-down Mitsubishi Shogun called Big Sid. It was nearly 18 when it came to me, so we were equals in that respect, but the poor old boy didn’t last long, and after wheezing and puffing his way along for a few more years, the head gasket finally blew outside my school gates – too much derision! He was retired on permanent loan to some friends in Scotland for farm work. I believe they paid us £50. A great way to learn about the pitfalls of old cars though!

How many times did it take to pass your test?

Humphrey: Twice. Outrageous! I failed on not entering a yellow hatched box when turning right. Second time, I had a great Scottish examiner. Monty the Mini was waiting when I finished and I drove straight to school. The girls were impressed!

Stephen: Aged 17, nothing in the world mattered more to me than passing my test, which is probably why it took me three attempts to reduce the nerves enough not to muck it up. My poor BSM instructor was pretty glad to see the back of me!

Oliver: I learned to drive at university with a man called Geoffrey who swore almost constantly. My lessons were thus highly amusing and extremely informative – alas I never recorded one of his rants. When I took my test, the examiner failed me for overtaking a lorry on the dual carriageway after the mile marker for my exit. This caused the most almighty argument between him and my instructor in the back seat, who - with multiple expletives - pointed out, that this was perfectly normal driving practice and something else about arses and elbows. Needless to say, this didn’t help.

Who would be your ideal fantasy passenger and where would you go?

Humphrey: Jenson button. I would get him to take me straight to McLaren so we could take lots of cars out on the track and get some tips. I love driving on the track. I've done quite a lot on motorbikes as well. Brilliant! If Jenson was not available then Stirling Moss - a true legend.

Stephen: For the perfect car journey I'd want the company of a gorgeous lady with plenty of stories to tell, so it would have to be Joanna Lumley, above. Loved her ever since watching reruns of The Avengers when I was a kid. I'd drive her to Paris and back!

Oliver: I have this fantasy that one day I will be the passenger and Humphrey or Stephen will instead drive me around the country for thousands of miles… but this is wishful thinking I fear.

What is your dream car?

Humphrey: At the moment I have it - Triumph spitfire 1500 from 1980. It makes an awesome noise - great stainless steel exhaust - and people love it. I would love an AC Cobra. What a car! I find a lot of modern cars lack any character.

Stephen: When I was 23 and made some money, I bought my dream car - a 1981 DeLorean gullwing, an icon of motoring. To this day it's the car that makes me smile the most. A close second is the 70s Lotus Esprit - I adore the purity of its lines.

Oliver: I will - one day - get hold of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, below - 1980s one obviously, none of this new rubbish. I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t need a reason for this?

How would you describe your driving style?

Humphrey: Confident but safe. Stopping distance is so important and I hate people who tail-gate - so dangerous. On a track I am aggressive, but really enjoy hitting the smooth racing lines. I hope to get my racing license soon.

Stephen: Day-to-day I actually ride a Honda sports bike as I get more of a thrill from two wheels than I do from four, plus I never get stuck in traffic. When I drive a car, I'm very cautious, especially with others inside. On the bike, it's just me, so I have fun!

Oliver: London school of motoring. Meaning not scared to get about and use shortcuts. Actually my friends do all refer to the Ollie Baines school of motoring, but they don’t complain about getting from the West End to South West London in ten minutes.

Tell me one driving anecdote from your past?

Humphrey: We were recently invited to the Lotus test track where we drove the Exige S. An amazing car - perfectly balanced, stunningly quick and brilliant fun. I am a Norfolk boy so very proud of Lotus. The new Evora S is incredible. I borrowed one for a weekend and it really hurt when I had to give it back!

Stephen: Eight years ago I polished up my DeLorean, above, and set off for Monaco, purely to park up in the main square and enjoy a cold beer in the summer evening sun. The car made it all the way there, no problems. It got more photos than all of the Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches which line up in front of the casino. It was great to upstage cars costing 20 times its price.

Oliver: We were once on tour in Denmark with a terrible rental MPV and a suicidal sat-nav. It took us up this precipice in the snow whereupon the road became impassable and I was forced to reverse for a mile-and-a-half on ice with half a wheel over the edge of this 100ft drop below. I was so concerned that it might go over the brink that I made the boys get out of the car and walk behind me with all of the luggage. To top it all off we were becoming late for a flight - the last before Christmas Day naturally - and therefore weren’t all that keen on missing it. This stress plus the cold sweat caused by the danger of the road meant that when I finally found a space to turn the car around and rejoin a main road, I completely forgot to drive on the right. I realised my mistake almost immediately when we saw the lights of an articulated lorry approaching on our side. I turned the wheel calmly to the right, hoping the boys hadn’t noticed my mistake. Nothing happened. I turned harder, still nothing. With a jolt I realised our wheels were stuck like a tram in the 10ins deep ice tracks caused by one of these same vast trucks currently bearing down on us at 60 mph. With a huge effort I yanked the wheel hard over and we bounced out of the ruts into a power slide to the opposite carriageway just as this behemoth thundered by, horn blasting, but apparently unaccustomed to using brakes of any kind. We made our plane. Just.

What are you listening to?

Humphrey: It depends. In my Triumph then nothing apart from the awesome exhaust note. In the Volvo a whole mix. Classical music works on a long journey and we travel a lot so it helps keep you relaxed.

Stephen: I'm a big fan of La Roux, below and have been waiting patiently for her follow-up album for quite some time. The first single off that album is called "Let Me Down Gently" and has become my 2014 ultimate driving anthem, it's practically on repeat!

Oliver: All sorts, but a lot of Radio 4 to be honest, and old podcasts of Alistair Cooke’s ‘Letter From America’ are a current favourite.

What do you drive now?

Humphrey: My Triumph and also a boring Volvo V40 – not very exciting, but perfect for London as I don't mind when it’s scratched and bumped. You must have off-street parking if you have a nice car otherwise they get bumped, scratched or stolen! My Triumph is tucked away and the Volvo is not!

Stephen: I'm currently riding/driving a 2014 Honda CBR-600-F, which is basically a mixture of a sports bike and a touring bike. With me on top it has a power-to-weight ratio that shames many supercars, so I'm generally first off the lights, with a big smile!

Oliver: I drive a 1970s MGB roadster, above, which I bought for peanuts when we first signed a record deal. I’ve restored it to its current state of beauty over seven years, and it is a total money pit! But I love every nut and bolt.